Two Amigos, a Rodeo, a Passport, and a Trooper in Moab.

Todd Adams and Dave Killey, members of the Red Rock Four Wheelers, led and tailgunned this group of Isuzu rigs through Metal Masher, Seven Mile Rim, and Fins and Things. Rigs ranged from highly modified to bone-stock, and they all made it through all the trails. Isuzus can 'wheel!

Sleepy drivers meet at the ORC Pavilion.

Metal Masher

It was clear and sunny, the dust kept down by the previous day's rain. Those who had never been to Moab before were having a hard time staying on the trail from gaping so much at the scenery. It was a good thing that the first stretch of trail was easy!

At the first major obstacle, Randy Burleson's Amigo spun the entire rear axle housing in its axle clamps. Stock car racers don't seem to need the welds, but Amigos must, because the pinion was pointing well up above the driveshaft. This was a great opportunity to stop for lunch, since Randy wasn't going anywhere without a few minutes of mechanic-ing.

Lunch BREAK! Literally.

After an hour and a half lunch break, lots of help, some good natured ribbing, and blackmail photos, the fix was finished, thanks to George Reiswig's underhood Premier Power Welder. The group cleaned up, packed up, and continued around the corner to Mirror Gulch, a tight climbing squeeze with several ledges and a good bit of off-camber between the steps, just to add to the challenge. Dale Hartog's 1995 Trooper's power-folding mirrors received serious 'cool' points; everyone else had to fold the mirrors in the old-fashioned way, by reaching across the cab.

A good view from the back as Fred Fitzgearld crawls his Early Bronco through the squeeze at the bottom of Mirror Gulch. (Photo: Steve Gardiner)

Mike Riley's Rodeo in the Mirror Gulch squeeze.

The strap came out several times in Mirror Gulch, including once for an honorary Isuzu, but then snap... Randy Burleson's axle housing rotated again - the same break in less than a hundred yards (Editor's note: Guess I was a little too chicken with the welder -- I didn't want to burn through the axle tubes, but this was ridiculous).

Defeated for the day, Randy and an escort of a few trucks retreated out the way they had come, with Randy in front wheel drive only. A marathon late-night wrenching and welding session later that night finished a fix (for good, this time) that lasted the rest of the weekend and all the way back to Sacramento.

After a dicey off-camber section, the rest of the group continued on to Widowmaker. This obstacle starts with a four foot ledge. This ledge (When does a ledge stop being a ledge and start being a cliff?) and the rest of the main group's trip is detailed in Steve Gardiner's trail report. After Widowmaker, the group took a quick trip over Gemini Bridges, natural bridges with 300 foot drops off either side, and then group headed back to camp via Long Canyon. Check out Steve's report for an excellent description of the rest of the main group's travels that day, as well as pictures.

Seven Mile Rim

Todd Adams catches some air at Uranium Arch.

Serious sidehill, and Todd is on the downhill side! That is confidence.

All the rigs made it past the arch without the strap, though some needed a second try. Winding through the plateau between the buttes, the trail seemed pretty easy, with a few more off-camber sections. The next major obstacle was a steep uphill, followed by a turn across the hill, and a steep descent. For added fun, the valley was at least ten truck-rolls below. Todd Adams, the trail leader, pegged his inclinometer at 35 degrees, but most of the cross-slope was ONLY 25 degrees. Few liked the sidehill, but all made it across.

Dave Killey driving down the steep side of Wipeout Hill.

George creeps up the short steps and loose gravel.

The next stop was Wipeout Hill, an ugly series of ledges, with a double drop-off. Each ledge on the right side was taller than ten feet, and the left side had multiple smaller ledges, less steep but covered with loose rock. Dave Killey's crawled his locked and low-geared Jeep down the steep side and back up the loose side without slipping a tire -- complete control. George Reiswig engaged his even lower Gearwell/Marlin gearboxes, then followed suit, oozing down the steep side without even touching the brakes. He needed a few shots at the three foot ledge and loose gravel on the way up, since he wasn't locked in front. On this obstacle, one locker and a LSD vs. two lockers... it made a big difference.

Randy Burleson rode his brakes gently down the two ledges on the right, then decided to crawl back up the way he'd come, to avoid the loose gravel. He didn't think his open differentials would take him past the loose rock that the locked vehicles had just conquered. The crawl back up Wipeout Hill was smooth but steep, and promised better traction. The black Amigo crawled successfully up the bottom step, but after stalling twice on the top step, he gunned it for a spooky few seconds of right side bicycling. Tall tires and stock gearing just didn't allow enough power for this near-vertical climb.

Dale accepts a yank back from the brink.

George Reiswig flexes for the camera.

Linda and Judy headed up a fabulous potluck dinner, which culminated in a raffle, sponsored by CALMINI Manufacturing, Desert Rat, Warn, and Off-Road.com. The pick of the prizes was a full Warn winch recovery set. American Isuzu supplied handsome monogrammed windbreakers for all participants, even the honorary Isuzu drivers, and with full bellies and a few raffle prizes, everyone slept happily.

Wayne Flower and Aaron Jenson's Troopers on Fins and Things.

Dan Houlton's Amigo on Ice Chest Hill.

Fins and Things

Todd Adams led easily up the first sandhill, but some of the other trucks had more difficulty... After some initial attempts at finesse that seemed to end only in rooster-tails, most of the trucks used momentum to best the rutted sandhill.

The sandstone was so grippy that truck tires offered better traction than shoe rubber. The group had a blast crawling up and down slopes in their vehicles that they couldn't walk up or down by foot. Isuzus crawled down sixty degree hills, then back right up them. The stock rigs with smaller tires did well with their low gears, and some of the taller tired trucks actually had to take bypasses, since big tires give effectively higher gearing. The group ate lunch around a three foot ledge, and almost all the vehicles played on it, some choosing more sane lines than others. The Rodeos and Troopers went everywhere, but they all had custom-bent rear license plates by the end of the day.

Steve Wright's stock Passport dragged the rear bumper at the bottom, but motored right up Ken's Climb. (Photo: Steve Gardiner)

For more information on last year's run, check out Steve Gardiner's trail report (with updated pictures!) For copies of these pictures, either print or high-quality electronic, please email Kammy Burleson at kammy@jps.net. For questions or comments about the story itself, please contact the Isuzu ORC Staff.