When we last checked in on our troop of traveling dirt devils, they had just finished a day of mud bogging at General Sam's outside Huntsville, and day 5 of the trip was a road day where we headed west to Cline's Ranch near Bandera. Of course every road day involves a plethora of stops for a hundred different reasons, most of which were results of the previous day in the mud which clogged radiators and had computers overheating. These delays were compounded by every gas stop turning into a water balloon fight, and/or a long wait for the restroom. Then just as we're about to get the whole team back on the road, someone forgot to buy extra beef jerky, or something is making a new rattle under a vehicle and the driver and codriver want an extra second to check it out.
 Next we headed up Rainbow...  Next we headed up Rainbow Rock, which made for a tight squeeze with some of the larger rigs on our trip. Here Tom Allen from PSC Motorsports pinches his radioactive YJ under a low limb before turning and heading up the rockclimb. The line under this tree requires a bit of off-camber driving. |  Here is Kia Dave on the same...  Here is Kia Dave on the same hill. Yes, that's a Kia with a solid axle battering its way up the trail. This 4x4 was a simple tough little machine, and Dave isn't afraid of body damage either. We're big fans of oddball 4x4s, so send us photos of your unusual rigs. |  As we wove our way around...  As we wove our way around the ranch, we soon climbed the 5-Million Dollar View. This long hillclimb requires momentum to bounce over some large stumps and roots. The climb is made up of softball-size rocks that offer a loose footing, such that if you need to stop it's hard to get moving again. Kane and Denise Riccardi's V-8 Scrambler had the perfect combination of power, wheelbase, and traction to walk up the hill without a problem. When we reached the top we got a prize-winning vista across the whole Medina Lake valley. |
Nevertheless, Editor Rick Pw refuses to lead his pack of scouts down the boring major highways when there are sweet deserted asphalt trails through the sleepy towns of Texas. This makes for a very enjoyable trip because the speeds are slower, which allows rugged trail vehicles and their occupants to relax and enjoy the scenery. When we do stop for lunch, it's not at the same boring McChain food places you can get in every state, but rather a unique diner or mom-and-pop lunch shop where the waitress calls you "darlin'" and the sweet tea is served up fresh. The idea of road days may seem boring, but every day is an adventure on UA.
 1. Finally we headed to a...  1. Finally we headed to a trail previously know as Impossible. This climb has two lines, one of which had never been done before. |  2. One of the first vehicles...  2. One of the first vehicles up the hill was Phil Rohr and Chad Howell in the Flowmaster CJ-7. |  3. Phil let his Flowmasters...  3. Phil let his Flowmasters sing and ended up half way up the hill against a tree. |
 4. A busted windshield was...  4. A busted windshield was the result, and a unique winch recovery got the black Jeep back on its feet. |  Not to be outdone, Ryan Hagel...  Not to be outdone, Ryan Hagel brought the Optima Battery Jeep JK up for an attempt, and followed nearly the same line as Phil... |  ...Luckily that same safety...  ...Luckily that same safety tree was there ready to catch another Jeep. We always like to show off our sponsor's equipment, so in seconds we had multiple Warn winches pulling Ryan back on his tires. |
We awoke on the sixth day of UA in our tent around a large field at Cline Ranch, 20 miles from Bandera and San Antonio in the hill country of Texas. If you think Texas is all flat deserts, think again. The Cline Ranch Off-Road Park has 400 acres of various terrain with many large hillclimbs and thick green wooded trails. Most of the obstacles were around jagged rock outcrops, though the trails also have hillclimbs with loose rock that require the perfect mixture of throttle and momentum.
Owner Dan Diffenderfer led our group with help from James Bannack of Brutal Off Road, Landis and Sally Wolfe, Kia Dave, Leroy Hoffman, and Larry Lancaster. We spent the day weaving our way through deep V-notches with rocky climbs and all sorts of brush and trees hanging in close to pinstripe paint jobs and squeeze body panels on the fullsize rigs. Our time at Cline Ranch was short, but we got a lot of good wheeling in. Thanks to all the great 4x4 clubs that helped us out at Cline Ranch. These guys were great and we can't wait to go wheeling with them again: Austin Jeep Exclusive, San Antonio Jeep Exclusive, WFO, and the Lone Star Early Bronco Club. If you want to go wheeling at Cline Ranch, they are only open on certain weekends and you need reservations for your group. Before we left, the broken few limped over to Brutal Off Road for much-needed repair sessions.
 The hill was pretty tough...  The hill was pretty tough but Professor Fred Perry pulled up and gave everyone a lesson in how to "get 'er done." Fred is a blast to go wheeling with, and even though he's like a couple hundred years old, he still doesn't back down from anything. He's super calm, cool, and collected, he's a perfect southern gentleman, and when it's time to wheel he makes most everyone else look like rookies. |  Luckily Clifton Slay was paying...  Luckily Clifton Slay was paying attention to ol' Fred because he pointed his big rock buggy up the line that had never been done and let her rip. The big-block power and rock-chucking abilities of his 46-inch tires ate up that hill in no time, and what was once called Impossible Hill was renamed Improbable Hill. |  After the Rock Garden we convoyed...  After the Rock Garden we convoyed across the ranch through the Bowl's waterfall and over the green pastures of the Bowl's trail. The ranch has many dry rocky waterways, some of which we drove up, others we crossed over, which tested our approach and departure angles as we dropped in. |