by Terry Pritchard
Torque Staff Writer
Dear Diary,
We made a new friend today.
See, right before our trail ride Tuesday morning, we found out it was Liam’s birthday. He turned 13. And what an awesome way to celebrate by being out in Moab, Utah with his family. By the way, Liam shares his birthday with his dad, Cory.
At the Metal Masher trailhead, where we were setting up for a ride with many of our industry partners, we invited Liam to climb up into the bed of the JTe and then led the way as a crowd of drivers and passengers sang a resounding “Happy Birthday” in not so perfect harmony, but filled with joy and friendship.
Unfortunately, Cory wasn’t able to hear the celebration as he was back in town working on his Willys’ Jeep starter motor.
Metal Masher isn’t for the faint of heart. And with plenty of sandstone ledges, as well as slickrock slopes and vertical rock walls, there were plenty of areas to demonstrate off-road skills.
So, our large group of eager wheelers pushed onto the famous trail leaving the trailhead behind in a small cloud of dust. Like almost every other trail in the area, Metal Masher contains obstacles with various lines to choose based on ability or courage level. And it was exciting to watch the courageous and monstrously built Jeeps attack and work through enormous piles of boulders, like the famous ‘Rock Chucker’ that used to serve as part of the trail, but now is more of a playground for beefed up vehicles.
As exciting a show as these rigs put on, the overall trail itself isn’t a fast excursion. With around 45 miles of off-pavement driving and a group of more than 20 Jeeps, we knew it would be a long day. In fact, during the trail's first obstacle, two small groups not associated with us were already right behind and intermingling.
When you are on a trail like this, there really are not many places to pass or overtake another group. And bottlenecks can occur at major obstacles. As we were climbing through the narrowest portion of the trail called ‘Mirror Gulch’ — a small, tight canyon with increasingly difficult stair steps, one Jeep in our squad had a mechanical problem. Believe it or not, it was an LJ driven by Liam’s mom, Amanda, that bound up its front drivetrain while climbing a rocky staircase.
After assessing damage and determining next steps, our group decided there was enough room on the LJ’s right for the remainder of the group to safely pass and continue to the overlook at the top of the trail.
One group that was patiently following us most of the day, was a bunch from Tennessee. As they encountered the disabled Scrambler, they immediately offered their assistance as well. And the teamwork between our two groups was incredible as everyone contributed to fixing broken parts and getting the vehicle worthy enough to finish the trail.
Meanwhile, at the Arth Rim overlook, which provided a spectacular view of the surrounding area north of Moab, including Arches National Park and a long stretch of U.S. Hwy 191, Liam, his brother Cullen and another youngster played in between parked Jeeps while also taking in the sights.
Soon enough, Tread Lightly!’s Scott Ammerman took control of the partially fixed-up Scrambler and limped through a few remaining obstacles and then a series of dirt and maintained roads back to Moab. Amanda, Liam and Cullen were disbursed into empty seats in the remaining vehicles.
The younger Cullen actually rode back with our Video Production Manager, Rob, who engaged with Cullen throughout the ride. Rob quickly determined the boy wasn’t so much frustrated about the vehicle breakdown as he was excited about the overall day.
Even after all the delays and disruptions, Cullen told Rob he really had a great time. And when Rob asked what the best part of the day was for the youngster, Cullen replied simply “I made a new friend.”
After all, being part of an amazing Jeep community should be about making new friends, helping out each other when needed and enjoying trail adventures, right?
And, yes, it was definitely a great day. We also made a lot of new friends.
