 By Jason Once again, thousands and thousands of off-road and Jeep enthusiasts converged upon Utah's Red-Rock country for the 36th Annual Easter Jeep Safari. Officially beginning on March 23rd and ending on "Big Saturday", March 30th, And hosted by the Red Rock 4-Wheelers of Moab, Utah, this year's Safari promised to be one of the biggest and greatest. Official trails ranged the spectrum from mild trails any stock 4x4 could conquer, to wild and extreme trails requiring lockers, big tires, expert driving, and an expectation of spectacular vehicular breakage and damage. In the days during, before, and even after the Official runs, un-official runs are just as plentiful throughout the area. This year, I headed out as a passenger, with the intention to bring as much trail coverage as I could squeeze in a couple days. Leaving the Jeep at home, I hoped in with Rob Shelly of Salt Lake, UT and his locked blue '94 Cherokee. We hit Pritchet Canyon on an un-official run, and then Behind the Rocks a day later with the official Red-Rock 4-Wheelers run.
With no runs to attend Saturday, I attended the next best thing: Big Saturday! For the uninitiated, Big Saturday is simply the kickoff of all the last day's official trail rides. However, all of the rally points are smack-dab in the middle of Moab!
The scene is nearly indescribable: The ground rumbles as the streets of Downtown Moab are invaded by thousands of eager participants. Although dominated by the almighty Jeep, the streets are also flooded with all makes and models of off-road worthy 4-wheel drive rigs; some modified, some bone stock. It also draws quite a crowd.
Of course, no Moab trip is complete without the big three: Lions Back, Dump Bump, and Potato Salad Hill! Many people complain about drinking and partying at the obstacles, and it was going on full force Big Saturday. My observation was that the trouble comes from non-four-wheeling spectators that walk to the obstacles, leaving behind garbage and getting quite rowdy. If you go, swing by one of these obstacles and pick up some garbage to help clean up our image (even though its not our fault here!).
Saturday night, we were informed of a rollover at Lion's Back. Remember folks, Lion's Back is not a 2-way obstacle! If you're at the bottom, please wait for those coming down from the top.
As with any large gathering of people, there is sometimes trouble. Rowdy folks who don't have any manners tarnish our image but are not representative of our group as a whole. However, Red Rock 4-Wheelers made the greatest gathering of Jeepers from around the globe an awesome family event. Hats off to Red Rock 4-Wheelers and all the participants for making this one of the greatest Easter Jeep Safari's ever!
Big Saturday:
The air was thick with anticipation as I strolled down Moab's Main Street, and with the streets lined by hundreds of Jeeps and 4x4's preparing to hit the trails, I was even feeling a little anxious. The whole town buzzed with the sound of people as thousands of spectators began lining the streets. At right about 9am, a call came over the CB of the Jeep I was standing near, and they were off! Group after group whizzed past my position, giving me a view unlike any other.
"Big Saturday" is the kickoff of every trail being run on the last day of EJS. What makes it unique is that all the rigs are gathered in the middle of town for a "big bang" kind of start. Normally, during the week, trail rides are spaced out, and have separate starting points. It's a heck of a sight, and every Jeeper should see it at least once!
Pritchet Canyon Trail (Rated 5):
As soon as I heard a group of my Salt Lake buddies were heading up Pritchet, I just knew I had to go. After hitching a ride with Rob Shelley in his blue '94 Jeep Cherokee, we rallied at the trailhead a couple miles up Kane Creek Canyon. Our group of thirteen rigs included 3 ARCA and a couple UROC competitors, and a camera crew from a Utah outdoors show (Doug Miller, Channel 2). Rated a 5 on the 'Moab Scale', Pritchet Canyon is one of Moab's toughest trails, with very few bypasses, and obstacles with names like 'Rocker Knocker', 'Rock Pile', and 'Yellow Hill' threaten both driver and machine. Another part of this trail is the beautiful vistas and views afforded the intrepid Jeeper that attempts it.
Our group headed out, following the dusty roads and navigating the big rocks. As it turns out, we were the first group of the morning to head up the canyon, and had all the big spots to ourselves for a while. Everything was going quite smoothly until our group reached 'Rocker Knocker'. For the uninitiated, the 'knocker' is a nasty rock ledge that has a large protrusion on the driver's side. Going up, you must take a left turn, and more often then not the vehicle is forced into that rock. Rocker protection will save the day here, as witnessed by most of our group. Trouble hit when our two Toyota land cruisers began having troubles. The first one kept stalling, on the spot diagnosis: Vapor lock (turned out to be a clogged fuel filter). The green TLC then tore apart his 'Lincoln Locker' on the second ledge, right after the 'knocker'. By this point, about fifty vehicles had caught up with us. Seems the word got out that we had a camera crew with us.
More trouble struck when we reached the 'rock pile'. A vertical rock of about five feet, 'rock pile' gets its name from the football-sized rocks stacked at the base of it to assist lesser-equipped rigs. The Orange CJ7 in our group started up, and after taking a hard bounce destroyed his Dana300 Transfer case! Needless to say, only 3 of our group made the 'pile' under their own power!
More trouble hit on 'yellow hill'. It’s a quite off-camber series of large rock ledges that must be carefully navigated. First the green Toyota, while being towed, almost slid off into the ravine! Next, the brown Scrambler 'Freak Show' nearly slid off the same spot as the TLC while under its own power. Once we reached the top, the group began to head back to town for showers, repairs, and food, having cheated the rock-gods yet again!
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