As the 2007 Easter Jeep Safari (EJS) rolled around this year, we decided to add something different. In addition to our usual hitting the trails with you, our readers, we decided to sponsor our own run, the inaugural Off-Road Adventures Moab trail ride. For this first year we decided to make it an invitational event for our partnering companies. We rounded up the guys who supply us with all the cool gadgets and gizmos that we ogle and awe over throughout the year, and took them wheeling. But we didn't do it alone. While we would love to take full credit, it was actually a joint venture with ProComp Tire, 4Wheel Parts and 4Wheel Drive Hardware. And last but not least, we had the expertise and guidance of Red Rock 4Wheeler member Tony Eyman as trail boss for the day. Tony's trail of choice fell right in line with EJS tradition, The Moab Rim. The same route that was used for the inaugural Safari back in 1967, Moab Rim is challenging (a rating of 4 on the EJS scale), close to town and provides incredible panoramic views of town, the La Sal Mountains and the surrounding area. Now before you jump to conclusions and tell everyone we are suffering from inflated celebralitis and setting up exclusive runs, read on to find out how you can join us next year.
Joining us for this inaugural year was Scott Ward, president of ProComp Tires. With the launch of the new Xtreme M/T radial, Ward and his crew were on hand to put the new Tri-Ply M/T through its paces on Moab's slickrock. (Look for a comprehensive multi-country, multi-state Extreme M/T test in an upcoming issue of ORA). Also in the mix of our forty vehicle procession were the likes of: Trent McGee of Superlift TV fame, Scott Becker with Rubicon Express, Rancho Suspension's Bob Willis, Chris Olander from PIAA Lights and crews from Currie Enterprises, Optima, Mastercraft and Smittybuilt. Did we mention Clifton Slay of Poison Spyder Customs in Suicide Sally, his latest Bruiser chassis monster? Overall, we think it was a pretty cool crowd of guys (and gals).
As the sun crested the canyon rim, flooding the Rim Trail and Colorado River with a golden hue, we were working our way up the initial assent from the Colorado River. With a crew like this, one would think that everything would be smooth sailing, and for the most part, it was. But as one might expect at an Easter Jeep Safari, we soon encountered (and scored some cool pics of) Moab's wilder side like girls in bikinis, rock buggies and rollovers. And they all came in the same package. But we digress.
On to the Rest of Easter Jeep Safari. The canyon lands of southeast Utah provide some of the most spectacular and awe inspiring scenery in the country. Sedimentary in composition, the region has been uplifted, twisted and deformed, the result of millions of years of torturous tectonic movement. Precipitous sand stone cliffs rise thousands of feet from pastoral valleys. Arches and natural bridges span the skies above, standing testaments to the handiwork of a hundred millennia of water and wind erosion.
While spring rains had doused the region during the prior week, the weather during this year's EJS was some of the best we have experienced. We enjoyed calm winds, T-shirt weather during the days, light sweatshirts when the sun went down and a full moon throughout most of the week. Awesome! (In the past we've been hit with hail, snow, torrential rain, gale force winds and choking dust storms, sometimes all in the same day).
In the course of enjoying this atmospherical bliss, we had a full week to hit Moab's other trails and attractions; Poison Spider, Pritchett Canyon, Hells Revenge, Potato Salad Hill (who came up with that name?) and the manufacturer's trade show. If
After five days and nights of wheeling Moab's slick rock in picture perfect weather, and chowing down at some of our favorite eateries, (Zak's, the Moab Diner and Bucks Steak House), we were sunburned and stuffed like a pig on a spit. By the time Big Saturday Rolled around, over 500 rigs lined up on Main Street for the parade out of town for a final day on the trail. In tradition with 41 years of Easter Jeeping, the Boy Scouts were on every corner selling tickets for their annual Saturday night BBQ and raffle: Which we might add, included over $10,000 in booty for lucky ticket holders.
Fast Forward to 2008
There is a strong probability that we will be doing another special ORA trail ride during the 2008 Easter Jeep Safari. This is how you can get in on it. While we'd love to make it an open invitation to all our readers, unfortunately we won't be able to accommodate everyone that wants to go. So this is how it is going to go down. If you have a reliable rig (welding broken parts can make for a long day), want to hang with the ORA staff and the industry's top manufacturers, and will be in Moab for the 2008 Safari, drop us an e-mail with details of your 4x4 and a photo to info@oramagazine.com with "2008 EJS Run" in the subject line. We'll draw a lottery and have 10 of you join us. And please plan to keep the rubber-side down!
CAPTIONS
Cruising his '76 Ford F150, Red Rock 4Wheeler's Tony Eyman was our guide for the inaugural Off-Road Adventures Trail Ride. A long list of upgrades starting with a big block 390, ARB locked Dynatrac axles, Tom Woods drivelines and 37-inch ProComp Xterrains has transformed this old farm truck into a formidable 'wheeler.
We caught up with the ARB crew and their FJ Cruiser on the Hell's Revenge Trail. With the La Sal Mountains in the background, it made for a perfect picture moment.
(Left)
Scott Becker and his team from Rubicon Express joined us for the ORA run and brought several rigs out to play.
(Right)
When Trent McGee is not making Superlift TV shows (or stuck in the office), he's behind the wheel of his Superlift Black Diamond YJ.
(Left)
Moab is chock-full of really challenging trails and Pritchett Canyon is one of them. The trail is rated 4+ on the Red Rock 4Wheelers rating system, for obstacles like The Rock Pile. This is a six-foot vertical ledge on which only the strong survive.
(Center)
We don't see many XJ Cherokees on the trail, so Henry "Hammer" Pawlak's '99 was a welcome addition. Sporting an Atlas II transfer case, Detroit Lockers, a Rubicon Express suspension and 37-inch ProComp Extreme M/T's, Pawlak's grocery getter has no issues with shopping mall curbs, or the mongo ledges of Moab.
(Right)
We got a charge out of Optima Batteries' bright red 2007 JK Unlimited (pun intended). The Optima JK hits the trail on Rancho Suspension's new JK Long Arm Kit, 37-inch Pro Comp XTerrain tires, a Warn Winch and Mastercraft seats. Did we mention they run Optima Batteries?
Chris Olander and daughter Emily, of PIAA Lights, are advocates of wheeling old school rigs. Their 1962 CJ-6 provides a desirably longer wheelbase and classic design. Maintaining the factory spring-under configuration, it has been retrofitted with an Edelbrock capped small block Chevy 350, SM465, Detroit and ARB lockers and AGR steering hydraulics. ProComp XTerrains wrapped around Allied Beadlocks provide ample traction while Mastercraft seats keep the family firmly in place.
This sand dune is really steep and most of the rigs had issues surmounting the first section. This V-8 powered FJ-40 blew by us so fast it knocked our driver's hat off.
Clifton Slay of Poison Spider Customs joined us on the Moab Rim in Suicide Sally, one his latest custom buggies based on a four-seat Bruiser chassis.
In Moab, you are usually in the bottom of a canyon, or looking down from the top of a cliff, or traversing a precipitous ledge going from one to another. Excellent brakes and high traction tires are a must. Not to mention a high tolerance to vertigo.
Once atop of the Moab Rim Mesa, a geological wonder unfolds to the West for as far as the eye can see. Precipitous sand stone cliffs rise thousands of feet from pastoral valleys, and arches and natural bridges span the skies above. All standing testaments to the handiwork of a hundred millennia of water and wind erosion.
(Left)
Currie Enterprises has been churning out custom 9-inch Ford axles and Jeep Accessories for decades. We didn't get a spec sheet on their aesthetically mild mannered TJ, but we did notice a hole in the hood and what looked like a blower protruding from the engine bay.
(Right)
The guys at the top actually do go four wheeling. Last year we found Scott Ward, president of ProComp Tire, cruising Lion's Back (which is now closed) in a four-seat rock buggy. He showed up for our Moab Rim run in an ultra-clean Jeep Scrambler.
If you are like most of us, our earliest memories of camping include getting to drive dad's truck. The EJS is very much a family event. Moab has dozens of campgrounds, hundreds of cabins and condos, and hotels to fit any family's ideas for their kids first off-road experience.
In contrast to a decade ago, the vendor display has grown from several dozen companies to several hundred. It has become the spring gathering and a literal "Who's Who" in off-roading. Everyone from Bestop, BFGoodrich, PIAA, ARB and Jeepers Jamboree, to Tread Lightly, Premier Power, Superlift and Rubicon Express were on hand to display their goods. We usually dedicate an entire day to drool over all the new gear.
Rick Russell, the mastermind behind Sidekick Videos, calendars and books, leveraged his celebrity status (and charismatic mug) to raise money for the Multiple Use Defense Fund. 4 Wheel Parts and ORA supplied the photos and frames, Rick volunteered his time, and for a voluntary donation to keep Moab's trails open, trade show attendees could take home an autographed photo with the fuzzy faced celeb.
If you hit the trail with your Jeep, a BBQ and the sofa from your front room... you could be a red neck.
