Fun In the Desert Run
September 2007
Our September trip to Fun In The Desert featured Johnson Valley's Hammer Trails in all their rock strewn glory. Sponsored by Victor Valley Four Wheelers, the event features a number of guided runs through trails such as Jackhammer, Sledgehammer, Wrecking Ball, and Full of Hate.
Saturday morning found us hitting the trailhead @8:30 for a run up Jackhammer. Nathan opted to run Wrecking Ball with some buddies from Pirate 4x4. Skip debuted his new rock buggy which drew a lot of attention from us and others on the trail. While the wind blew steadily Friday night, it calmed as we entered the canyon and it looked to be a perfect day for wheeling.
Unfortunately, Glenn snapped the track bar on Dirty Blue shortly past the trailhead. We got him turned around and he headed back to camp to fetch parts from town.
Other than Glenn's early break, our group ran the trail unscathed. While Jackhammer is not an easy trail, Rocky & Richard ran it with only moderate effort. Skip chose the toughest lines at every obstacle and put on a good show for the group. His new buggy clawed at the rocks and put a lot of beauty marks on the new alloy beadlocks.
At one point, a Jeep broke a valve stem and the driver used an ARB inflatable bag to lift the vehicle. Filling it with tailpipe exhaust, the bag effortlessly supported the rig and the spare was on. A high lift jack would have been precarious at best in this situation; the ARB bag is a great idea and much safer.
After Jackhammer, we returned to camp to find Glenn installing his new track bar. After completion, we headed out to play around. Including some strapping and spotting, we had a good time in a canyon off the main trails. Nathan later returned with stories of broken axles and carnage, only to turn around and head out for more that night.
Tom
