Oh, Canada

Earning the Hard Luck award for the day after gashing the sidewall of one of his brand-new 38-inch Super Swamper SX tires, among myriad of other issues, Rob Brooks piloted his well-built '81 Toyota pickup through the obstacles with ease. The rig uses dual transfer cases, high-pinion Detroit Locker-equipped Dana 44s in the front and rear, and the stock 22RE engine.

After toasting two Birfields during the first day's run, Ryan Dey of Victoria had his rig fixed up and back in action in no time. Ryan's '84 Toyota rolls on 36-inch Swamper radials and uses dual transfer cases and a Marlin high-steer system.

Ingo Bludau of Vancouver was unstoppable in his '88 1/2 Suzuki Samurai. The rig rolls on 36-inch TSL SX Swampers and uses ARB-equipped Toyota axles, 4:1 transfer case gears, and a twin-cam Suzuki Swift engine featuring a custom rev limiter. Dirt diva Cara Duffield sat shotgun throughout the weekend.

Chris and Janet Calhoun joined the group in their '00 Jeep TJ. The TJ clears 35-inch BFG Krawlers, thanks to a Rubicon Express long-arm suspension system.

Bruce Richards of Victoria piloted his Suzuki SJ410 "Brent-lift" buggy through Carnage Alley with ease. The rig uses Toyota pickup axles with welded diffs, dual transfer cases, a 1,000cc engine, and 33-inch Goodyear M/TR tires. Technical dictionary Cody Jones hopped in for a ride through one of the nastier sections.

Ingo "I got your back" Bludau gave it his all in Carnage Alley, pitching the rig over twice and crushing some sheetmetal in the process. Ingo blamed the incident on a stuffed rabbit hanging from the rollcage, but indicated that it may have been due to a faulty rev limiter.

Jo-Jo Poole led the way through a trail called Huckleberry while testing the rollover angle of his $600 CJ.

Tim Johnston got pretty creative driving his '83 Suzuki SJ410. The rig uses Suzuki axles but is open in the front, which presented major issues in the loose wet stuff. Luckily, however, Tim's SJ features dual transmissions, so he had plenty of gear selections to try out before resorting to winch assistance.

Continuing his string of hard luck, Rob Brooks busted his front driveshaft shortly after gashing his sidewall. Rob completed a quick fix using two batteries run in a series and some welding rod Jo-Jo found in his CJ.

Recognizing that they were having more fun than us, Bruce Richards and Brent Johnson insisted that tech editor and cameraman Christian Lee get behind the wheel of the Brent-lift buggy through the remaining section of Carnage Alley. Christian managed to pitch the buggy over two times inside of two minutes, but did so without sustaining too much damage (he hopes). Thanks for the ride, guys.