Day 1: Saturday, July 5
The Meet Up-Sturgis, South Dakota
Most of us had just about a year to prepare ourselves and our machines for the Ultimate Adventure. That sounds easy, right? Let us tell you that when you're preparing for an event like this, things just don't fall together as simply as you'd like them to. Think about it: Throw in a few of life's daily distractions and obligations like jobs, family, building a 4x4 from the ground up, and faulty and missing parts and you find yourself in a pickle.
Surprisingly, when July 5 rolled around the UA participants started arriving at the Days Inn parking lot on schedule. Almost everyone made the 2 p.m. deadline for Pw's vehicle and safety equipment inspection. This is where Rick turns into the nicest master gunnery sergeant you would ever want to meet. He has to transform his charismatic and casual personality into something a little more authoritative in order to keep our ragtag bunch of four-wheelers in line and adhere to a strict itinerary.
Otherwise, we would probably sit around the parking lots and campfires drinking beer and telling lies. Now don't get us wrong about Rick. Once he takes his drill instructor campaign hat off at the end of a long day on the trail, he's just one of the guys.
Anything should be expected...
Anything should be expected on the Ultimate Adventure. Fred Perry is a representative of Warn and is an expert and well-seasoned four-wheeler. This ain't his first rodeo...
...but this tricky little...
...but this tricky little section of rocks on Hal John's flopped his freshly built MJ on its side just a couple hundred yards into the trail. It isn't hard to get a helping hand or two on UA. Fred's custom-built Comanche was back up and rolling in no time at all.
The Super Sleeper UA Z71's...
The Super Sleeper UA Z71's name is incredibly fitting. The days of the monster trail trucks are numbered. They do have their place, but the way to build a dependable fullsize trail rig is keeping the center of gravity low. This once unassuming '00 GMC Sierra is now an unassuming fully-capable crawler.
Day 2: Sunday, July 6
Wheeling the Black Hills National Forest
The trails in the Black Hills are famous for being extremely challenging, and when we say "challenging" we mean they have the ability to rip a vehicle apart if it's not properly built and protected. If a driver doesn't have the skills to negotiate these extreme trails and their menacing obstacles, the vehicle will be destroyed. These trails have moxie and they will bite back. Day two of Ultimate Adventure was spent on Hal John's Trail and led by Jason Paule and Chris Hunt from Twisted Customs, and some members of the Black Hills 4 Wheelers. This was a great day on the trail. Jason and Chris led us into Hal John's trail, which is solid rock from start to finish and includes some incredible waterfall climbs.
Mark Brancieri was one of...
Mark Brancieri was one of our other chosen readers this year. He and his co-driver, Joe Pfeifer, drove all the way from New York to attend. Ali Mansour called Mark's little red Geo Tracker a "golf cart on steroids," and that's not stretching the truth. He was able to get the Geo to anywhere the big rigs went.
Mel Wade, owner of Off Road...
Mel Wade, owner of Off Road Evolution, is an extremely talented builder and one heck of a wheeler. We don't think there is an obstacle he won't attempt, while continually pushing the limits of his machines to see if they can withstand the punishment. Mel had one of the three vehicles that completed the event without a single mishap.
You know a trail is difficult...
You know a trail is difficult when the rock buggies have to be winched off the obstacles. And that's not making a derogatory crack about our veteran UA'er Trent McGee. He's been on every Ultimate Adventure since the event started back in 1999. His quiet demeanor and casual wheeling style are a pleasure to watch, especially when the trails get dangerously technical.
Every participant of Ultimate Adventure is a highly skilled four-wheeler, and we can confidently call each and every one of these guys a professional off-highway driver without any hesitation. But on Sunday morning we noticed them impatiently waiting around like schoolchildren in their last day of class before summer break. As Rick gave his morning driver's meeting and laid down the law, rules, and safety concerns, we think most of the guys were mentally in their rigs and driving down the road to the trailhead.
We must admit that our UA...
We must admit that our UA is without a doubt the event of the year. Plenty of other folks feel the same way, especially John Lambert and his dad Gary. This is their second UA as invited readers of the magazine and drove all the way from Vermont to attend.
Hal John's trail is a dry creek bed in a heavily wooded narrow canyon. It starts as a small boulder field, with rocks ranging in size from 1 to 3 feet in height. However, the trail quickly and progressively becomes more difficult. It's a never-ending maze of rocks from one end to the other and made our progress seem like we were making our way down the trail inch by inch. Quite a few massive rocks the size of large trucks were thrown in just for good measure. These obstacles made some of the drivers say to themselves, "Errr, OK, what do I do now?"
Although many guys were running 40-inch BFG M2 M-Ts, it wasn't uncommon for them to have to winch their vehicle forward because their rig was high-centered. This trail literally possesses the potential and tenacity to eat a vehicle alive. The saving grace of Hal John's is that an easier road runs alongside the trail, making vehicle recovery and extraction somewhat easier. Three UA participant vehicles, including the Super Sleeper UA Z71, had to drop out of formation and head back to town for emergency repairs while the rest continued on.
By the end of the day, we had 26 instances of breakage and carnage, ranging in severity. Most of the crew didn't make it back to the hotel until after dark, and just before a severe storm and flash flood warning was sent out by the local news agencies. The most severe damage was incurred by John Lambert's '93 Suzuki Sidekick, which lost a rear ring-and-pinion and TH350. When he was backing his rig up to the BFG trailer to repair the damaged ring-and-pinion, the transmission mysteriously went out. Luckily the guys from Twisted Customs helped John find the right transmission, freshly built and sitting on the shelf and ready to go. Working all through the night, John and his father Gary were able to catch up with rest of the group the following day.
Perhaps the one vehicle drawing...
Perhaps the one vehicle drawing some of the most attention during the UA event was Tim Hardy's well beaten '88 Suzuki Samurai. It's uniquely destroyed, and it stops people in their tracks. Yet this little mountain goat of a 4x4 will go anywhere. We also have to commend Tim on his selfless dedication to help UA participants repair their rigs after a tough day on the trail.
Our chosen readers from Tennessee,...
Our chosen readers from Tennessee, Jonathan Cooper and co-driver Andrea Miller, told us they had an amazing time on the trails with us, and that they would join us in a second if they were asked back to the event. The Tundra had some axle problems; after the trail each night Jonathan wrenched through the night with Andrea there to support him. We don't think they got much sleep during the week, but were with us every day on the trail.
If you noticed James Watson's...
If you noticed James Watson's Ultimate Adventure profile it read that his co-driver was "American muscle." We're here to tell you that's not any stretch of the truth. James has been a longtime UA participant, and he's also an extremely talented and skillful driver. He's one of the few people that wheeled the entire event without any mechanical problems or breakage. Most vehicles winched up this waterfall on Hal John's. Not James; he just blasted up and over it.