ultimate Adventure 2011 - trail Truck Side Shot - Photo 33732806

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Matt Kime was the lucky reader who was along for his second UA. His co-driver, Ben Brewer, was an incredible help on the trail, always Johnny-on-the-spot when someone needed a hand with repairs or winching and recovery.

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There’s nothing more calming on the UA than rolling down a small country road early in the morning with a great bunch of guys and cool 4x4s. It’s one of the best ways we can think of to explore this great nation.

Bluff Dwellers Cavern in Noel, Missouri, was a very cool stop for all of us, and we highly recommend visiting to anyone passing through. The cave was discovered in 1925 and has been kept in pristine condition.

Inside the cave the air temperature is always a refreshing 56 degrees. Our friendly guide gave us a tour of the many rooms and pointed out the wildlife that inhabits the cave, the amazing geological stalactite and stalagmite features, and a lesson in the cave’s history.

We can’t figure out where we picked up this hitchhiker or just what the heck he was doing in this part of the country. The stops we make on the UA are almost always unusual and strange.

Halfway to Wheelin’ World we stopped at the old Eureka Springs train tunnel, which was built in the late 1800s. Some of us hiked up and over the collapse, through the slick mud, from one end of the tunnel to the other. Stopping at the tunnel was an adventure within an adventure!

Our road trip on Day 5 took us well into the evening, so we didn’t arrive at camp until night. We covered a lot of ground making our way from Oklahoma to Arkansas and were ready for a hardcore trail day.

Carter Reed and Dave DeVormer were still having a little trouble with their Comanche’s front axle. The worked on it from the time we arrived at Wheelin’ World until sunup and finally got it fixed. The nighttime repair lasted the rest of the Ultimate Adventure.

Waking up in the morning to the old cronies’ traditional UA breakfast is always a thrill because of the fine Spam-and-egg burritos. The gut-busting redneck breakfast banquet usually gives us plenty of energy for a long trail day.

We know the photo doesn’t show the angle in perspective, but this was one of the most hair-raising obstacles of the event. The hill leaned vehicles (notice the front driver’s tire off the ground!) toward the edge of a drop; the rigs would have rolled 100 yards before stopping.

We ran across a lot of old bridges like the Beaver Bridge near Beaver, Arkansas. The bridge crosses the White River and was built in 1947. It’s almost in the exact same condition now as it was back then.

Readers Corey Osborne and Terry Hawkins did some expert wheeling on the UA and worked very well as a team. Corey’s TJ faired even better, with no breakage and only a few loose transfer case bolts.

Enjoying the tight turns, rocks, and logs at Wheelin’ World, Verne Simons (driving) and Trent McGee were great for a little comic relief. On the last night at Wheelin’ World, the word is that the two snuck around in the dark and disabled the A/C on the rigs that had it!

We are always impressed with Tim Hardy’s driving and his ability to get his lightly powered Samurai and trailer through all the obstacles with the rest of us. Next year we are going to take up a collection and buy Tim some new tires!

Everyone on the Ultimate Adventure quickly gets used to having a camera in his or her face. Being the star of the show, Editor-in-Chief Rick Péwé can always be found throwing video blurbs at ol’ Sweaty Pants Harrington.

One of the last hillclimbs of that day at Wheelin’ World was incredibly slippery due to loose gravel and dirt. The Hemi-powered Warn JK with Fred Perry at the wheel blasted up the hill with ease. We attribute the ease with which he made it up the hill to pure horsepower and Old Man Perry’s skillful ways.

Making big look good, Stephen and Brandon Watson from Offroad Design always impress everyone with their skillful off-road driving and smart-alecky comments, especially during the drivers meetings. Never a dull moment around those two.

We found (left to right) Ali Mansour, Stephen Watson, and Mel Wade looking under the hood of Ali’s TJ. Pretty sure it was about the mysterious loss of 20 hp. Ali was expressing his lack of enthusiasm for the 5.9L engine conversion while Mel sang “So Sad” in his best tenor.

Matt Kime was the lucky reader who was along for his second UA. His co-driver, Ben Brewer, was an incredible help on the trail, always Johnny-on-the-spot when someone needed a hand with repairs or winching and recovery.

We were ecstatic to have Nitto Tire and Tim Coltey on the UA for the first time as sponsor and representative. Mel Wade drove his Off-Road Evolution JK for Nitto, and the Jeep was sporting tough new 40-inch Nitto Mud Grapplers. The Grapplers performed flawlessly throughout the event.

Sam Patton of Sam’s Off-Road is smoking his way up one of the day’s toughest obstacles, like he blasted up every obstacle in his cool old CJ. His Jeep is proof that leaf springs still work exceptionally well in tough terrain.

Food, folks, and fun! The staff at Wheelin’ World threw an incredible BBQ for us. It really hit the spot after three days on the road. Note: Watch your chrome-plated plastic cutlery with Feature Editor Ali Mansour (right) around.

Along the Pig Trail Scenic Byway in the Arkansas National Forest we stopped at one of the last liquor stores before crossing the border. Picking up beer with a normal octane rating that we wouldn’t be able to purchase in Oklahoma was a must for some. For some, not having a beer around the campfire just isn’t camping.

We arrived in Etna, Arkansas, around noon and met our contact, T.K. Dictson (left). He explained what happened the day of the tornado, who we would be helping for the day, and where to start. The entire area was still eerily devastated, and there weren’t many buildings left in the community. We were stunned by the devastation. The community of Etna was almost completely wiped out. We were all glad to do whatever we could for the people there.

The county was still picking up the debris according to material types, so our UA crew made piles according to how it might be recycled. Our crew of about 50 people made separate piles of trash, wood, and metal. We cleaned up one residential property in about two hours.

Our trucks, winches, and snatch ropes came in handy as we hauled debris and trees away. It’s amazing the amount of work a small volunteer crew can do in just a short time.

Making a separate pile of personal belongings for the family that lived here really drove home how vulnerable we are to Mother Nature.

When we rolled into Atoka later that evening the temperature was still blazing hot. After one good restful night in an air-conditioned room, we would be more than ready for the trails on Saturday.

The fullsize V-8 FJ-60 owned and driven by Chuck Wigham with co-driver Mike Rasmussen amazed all of us on the trail. We thought it might be a little too large for some of the trails, but with Chuck’s driving skills and Mike’s spotting, they rarely needed winch help.

Dave Chapelle is one of those UA cronies who are great four-wheelers. We can’t tell if we feel sorry for him because his co-driver always seems to be the group’s slightly touched comedian, Tom Boyd!

The rocky trails at Buck Creek Ranch were challenging and tons of fun. Keith Bailey, a longtime UA regular, is owner of Off Road Connection is Fultondale, Alabama, and a great all-round guy when it comes to trail repairs, spotting, and comical fun.

One guy makes every obstacle every time: Chris Durham. He not only makes the obstacles, but he almost always picks new and tougher lines, pushing his limits while motivating everyone else.

Ricardo Olavarrieta and Faron Tidwell represented Bubba Rope and wheeled around in Ricardo’s heavily modified Nissan Xterra. Ricardo owns ROCO 4x4 in Miami and quickly became known on UA as the quiet and casual guy who makes all the obstacles.

Our faithful tail gunner, Clifton Slay, has a whole slew of past and crazy UA stories to tell anyone who will listen. Clifton is a great help and is the go-to guy when anyone gets into a tough situation on the trail.

Blake Shepherd wheeled one of the few fullsize Jeeps we’ve seen in years on Ultimate Adventure. The old J-10 Honcho performed exceptionally well, even while being abused at Buck Creek Ranch.

Once the guys from Zone Off-Road got the front axle of their Comanche squared away they finally got into the tougher obstacles and were able to have a blast. They blasted right through the Say No to Joe Trail.

A Nissan Frontier isn’t a truck we see on the UA very much, and Mike Marrero’s was a great addition to the group. His co-driver, Donnie Roebuck, was a UA returning veteran and an all-round great guy helping out on the trail anyway he could.

After a week on the road and off, the Ultimate Adventure finally came to an end. The staff, film crew, old cronies, and readers had an awesome adventure and can’t wait for next year.