After a 40-minute ride from Crawford's to our first trailhead, we reached Rough Water. This section of trail consists of two water crossings and a slew of small to midsize rock gardens. Our well-equipped group had no trouble getting through the water and rocks and kept moving quickly through the trail as we knew that shortly new groups would be on our tails. With the wealth of trail diversity in this area, it's definitely a good idea to wheel during the week if you can get out of work to escape the weekend off-road crowds. Most of the roads are one lane and can make passing quite a challenge.
Continuing through Trail Four, we began climbing through dense forestland. The abundance of trees helped keep us from falling off the mountainside. From there, it was on to Fains Ford, another tricky water crossing, where we stopped for a group photo. As we made our way across, a flurry of ATVs came through, splashing water everywhere and causing a few of them to bury themselves in the riverbed.
Just before making our way to the next section, Joe Boeck and his '89 4Runner decided to put on a little show for the camera. While everyone made their way to the right, he decided to crawl his way over the much harder section on the left of Trail Four. After three attempts and nearly rolling his rig rubber side up, he decided to pull the winch. I thanked him for the great picture.
Trail Nine, also known as Slickrock Trail presents a challenge to any four-wheel-drive vehicle. Not only is it a menacing 200-foot wall of rock, but you have to pass through a small stream to get to it, keeping your tires nice and moist for your climb. Most rigs don't make it up Slickrock without pulling the winch, but everyone gives it a try. Roger led and nearly made it to the top before succumbing to the winch. His group has a rule: When wheeling, if you can't make it in three tries, pull the cable. This helps keep things moving and fewer parts from breaking. Roger explains, "We want to have a good time, be safe, and get home at the end of the day. I have been wheeling for over 20 years, and I can't tell you how many people I have seen break down because they try to get over the same rock for an hour."
As if this section wasn't hard enough, the next two obstacles along the way were nearly as bad. Rob Theurer and his family had a tough time getting past a few boulders, but he wasn't about to give up so easily. Twisting and turning, he burned up his tires, creating a huge black smoke cloud, but he made it over.
Our last major hurdle of the day was toward the top of Trail Nine. This narrow section claimed door panels and side mirrors all day long. We spotted a custom-built rock buggy that made it look easy as well as a monstrous Jeep Wrangler running 44-inch Swampers. Our group's vehicles weren't nearly as tall and had a little more negotiating to do before this section was behind us. Brian Sapaguh purchased his red '83 Toyota FJ60 not long ago and was prepared to push it as far as he could on this day. His only hope was to keep it free of body damage, and he succeeded. He was the least-equipped of the group and spent the most amount of time on his sliders, bumpers, and using his winch, but he made it through unscathed.
As we headed back to camp, everyone was grinning at having another successful day of wheeling on their resumes. As we pulled into camp, the evening barbecue had begun, and we helped ourselves to a healthy plate of chicken, coleslaw, and beans. With our stomachs full and the day over, we were already starting to think about next year.