Land Rover National Rally
October, 2010
Moab, Utah, USA
The Solihull Society, also known as the Colorado Land Rover Club, puts on a National Rally every year. On the even years, the event is held in Moab, Utah, usually in the fall when the temperature there is more comfortable. But on the odd years it's held in the summertime, and at different locations around Colorado.
The fall foliage colour was in full display.
The 2010 rally was our second national rally, and was held in late October. The weather and temperature were perfect, as was the colour in the area from all the deciduous trees sporting their fall foliage. We arrived in Moab a few days before the rally, and set up in the RV park across the highway from the event grounds that served as rally headquarters. A perfect location considering the early morning start times for the trail rides. We also stayed a few days after the rally so we could tour the area and enjoy the beautiful landscapes.
Cliffhanger Trail
Cliffhanger is one of the most difficult trails in Moab, at least so said our trail leader on the day. The combination of terrain and wet conditions made it difficult to get up some of the obstacles.
Perhaps this is the reason why only three trucks lined up behind the trail leader. We lined up because we knew who the trail leader was going to be, and felt this was our best bet at tackling a hard trail. The fewer trucks meant that we would get more one on one help than usual.
Before we had gone about a quarter of the way on the trail, one of the trucks broke their front axle trying to get up the obstacle. It was largely his own fault as he was a bit too gung ho, and wouldn't listen to the advice of our trail leader and the other truck owner. Both of individuals had a great deal of experience with extreme trails. So we ended up just three trucks total on the trail, which is the lowest number we've ever had on a trail. It was really terrific.
Cliffhanger Photos
Hell's Revenge Trail
Of the trails that were offered for this rally, Hell's Revenge was one of the easier ones. Despite this, though, there were some obstacles along the trail that were extremely difficult, if someone was of a mind to try them.
Since the trail was listed as an easy ride, a larger number of vehicles lined up behind the trail leader each morning. This larger number of participants meant a longer day, and more waiting around while each truck tackled the various challenges along the way. What exacerbated the delays from the higher number of vehicles, was the fact that we had a terrible trail leader. He seemed to think that obstacle guiding could be done by each person that completed the obstacle. So a participant who just completed the obstacle, was now expert enough to guide the next person through it. The fact that only a few drivers were trained on how to properly spot for others didn't seem to enter his thoughts. That is until I explained to him about his responsibilities and potential liabilities as trail leader, if someone was injured, or a vehicle damaged, because of unqualified or unauthorized people trying to help someone else through a difficult section of trail. Despite this however, he still did his own thing rather than acting as the trail guide and rally host for the day. This was the first negative experience we had encountered at a rally, and unfortunately, it wouldn't be the last.
Hell's Revenge Photos
Poison Spider Trail
Poison Spider was another easy trail, with great scenery and a few spots that were difficult if someone wanted to try them. On this ride, we had a trail leader that was much more engaged with the rally participants than the trail leader the previous day, but unfortunately his spotting skills were not as good as they could have been. As a result, a truck did end up on its side. But no one was hurt, and the vehicle experienced no damage because of the way it laid over. The driver was extremely experienced, so this was a good example of a great driver following the instructions of the trail leader, even when he shouldn't have. Nevertheless, it was a great day on the trail, with really terrific people.
