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Ahhh, Moab. I first visited there in the mid 80s and was amazed at the recreational gem it was for OHVs. I was there to mountain bike that year and the town was just figuring out that a dedicated festival for mountain bikes in Moab would be a hit. It was. The town was much less developed then and the years since have seen a lot of growth in housing and resources for the community. This year marked the 40th annual Jeep Safari hosted by the Red Rock 4-Wheelers.

This was the first time I had been there for wheelin’ so I was eager to hit the trails I had biked over so many years ago. I would be meeting up with the Austin clan from Oklahoma. David Austin, wife Judy, and son Brad would be camping with some other folks they had met when Brad competed in the Top Truck Challenge 2004 and 2005. Brad won the 2004 TTC and this year he had a brand new buggy to break in on the sandstone of Moab, Blue Beast 2.

Our campmates included Stan Pruiett and family, the owner of T-Rex, a 6 wheel drive Dodge ¾ ton pickup that is pretty unique to say the least.

Also in camp was Robin and Teresa from Canada, and they had hauled their racing rig, the White Knight, down from the frozen north to compete in the XRRA event later in the week. Both Robin and Stan are past TTC participants. Check out www.whiteknight.ca

Day one: Hell's Revenge

Monday was a warm-up day for the Austin clan. I rode along with Papa Austin and Judy rode with Brad. We looked at the schedule for the trail runs for the Official Festival so we would interfere as little as possible with the organizer's runs. In fact, quite a bit of controversy was stirred up when the Red Rock 4 Wheelers got permission from the BLM to reserve some of the trails for the Safari only on certain days and make some of the trails one way only. I cannot complain since the amount of work they put into the event must be staggering. The one way signage makes sense and the reserved trails may raise some hackles since it is ‘public land’, but it allows them to have more control over the hundreds of Jeeps on the different routes.

We lined up at the trail head for Hell’s Revenge.

We were not the first group there, so we took our place along Sand Flats Road and waited for the group in front of us to move. I took the chance to shoot some picks of this amazing restoration that was part of a group from Maryland. They truck the Jeeps in to Moab and then fly in from the East coast to join them. Wow. Cool little green flattie. It even had the OE spare tire from Uncle Sam.

I also saw a group of the new Toyota FJ Cruisers heading up the slickrock. They looked slightly modified, but basically stock. Interesting.

Brad’s and David’s Jeeps are pretty serious stuff. Built for the steep ledges and muddy trails of Oklahoma, the big Swampers and Rockwell axles did the trick on the steep slopes and ledges of Moab. Brad built his new rig with a Scrambler half cab top and incorporated a 50’s looking pick-up bed for storage. Dad let the 44 inch Swampers at the ends of the Rockwells be the ‘cool’ for his rig. In fact, he was too cool to have padded seats in that yellow monster. Note to self: Sandstone is bumpy…plastic seats are hard…C4x4 editors are not as young as they used to be.

Hell’s Gate is a seriously steep and twisty chute that drops down one side of a slickrock dome and then climbs back up the other side. This is the stuff that sets Moab apart as the incredible traction on the sandstone makes this kind of feat possible. The pics do not capture how steep this really was. Amazing to watch and even more amazing to drive!

We played in the Hot Tub where the slick surface denied anything less than a full on attempt. Since we had a long week ahead of us, we gave up and moved on.

Later in the day we came across this smaller hot tub that was more attainable by mere mortals. A bit of help with a strap and even the short wheelbase Jeeps were able to climb out. Cool rigs were everywhere and I saw this stretched flattie on Hell’s Revenge. Also, check out the nifty frenched lights in the tube fender on this YJ.

It is hard to know what is the best part of Moab; the trails or the beauty of the surroundings. Here Brad flexes out Blue Beast 2 with the Manti La Sals in the background.

Hell’s Revenge is a classic slickrock trail with the most difficult sections as options. It is just above town in the Sand Flats Recreation Area, a fee use area and is a great trail to get your feet wet on the Moab sandstone.