Where:   Delta, Utah.  Meet in the fairgrounds parking lot.  Those spending the night will have access to the rock crawl course that night.  We can camp in the Fair Grounds parking lot, get a room, or just come in the morning.

Trail:      We will be heading 45 miles out of town to a trail called Chainsaw. The lower section is rated a 4-4.5 on the 1 to 5 scale. Lockers are almost required (unless you want to do some serious rallying and get pulled over a few spots) 33 inch tires are the very minimum. The trail is wide so there should be very little chance for body damage on the lower section. JK’s do very well on the lower section and part of the upper. The upper part is much more difficult, some will run all or part of the upper trail. The rest can watch the carnage, or head back down. Craig Stump ( old school Rock Crawl director) will be guiding us. He knows the area like no other, his trips are always one of the best we do all year.  Don’t be scared, you can do it !!!
Hope to see you there!!

Event Date: Saturday August 28, 2010
Parade line-up (no registration required): 5:00 AM – 9:30 AM (1st come, 1st in line)
Location: Liberty Park (Around 900 S 700 E) and surrounding streets
Parade Start: 10:00 AM
Rally Start: Around 11:30 AM (or when parade is over)

Take Back Utah protects access to our public lands and defends the freedom of all American’s to explore and experience America’s Wild Places, while preserving America’s small town economies and rural lifestyles through responsible land use.

Last year, 4000 outdoor enthusiasts and multiple users of public land from around the country gathered in Salt Lake to march on the capitol in protest of land restrictions placed on Utah’s public lands by the federal government. The protest ignited a string of events that has changed the course and direction of local and state leaders regarding the importance of public land access in the state.

If you have always wanted to be a part of something or make a difference in your quality of life, then you need to be sure to attend this FREE event.

The time has past when it was sufficient for you to simply work your job, attend to your family, and participate in church and local civic functions. If those of you who care about public land and its management want to see positive change then you MUST become involved now. If you care about the direction of this country you cannot ignore the need for you to do more. We all MUST be active citizens. We need you to step up and come to this event. Your attendance WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Commit to attending and then spread the word and get ALL YOU CAN to do the same. PLEASE take this appeal for your attendance seriously. Please come and unite your voice with all of ours.

All of the available TeraFlex Staff will be at this critical event. Please make sure that you are there too!

For more information check out www.takebackutah.org

Where: San Rafael Swell, Utah

This is going to be an overnight trip for those who want to tag along!  We’ll be leaving the TeraFlex PLUS Showroom at noon on Friday the 11th and heading down.

Directions:

Head to Price, once there take Highway 10 to Huntington, take the exit to Castle Dale.  Head East on EM401 towards the “Wedge Overlook”, we’ll be staying at the Wedge Overlook Campground.  I’ll get the GPS coordinates posted as soon as I get them.

We have maps of the swell in the showroom for those of you that would like to pick one up.  Stop by and ask the guys at the desk.

For those of you not wanting to stay overnight we’ll be leaving camp at 9:00am.  It’s only ~2 hour drive down there so if you’d like to meet up with us Saturday morning let one of our guys in the showroom know and we’ll get you in contact with Dennis.  There was cell service at the campground last year so we’ll have no problem meeting up.

Hit us up with any questions!  We hope to see you all down there!

Due to a lack of snow on the Blackrock Trail, we decided to make a slight change in plans and head over to the Rattlesnake and Constrictor trailheads. The decision paid off! We found plenty of mud and snow, enough to break everyone’s rigs in for the season! We had a great turn out and got some great pictures of the run, hit the link to see them!

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Where: Moab (5-7)
When: October 9-10, 2009 (2 days)

Our Moab trail run is usually the big one of the year, and this year was no exception… There was a 24hr Marathon bike race going on in Moab, so I guess we decided to run our own Jeep Marathon.  We started at about noon on Friday, and never let up until Sunday afternoon.  The whole adventure  began at the Portal RV Park Friday afternoon when we headed for the Cliff hanger trail head.  There were about 12 rigs in the group, everything from Bob’s near stock Rubicon to Al’s buggy.  The trail has almost returned to its original state, since the potash plant took a D9 Cat up the tail to allow for transport of some pipeline.  The start of the trail has a great gate keeper, a 50 ft wide 50 ft high chewed up rock face complete with ledges, holes, loose gravel, and sand. It’s a marvelous way to start a trail.  We all got down it in good shape, and headed for the trail. The big bike race had the bikers out in force, we ran into group after group.  It was great how courteous everyone was, we pulled over and stopped so they could pass, and they thanked us each time–yes, you could feel the love.  We were all running a trail in Moab, and peace and love abounded.  The Cliff Hanger trail has some amazing views, and some cliff hanging in a couple of spots.  The trail runs in and out on the same trail, so we got to experience each obstacle in both direction.  Everyone did great, there were really no near death experiences.  If you haven’t driven this trail, do so–it has it all.  It is challenging in spots, but most any slightly modified rig could run it.

We got back into town just before dark, pounded some food and started getting mentally prepared for a night run.  The plan was to hook up with the rest of the guys from Teraflex by about 10 and run Hells Revenge.  However, due to their extreme dedication, they didn’t leave the shop until late, which put them into Moab late.  Bob, Dave Card, and I decided to run Hells Revenge anyway.  Nothing like a good night run, especially with no moon.  Coming off the top of some of the famous steep hills and heading down into the black, adds some pucker factor to the experience.  We hooked up with Ben Falkner and the film crew part way up.  We went out to the over look and headed back the same way.  We were back off the hill by midnight, and called it good.

The next morning we met at the Portal again. Our group had grown to about 22 rigs.  Quite a few of us had never run Flat Iron Mesa, so we stayed with the plan and headed for the trail head.  The trail starts outside of town 10 miles or so, out past the Behind the Rocks trail head.  Dan Mick had graciously offer to help us run the trail, but he was going to be a bit behind us.  We started out with yours truly at lead position (not always a good thing).  We kinda missed the first right which enabled us to experience the trail in a whole new way.  We skipped about half the trail by using a cool short cut I found.  Dave Card broke out his Moab trails book, and we fired up the GPS.  After some deliberation we made a plan to get back to the main trail and we were off.  Flat Iron Mesa has never had the reputation of being particularly difficult, but it has it’s moments.  One section hangs two tires precariously close to the cliff edge while negotiating a hair pin turn.  I was not happy about running everyone across it, but mob rule kicked in and and we went for it.  Gutty group.. no fear.  Ben guided us all around it with no problem other than elevated heart rates, and some walking by the occasional passenger.  We continued on for a couple of miles and stopped for lunch.  Dan Mick finally caught up with us while we were breaking for lunch.  He almost drove the whole trail looking for us…the special route we took, was apparently a little unusual so it took him a while.  I for one was glad to see him.  He took the lead and guided us to a couple of very nice obstacles. There were slick rock sections and one place where a V shaped valley culminated with a very steep, (optional) 20 ft rock ledge. Everyone gutty enough to try it made it, after giving it some battle.  Because we ran the trail somewhat differently than most, we were able to drive up obstacles normally driven the other direction.  It made the trail a little more interesting.  Because most of us had never run the trail, it was all new to us, so we all enjoyed the run as first timers, great experience, good group.  We got back to the trail head, and one by one we jumped onto the highway and headed back to town.  Hitting the highway at full throttle after a slow trail run can get the blood pumping, ask Cody from the Teraflex Plus sales counter.  His Comanche was running on a wing and a prayer with a rod knock the whole day, but everyone was doing it.  Reason fled, he put the hammer down, and held it there until the abused 4 liter grenaded. The fun was over, so young. Total trail damage…Flat fender Tcase, Comanche motor, JK control arm bracket. We all headed to town, and food.

With Flat Iron Mesa under our belts, a few die hards decided to head for The Rim for a night run.  When we got to the top of Moab Rim, Dan Mick gave us a history lesson on Moab while looking at the city at night.  It was quite an experience, very informative, our man Dan is a wealth of information.  We all enjoyed the history lesson.  We ran out to the sand hills a ways back in on the rim trail, and did some serious hill climbs.  The sand is so soft that its almost like silt, way hard to climb.  Our full throttle assaults were successful however, and we headed back down.  We were back and in bed by 1 or 2 AM.  The marathon continued.

Sunday morning we decided to hit a quick trail before heading home.  Pritchett Canyon was the chosen trail. Not my best suggestion for a group of varying skill levels and vehicle capabilities, but the no fear mentality of the group prevailed and off we went. After two days of wheeling we were getting to be quite the team.  It was cool to see the Ranny family in their two TJ’s start to get the feel of their rigs.  They did great at following spotter instructions, and pulled off the entire weekend with little more than a fender flare scrape on the 97 TJ.  The first major obstacle on the trail is called Chewy, named for the fact that is all chewed up from the traffic up the canyon.  Several had to be winched up to keep from getting sideways on the hill and having bad things happen to them.  We really had a smooth run, everyone made it to Rocker Knocker, half the group went up it, while the other half stayed and watched me and Travis battle the hill using the straight up line.  I thought the wheel base of the JK would get me up it, but no such luck.  Travis utilized his distinctive driving style and pulled it off.  He backed of a few feet and nailed the throttle.  The front tires hit the first ledge and it jumped them in the air 3 to 4 feet.  He stayed in the throttle doing a wheel stand, until his rear tires hit the next ledge.  The bump from the ledge slammed the front end back to earth and set up the next 4 wheel in the air bounce up the hill.  Holy flying rocks and dirt Batman, he brought the crowd to their feet as he crested the hill.  Travis exhibited true commitment, by staying in the gas in the face of certain destruction, if not sanity.  There was nothing more to do after that little exhibition, we headed back.

And so end’s another great year worth of trail runs. I am seeing a lot of regulars as we hit the trail each month.  It is fun to get to know you all.  The events would not be a success with out your participation.  I have been looking into some new areas for next year, so watch for information on our web site.  We will be doing a couple of snow runs, so start getting geared up.  Thanks for all your support, even when I get us lost.  Lets do it again!

Wood out
Dennis Wood
Service Manager
Teraflex Plus
801 713 3314  ext305

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Where: Delta
When: September 19, 2009 (overnight)

Delta Utah.  Talk about the undiscovered country, last year we were impressed with the Chainsaw trail, this year Craig Stumph had another treat in store for us, Desert Mountain.  The DM area is out by the power plant about 15-20 miles outside of town.  The area is used by rock crawl competitors to train and test their rigs, and I can see why.  We had a relatively small group of Jeeps this year, 8 in all.  Craig and Al in their buggies, Pete, Gary, Bert and I in our JK’s, all four doors.  Dave in his modified unlimited Tj, and Travis and Scott in their well built YJ’s.

Craig Stumph put some serious effort into making a trail that was passable, yet challenging for our group.  He spent a full Saturday marking a trail and designing the hardest, and most fun trail I have taken the JK on.  We cannot thank Craig enough for his efforts in our behalf.

We parked our trailers at the base of a large set of rocks/mountains and started out with a bang.  The trail wound up then dropped off through some very technical ledges and narrow canyons.  They seemed very narrow to me as I watched the rocks trying to get a piece of my shiny green paint.  The area is open, so when Craig saw a really nasty little gulch with a huge rounded rock at the top, he had to drive it.  It’s almost like he has driven his rig before, because he crawled up and out with a little throttle and a good bounce.  Al decided to give it a try, and made it clear up to the rock at the top before he got hung up on his control arms.  He was looking pretty precarious and called for a winch line.  I was the closest so around I went.  It’s kinda hard to maneuver the big ole 4 door but we got it up to where Al could hook his winch to my front bumper, and pull sideways.  He was dragging hard, I thought he was going to pull me over, but he finally came up out of the hole.  We all got turned around and were back on the road.

There were several more side obstacles along the way. I was amazed at how many tried each one.  “Not scared” best described the group.  We went over, between, down, and though some nasty places.  Everyone followed their spotter and there was no damage or breakage, it was great.  I went over a hill so steep my trans lost fluid and I quit moving.  It took another faster run at it to make it over.  I figured no one else would want to try it, boy was I wrong.  Gary blasted over it in his JK as did Travis and Al.  Yea we were feeling it.  Several others gave it a try and did some nice wheel stands and burn outs trying.  I can’t even describe the rest of the trail, just one obstacle after another.  No rest, full on pay attention or call the insurance company, serious fun (now that I look back on it).

Our next stop on the trail was a gold mine.  It never ceases to amaze me how deep they punched holes in the ground, then crawled down ladders, nuts.  Craig then took us over to,THE WALL OF DEATH, not something we were interested in trying.  Craig gave it a good try, its so steep his sticky BFG’s just spun on it.  If you slid back down too fast the dip at the bottom will stop your rig cold and flip you over, nice.  The “wall” is at the base of the spot the Hammer Down Video cover was shot, quite a site to look at. When the poster was made, Brandon Gillen had several winches help drag his, (by today’s standards) nearly stock YJ up it.  Craig has actually driven it since then in his comp buggy, props dude.

We back tracked a little way and made our way back to the parking lot.  I traded Craig rigs so he could experience the ride the new Teraflex Speed Bumps provided the JK.  I had been rallying it all day, every chance I could.  What a kick, its so smooth… Yea well I kinda wanted to drive his buggy to, its so low and stable I wanted to point it up every hill I went past.  The open fender well gave the rocks an excellent opportunity to pelt my head if I went to fast, Its a buggy thing I suppose.

The rest of the ride out was uneventful, just the usual stuff–Travis lost a trailer wheel, tire, brake drum, and bearings to the desert. Never found them, dropped his rig at Craig’s and still made it home for the Brad Paisley concert.  All in a days work.  Thanks again to Craig Stumph, we had a great time.  If you get the chance give Delta a try, you will love it!

Next up Moab Oct  9th-10th. We won’t be able to use the house at the Portal RV this year so make your reservations soon.  We will be running trails everyone can do, but a lift and lockers are a big plus–after all it’s Moab.  I’m stoked already see you there.  Feel free to call me with questions, we will post up more info along the way.  Happy trails

Wood out

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Where: Manti – Sheep Trail
When: August 21-22,2009 (overnight)

The Manti Sheep Trail is getting to be one of those staples in life–kinda like carrots and celery, what would life be like without a run up the canyon? This year we had a small group of 3 rigs camp over night. The rest met us at the Temple Hill camp ground in the morning. The weather smiled on us this year, no hail storms at the top of the run, just 70 degree temps and sun. The valley was hot that day with temperatures in the triple digits, so a day on the mountain was a good call. The group of jeeps was diverse as usual: 5 JK’s with “don’t scratch my jeep” written on the owners face, Links award winning scrambler, (which made the trip free of issues) a flat fender with a full compliment of 5 occupants “safely” seated mostly in it’s roomy interior, Dave Cards Crd 60 equipped Tj unlimited, Bobs lets go camping Rubicon, and the no doors for a full view rideTj XJ team.

The trail head is literally a hundred feet outside of town; make a left and you are on the trail. It winds through the trees and climbs continuously for a vertical gain of 5000 feet or so. An older gentleman, one of the locals, talked to us at the gas station in town as we were heading for the trail. He cautioned Brad that taking his beautiful new Jeep up that trail was not a wise thing to do. He warned of rocks and really big ruts in the road, and that it would be slippery and steep in spots. Brad just smiled and said, “Now don’t you stew about us none Mister, me and the fellers here be ready for what ever that trail brings, but mighty obliged for the warning wah hah”. I think that’s how the conversation went, to the best of my recollection. Anyway we went for it fearing nothing but tree branches sticking out in the trail.

The long climb up to Skyline Drive, also known as the Great Western Trail is a continuous pull, a real cooling system test. We stopped a couple of times to let the kids out and cool down the XJ, but no one had any problem at all. The XJ lost a lot of coolant at one stop, and i thought we were going to have to do the RED DAWN thing in the radiator to refill it, but alas we had plenty of water. As we came out of the trees and the views started to open up I remembered why we like this trail so much. It was time to crank some Neil on the mygig stereo and take in some of the most spectacular vistas anywhere. No!, not Neil Diamond, Neil Young dahh, I needed something awesome to complement the visuals, gosh.

The road starts to open up on top and follows the ridge lines while making its way toward the skyline. I found myself staring at a long stretch of winding road begging for a rally. The Jk sucked up anything it hit, no banging, no noise, just an incredibly smooth ride. Was it the Jeep and the Teraflex suspension? Was it my world class driving skills eliciting these results? Suddenly I came back to reality, but where was the rest of the group? Sadly I slowed, stopped, and waited. I wanted more but was denied.

We got the group back together and continued on at a respectable speed. We stopped for lunch at the top of the skyline, about 11k feet. The trip down was much easier. We went across to Ephraim Canyon and down. I missed one turn off for a side trail we saw on the map and kept going down Ephraim Canyon. Link saw the turn and mutinied, he took 6 or 7 rigs and they saw some more country. We were down by 3:30 or so and headed back for home. A swell time was had by all. Not a rough trail despite the warning, but well worth doing. We had a herd of kids with us, it was great, they all had a good time.

The next run will be in Delta Utah. It will be a much harder run, you should plan on having lockers for this one. Last year we went to the same area and had a chance for every one to test their rig and driving skills. Its not a body damage kind of a trail, just technical and challanging. I’ll write up a description shortly, but for now keep the weekend of Sept. 18-19 open for a Man Ride in Delta.

Wood out

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Where: Parade: Starts at 200 E. 500 S. in Salt Lake City

Rally: Utah Capitol Building, main south steps

Have you ever been on the road to your favorite jeeping trail, or maybe just on your way to that awesome campsite you found last year…only to get there and find out that it has joined with countless other millions of acres of public lands that have been closed down to public use?  I think many if not all of us have had that happen once or twice.  Well, NOW is your chance to speak up and be heard!  Take Back Utah is calling together all who love to enjoy all of the amazing scenic trails and back roads that Utah has to offer.  Come and be a part of the team that will help us reclaim our lands!  Speak now or forever hold your peace…see you there!!

Help put the ‘public’ back into public land.

Visit http://www.takebackutah.org/ for more information!

Where: American Fork Canyon
When: July 18, 2009

Plan to meet at the shop, 5241 Commerce Dr. (300 W), at 8:00 am.  If it’s more convenient for you you can also catch up with us at the Tibble Fork Parking Lot at 8:45 am. We plan to depart the parking lot at 9:00 am.

We will be heading up one of the best local canyons in the Wasatch Front. This canyon is one of the most popular canyons for city dwellers, but offers some very scenic and enjoyable family friendly four wheeling.

During the day we will be running three different trails:  Forest Lake, Mineral Basin, and Mary Ellen Gulch.  Trails in the canyon are rated from about 3 to 6 on the 10 rating scale.  Depending on the size of the group we may split up between the trails.

We plan on being out of the canyon by 3:00 or 4:00 pm, so bring a lunch to eat at the top of the trail.

For more info about running the trail just give us a call – 801-713-3314.  See you there!

Wood out