Day Nine
We had traveled over 1,200 miles and had been on some of the best trails the Southwest had to offer. We made new friends and found weaknesses of each vehicle. The Ultimate Adventure had come to an end. Sort of like when Mom was calling the kids in for supper, we all knew it was time to get back to our day jobs. A few goodbyes, some mention of a reunion and the next Ultimate Adventure, and we were on our separate ways.
About half the obstacles didn't offer anything even close to a fullsize line, so Cole was forced up and over rocks that the rocker panels and gas tanks couldn't clear. It wasn't pretty, but at the end of the day, the truck drove back to the hotel and ultimately back to Los Angeles. | 
This trail was hard on sheetmetal and hard on parts. Greg is officially the first person we've seen break a Warn front axleshaft. Rob and Sam were the only two to survive the entire Adventure without noteworthy body damage, while anyone unscathed before Montrose collected a few dents as souvenirs before the end of the trail. | 
Dan and Rob worked all day to pick the good YJ lines, and both scored well. Dan walked the 302-powered, dual-locked Jeep over the trail with extreme precision. We encountered the best obstacles long after nightfall, and all of our flash-bulb batteries died, which is a shame because they were far worse than anything shown here. |