2007 Ultimate Adventure Texas Adventure - Cowboy Style

Our big green Jeep was still leading the pack and hadn't had any major carnage until we hit Katemcy. Then within a few hours of being on the trail we hear a loud bang from the front axle. It was time to investigate.

We found a busted inner axleshaft, but considering these were factory axleshafts and we had been beating on them all week, we weren't surprised. Since we had Dynatrac's free spin kit that replaces the original unit bearing, we could easily pull the axleshaft by removing just four bolts. With spare shafts hiding in our Slee Off Road tool drawers, we were quickly fixed and back on the trail.

Speaking of those guys from Slee Off Road and their solid-axle 100-Series Land Cruiser, they had been having a few issues in the rocks. It seems their big 'Cruiser was busting axle parts left and right what with the Toyota V-8 power and 39-inch Krawlers. However, they were back and ready to wheel in Katemcy. Here they showed up Pw by throttling up the Dump Bump obstacle after our big Jeep got hung up on its belly.

John Lambert and his dad were still plugging along in their solid-axle Suzuki Sidekick. The Lamberts removed the doors for better visibility and to lighten the truck up a bit. These guys came all the way from Vermont to join our trip and after wheeling with them for a week we realized we need to get up to the northeast more often. Maybe it's time to take the UA train all the way to New England.

With such crazy rocks we expected the local trail leaders to be driving full tube buggies, but the fact is most of them were in well used Jeeps on 37-inch or smaller tires. That didn't stop them from trying the crazy lines. Shain Chapman was constantly driving up every near-vert climb he could find. The cool thing is this park is all about bouldering where there are tons of crazy lines and technical routes to play on no matter how built or basic your ride is.

Trent McGee's Superlift Budget Buggy was built for this type of terrain and it did excellently. The tube chassis sits on a Jeep TJ frame with all the light-duty bits upgraded to survive, such as chromoly shafts in the front Dana 30. With a mixture of light weight and a skilled driving style, the blue tube car proved that low-buck UA wheeling is possible.

Sometimes having a Slinky-like flexible suspension allows for tons of wheel travel and other times it results in big body roll. Clay Parrish showed us a bit of both.

Jake and his flatfender were still having slight issues with that stupid gravity thing. Everything was fine other than some spilled ice, and the Willys was quickly back on its tires and wheeling again.

The terrain at Katemcy is like one giant rock with other huge rocks strewn across it to crawl on. We would give anything to have a place like this in our backyard. And to think that the locals thought this place was useless.

Our day at Katemcy and the 2007 Ultimate Adventure finished at the Upper V of the Waterfall trail. This scenic notch required a steady driver and a good spotter to keep from dropping your ride down in the crack sideways. In addition to the Waterfall trail we also hit Back Breaker, Boulder Lane, Baby Hughie's Crack, and the Dump Bump.

Dave Yegge and Dave Harriton had their AEV Brute truck working great through the rock obstructions, and that's a truck that was finished just days prior. The Brute wheelbase and design make it great as a small all-around truck, but we wouldn't be surprised to see a ram-assist steering setup on the front axle on its next outing. Unfortunately a busted sector shaft in the steering box set them back a bit, but some more trail welding by our Hobart friends got them fixed enough to limp back to camp.

And with this final day of wheeling we added another Ultimate Adventure to the books. The trip is always a lot of work for everyone involved-getting their trucks ready, filming and photographing the event, and keeping everything fixed and running all week-but it's also a ton of fun. Great friends are made, cool places visited, and excellent wheeling guaranteed. Plus most nights are spent out under the stars or around a campfire, which is always a bonus especially when it's enjoyed with other 4x4 fanatics. If you think you and your rig are up to the challenge and you've got the adventure lifestyle that thrives on this sort of thing, fill out an application and you may just be along with us next summer. Thanks to all the readers that came along this year, all the local trail leaders and shops that helped us fix our broken rides, and all our great sponsors like BFGoodrich tires who help us put on this trip of a lifetime every summer. And for you readers out there paging through this issue, thanks a ton and we'll see you on the trail.