It started with 12 guys in their trail rigs racing up and down the Hammer trails in Johnson Valley, and now six year later it has grown into a giant spectacle in the desert of Southern California. This year 135 teams competed for the crown as King of the Hammers 2012.

The Southwest corner of our great nation has some of the most incredible four-wheeling. That would be a brag if it weren’t fact. But another fact is that the anti-access crowd has been hammering our government agencies to limit what you and I can do on our public lands. They are closing existing trails, banning certain uses, and severely limiting our choices of recreation. And while good environmental stewardship is always an important factor of our sport, someone has to step up and carry the torch for land access and for the multiple uses that favor the 4x4 crowd.

It seems like summer 2011 was a toasty one, but we found a respite from the hotter temps in the densely forested trails just outside Joliett in central Pennsylvania. Our destination was Rausch Creek Off-Road Park for the 11th annual East Coast 4Runner Jamboree. We joined fellow wheelers from up and down the eastside of the U.S. for a few days out on the trails.

Agriculture is, and hopefully will always be, one of the lifebloods of our nation. From cornstalk and cattle pastures to cotton fields and long forgotten tobacco barns, farming is a rich part of America’s past, present, and future. While economic hardship and harsh weather can take their toll on the farmers of America, some are finding that the vast fields and expansive backwoods can have just as much recreation potential as profitable soil.

Last month we rattled, limped, and boogied my ’73 CJ-5 across America (“CA to PA in a CJ”). The Jeep, christened Lemon Pie for its color, reliability, and ability to get me to fine deserts every day, was built the same month and year I was born. I drug it home from a junkyard, spent a few weeks slinging wrenches at it, and then headed across the country last summer for a road trip to remember. By the end of the first day I was pushing it down a dirt road in the middle of the Arizona desert with a dead battery. But after a few days on the road it was running tops, save a few oil and exhaust leaks. The Jeep had no working gauges, but the modern technology of my smart phone gave me GPS, a speedometer, and access to websites for daily updates. It was a really odd having more technology in my hand than in my 4x4.

If there’s one thing gearheads love, it’s the sound of a real engine, a piston-powered engine. Oh sure, some like the quite whir of an electric motor, and some love the roar of a jet, but there’s nothing like the sound of combustion in a cylinder pushing a piston down a bore. Nothing. For some, this celebration of sound and power culminates in racing, while others just like driving, flying, working, or even just sitting around listening to an old one-lunger go pook-pook-pook.

America is a great country, but you’re not going to experience it sitting at your desk, surfing Facebook, or watching TV from the couch. Four-wheeling is in our blood here at 4WOR, but adventures of any sort fuel us, so when I got the harebrained idea to drive my ’73 CJ-5 fresh from the junkyard across America and back I knew I had to do it.

Some adventures are so exciting and memorable that they turn into tales that folks will tell for the rest of lives—the JK Experience is that kind of adventure. The on- and off-highway weeklong excursion is in its third year and has been one of those quests for hardcore four-wheeling that’s left all of its participants with an adventure they’ll brag about for years to come.

Colorado is a beautiful state, and there is no better way to experience it than from behind the wheel of your 4x4. (OK, hiking, biking, and horseback riding aren’t bad either, but you’re not reading this magazine to learn about that.) We recently spent a day at the All-4-Fun event put on by the Mile-Hi Jeep Club outside of Salida, Colorado, and can honestly say we wished we had stayed for the whole weeklong event.

It’s a high-speed ballet of off-road excess. Trucks slam-dancing on dirt, propelled by 900 hp. Speeds top 100 mph and competitors are airborne for more than 100 feet. Putting power to the ground and the driver finesse in this violent yet somehow artful meshing of man, machine, and terrain have drawn race fans to Crandon, Wisconsin, for the past 42 years.

September 21, 1940 (give or take a day or two), the first jeep came to life. It happened in a small factory in a small town in western Pennsylvania. The factory was the American Bantam Car company in Butler, and that first prototype was still years away from being officially christened the “Jeep.” Over time the jeep would be built by many other companies and the American Bantam Car Company would drift into the wings. Willys and Ford would build the majority of military jeeps, and then Willys would build the civilian models and so on through Kaiser, American Motor Company, and now Chrysler. Nonetheless, the little town of Butler can claim credit for starting it all, and this past August they did so with a giant celebration for the 70 (or 71) years of the Jeep.

We first visited Elko, Nevada, during the 2006 Ultimate Adventure, when we ran Gas Tank Alley with members of the Bangin’ Bones 4WD Club. Since that time we have been eager to go back and experience more of the excellent Basque food, the scenery of the Ruby Mountains, and of course the challenging rockcrawling trails. This time around we took a crack at the Broken Bones Trail.

Memorial Day Weekend is often the excuse for hitting department store sales or spending the long weekend on the couch, but a few hundred people each year choose to honor the nation’s veterans by rockcrawling the new K-2 Katemcy Rocks in Mason, Texas. This is one way we can all enjoy wheeling for a cause.

When the Nissan Xterra debuted in early 2000 it was promoted as an off-road–capable SUV designed for the adventure-seeking outdoor enthusiast. While the new platform didn’t immediately convert the hardcore wheeling majority, it did gain considerable notoriety with Nissan enthusiasts—so much so that not long after the Xterra’s release, enthusiast websites dedicated to the Xterra began to emerge.

Whether it’s splashing through a puddle, gunning it through swampy ruts, or attempting a seemingly bottomless pit, mud tends to attract wheelers of all ages and types. Sure, it’s a big mess to clean up after, but few things are more enjoyable than bouncing off of the rev limiter as waves of mud and water explode around your rig.

“You boys are either really tough or mentally retarded,” said the man at the gas station as we rolled up into Nowheresville, Idaho. “A little of both,” we replied.

The off-road hobby has something for just about everyone. From high-speed desert racing to the slow crawl of rocky trail exploration, there’s plenty off wheeling avenues to enjoy. Keith Wilson, owner of Wilson Off Road in Fayetteville, North Carolina, is a wheeler who loves all aspects of four-wheeling. To share his love for the hobby, each year he puts on the Wilson Off Road May Jam at the Uwharrie Stables.

Year after year, thousands of us drive the long haul of hundreds, if not thousands, of miles to Moab for the annual Easter Jeep Safari. The payoff for this arduous journey: Incredible four-wheeling on some of the most spectacular and majestic land this great country has to offer.

From low-buck barn beaters to 1,000-plus–horsepower tube chassis creations, mud racing has it all. And while winning a trophy and earning a little cash doing what you love always sounds great, for most wheeling enthusiasts mud racing is more about having fun than winning or losing—though admittedly, once the racers are on the starting line it’s all business. The camaraderie in the pits is what continues to prove that the four-wheeling community is one of the best there is.

The rugged lands of Maine are alive with adventure! From the rocky coastlines to the remote mountains and lakes, anyone can find outdoor adventure to spike an incredible adrenaline flow.

Huge Update! Fred's trip is complete but that doesn't mean the fun has stopped! Check out the newly added pages 2, 3, & 4 for hundreds of never before seen pictures from Fred's Cross Country Adventure!

Every March for the past 49 years the Tierra Del Sol Four Wheel Drive Club of Sand Diego, California, has put on the Desert Safari, an off-road event near Truckhaven, California. This event offers a long weekend of wheeling, exploring, and generally enjoying the desert from the seat of your favorite 4x4. We like the Desert Safari because the terrain is so unique, with miles and miles of rolling dirt hills, climbs, notches, gullies, and washes. You can putter along in your stock CJ or Wrangler, twist up your tube buggy, or squeeze through in your fullsize. No matter what, you’ll find something to play on.

When you pick up a copy of Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road magazine it’s almost always all dirt, rocks, mud, and tech. However, we occasionally hit a few non–off-road shows to see how the other side of the automotive world ticks. Recently we attended the 26th Annual Fabulous Fords Forever event at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.

Over the past few years some of the Southeast’s best public wheeling lands have been taken away from the people who loved them the most. This left many looking for new places to dig in their cleats and sparked an ever-growing trend that we are glad to see: privately owned off-road parks.

In the southwestern United States, not far from the Mexican border, are rock ledges just waiting for you. These ledges and boulders reside outside of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and are hidden in various canyons amongst prickly cactus under a dry desert sky. For the past 21 years the Las Cruces Four Wheel Drive Club has led both rookie and veteran four-wheelers through these trails during the annual Chile Challenge.