BF Goodrich Tires 4x4 Off Road Adventure - Ultimate Adventure 2003

If BFGoodrich didn't have a cookout waiting for us back at the hauler, we might still be there. Since we never turn down a free meal, we thanked Marshall and all of his great crew and boogied back into town. Our rigs were just slathered in the thick stuff.

Day Six: On the Road to Hot Springs
Try as he might, Pw just couldn't fit in any real dirt time on Friday and still get us into Hot Springs, Arkansas, in time for dinner. With newfound driveline vibrations, a couple hundred pounds' worth of mud, and some great video footage under our belts, we hit the road and meandered the flood plains of the Mississippi River on our way to the last stop of Ultimate Adventure. Those with air-conditioned rigs and radios really missed out on taking in the land, or at least that's the lie we told ourselves as we sweated and struggled to find things to talk about with our co-drivers.

But then, an unforeseen obstacle broke the tedium. We came upon a two-lane road in Arkansas that was cleverly disguised as a pond. It seems that Pw's initial off-the-main-drag route took us down a few backcountry roads and over a bridge that he worried might not support all of us crossing at once. Well, the bridge was up to the task, but the road for the next 300 yards was under about 10 feet of water and none of us had our 66-inch tires with us. So we turned around and made our way to our final hotel on the boring old highway into Hot Springs. Next time we'll know to bring snorkels!

Day Seven: Hot Springs
It was hard to believe that the final day of Ultimate Adventure had come as we aired down in the parking of the Hot Springs OHV area. Our last trail ride of the trip was led by former 4-Wheel & Off-Road staffer Trenton McGee and proved to be some of the best wheeling of the week. The terrain was a mixture of rolling hillclimbs covered with wet shale rock that made for some slippery wheeling in between the trees. This place can be nasty on rubber, and we carved up some sidewalls on the razorlike rocks. It seems that water is like cutting lubricant for tires. Not that we had anything to worry about with Jeff Cummings' staff in the BFGoodrich trailer on hand with a six-pack of spare Krawlers ready to mount up at a moment's notice to get drivers back on the trail.

By dinner time we had traveled more than 1,200 miles, conquered six trails, made dozens of trail fixes, increased FedEx's stock price with all the overnight parts ordered, had a ton of laughs, and made a hundred new friends. When you spend time with this kind of group, goodbyes are never easy. So we made plans to meet again rather than swap farewells. This year's trip was so great because the terrain was different from trail to trail; it wasn't all crawling and it wasn't all mud. From the reactions of all who participated, it sounded like this has been the hands-down best trip so far. We're just getting started and are already planning next year's trip to outdo this one. Think you're up to the Adventure? Read the story, watch the video, and keep your eyes on the magazine and 4wheeloffroad.com for information on how to enter next year's Ultimate Adventure-if you think you're up to it!

Head to 4wheeloffroad.com right now and catch video action from Ultimate Adventure! While you're there, be sure to download a best-of Ultimate Adventure screen saver!

SponsorsBFGoodrich Tires864/458-5000www.bfgoodrichtires.com

Detroit Locker800/328-3850www.tractech.com

Dynatrac714/596-4461www.dynatrac.com

Flowmaster Inc.800/544-4761www.flowmastermufflers.com

Poison Spyder Customs303/777-4820www.spydercustoms.com

Rhino Linings800/422-2603www.rhinolinings.com

Trail Ready425/353-5570www.trailready.com

Tuff Country Suspension800/288-2190www.tuffcountry.com

Warn Industries503/722-1200www.warn.com

Host ParksGray Rock ORV Park205/841-5337www.grayrockorv.com

Hot Springs Off Road Park501/625-3600www.orvpark.com

Magnolia Mud Park662/418-6284