4:00 p.m., rock ledges, Rattlesnake Road: About 8.92 miles into the trail, we come to our first major obstacle. The trail is becoming more rugged as we progress. Holman is driving and he has our H3 in 4-Lo as Brubaker spots him down the rocks. It's December, and long shadows are beginning to cast from the neighboring mountains. Brubaker is concerned about dwindling fuel.
4:15 p.m., somewhere on Rattlesnake Road: Progress is slow and the trail is getting more rugged. Brubaker begins to see images of sleeping side-by-side in the H3 with Holman after they run out of gas. Holman continually promises to turn around but keeps pushing forward.
4:25 p.m., surrounded by cattle, one H3 tire in the air, somewhere on Rattlesnake Road: It's getting cold, night is closing in, and we're still pushing forward. We're dropping off a rocky ledge that we're glad we won't have to ascend under the circumstances. Holman's new navigatory plan is to connect with Tom Rhodes Ranch Road, which should link us to a major paved road. Little do we know that ain't gonna happen.
 Thanks to a laid-back schedule,...  Thanks to a laid-back schedule, we had time to admire the beautiful Arizona winter sunset before we left Rattlesnake Road. |  A killer sunset waved us goodbye...  A killer sunset waved us goodbye as we wound our way out of Rattlesnake Road. That's Fourmile Peak to the left. |  The team at Kachina Hummer...  The team at Kachina Hummer hooked us up with a new tire, and they reset all of the tire pressure sensors for us too. We showed our thanks by eating all the donuts in the service lounge. |
4:30 p.m., Galiuro Wilderness: In 1964, the U.S. Congress created the 76,317-acre Galiuro Wilderness. Nobody told us. About 10.8 miles in, Rattlesnake Road ended at a locked gate. Our Gazetteer showed roads continuing on, but they were closed. It would've been cool to hike in and look around because there's lots of cool stuff in there. Like the B-24 Liberator bomber that crashed on Bassett Peak during a training run in 1943. This tragic accident killed all 11 crew members. We hear there's a plaque mounted on one of the wings that commemorates the crew's final resting place. Daylight is fading as we take in the beautiful mountain scenery dotted with pinyon, juniper, and oak trees.
5:00 p.m. rock ledges, Rattlesnake Road: With the transfer case in low-range and the rear locker engaged, our H3 had little problem climbing the obstacles we thought would be challenging. It was slow going as night closed in, though. Brubaker nervously eyes the ever-dipping needle on the H3's fuel gauge. Holman is amused by this. He loves to run a fuel tank down to empty because he knows it annoys Brubaker.
5:20 p.m., 8 miles into Rattlesnake Road: With an undramatic whoosh, our left rear tire spat out its entire contents of air through a sidewall gash. Apparently, Rattlesnake Road didn't want us to leave quite yet. Holman uttered the obligatory "What was that?" as our H3 ground to a halt. We sprang into action and had the damaged tire off and the new one on in less than 10 minutes. We have to give credit to the engineers at Hummer for the exceptional way they designed the tailgate-mounted spare and easy-to-access tools. Because of this, the job was quick and painless.
5:55 p.m., Rattlesnake Road check-in station: Holman signs us out while Brubaker uses the built-in compressor in our Black & Decker Electromate 400 to air up the H3's tires. Brubaker is convinced that we're going to run out of fuel. Miraculously, we make it to a gas station on Highway 70.
7:45 p.m., campsite, KOA Campground: We break out our handy Coleman Fold 'n Go Propane InstaStart Stove and cook dinner from a can by the light of our Coleman lanterns. All is good.
4:30 a.m., campsite, KOA Campground: It's a balmy (by Brubaker's standards) 44 degrees, but California beach-boy Holman is firing up his Coleman ProCat PerfecTemp catalytic heater to warm up the inside of his tent. Apparently, javelinas have the night off.
 Even after carefully analyzing...  Even after carefully analyzing each and every item, we still had the H3 stuffed to the max with gear. |  Blatant corporate sponsor...  Blatant corporate sponsor plug. |  Dude, I'm telling you, it's...  Dude, I'm telling you, it's this way! |
1:15 p.m., Kachina Hummer, Scottsdale, Arizona: It took all morning to break camp, repack the H3, and write and upload our daily fourwheeler.com blog. Since hitting the trail with no spare is like hitting the trail without much fuel, we called Kachina Hummer in Scottsdale to procure a new tire. The awesome team at Kachina comes through big time with a brand-new tire, and they fit us into their busy service center quickly so we could get back on the road. Our next stop was Flagstaff. Anyway, that was the plan.
2:45 p.m., Coconino National Forest, south of Flagstaff: As we drive north on Highway 17, we see a forest fire raging to the east in the Coconino National Forest. Illinois-guy Brubaker verbally notes that he has never seen a forest fire up close. Fire veteran Holman promptly exits the highway at the Rocky Road Park exit. We access a dirt road and aim our H3 towards the gigantic cloud of smoke. In a few miles the road turns rough and rutted and the smoke starts to thicken. With ash falling from the sky, Brubaker wonders if this is really a good idea. Holman enjoys watching Brubaker fidget nervously, so he powers on. A few more miles and the interior of the H3 is beginning to smell like smoke. Suddenly we see firemen. We're on the front line.
Will our boys get up close and personal with a forest fire in Arizona, or will they chicken out and turn around? Will frozen lakes and snow cause them to wimp out on camping? Will they deviate from the trail to see an authentic Messerschmitt fighter plane? Will they wake up an entire KOA Campground in the middle of the night? Will Brubaker be ridiculed by a prissy L.A. chick because of his camo pants?
Yup, they did it again. Log on to http://www.fourwheeler.com/trails_and_tents_tour/day_1 and read the daily Trails and Tents Tour blogs from Holman and Brubaker. You can read even more details about the trip as it happened, and there are more photos from the trip.