backwards out of the white stuff. The trail took us ever upward and we drove past Dark Canyon (suitably named) and Big Notch. That night we camped among the pines and snow. Before dinner, Mark replaced a headlight bulb and then cleaned everybody’s windshield. After dinner the younger crowd, namely those who could still breathe and run at this altitude, played a game of softball while us oldies sat round the blazing campfire, enjoying Bill’s observations and entertaining personality. The next day we broke camp and drove towards Beef Basin, stopping en route at another overlook with magnificent views. Further down the trail we stopped at a formation aptly named the Flame. Alas, the temptation was too much for the Fun Zone, and off they set to climb it, while the rest of us set off, since the trail was pretty straight ahead of us. Entering Beef Basin, we stopped at the ruins of an old Tower, and then further on we stopped at the site of an old Indian farm. Leaving the farm, our convoy attracted the attention of local cattle grazing nearby— Arto’s red Discovery and Sarah’s orange G4 appeared to get special interest from a rather feisty young heifer. The trail then led us towards SOB Hill and adventure time. This part of the trail has been written about in several magazines for its difficulty. It appeared that it was going to be somewhat more difficult today since parts of the trail had been washed out. Slipping into our Camel Trophy mode, we set about building parts of the missing trail. With spotting help from Bill, Arto, Darrell and Mark, after some time the convoy gingerly picked its way down the trail to the road far below. That night, we camped for the last time in a rock walled corral named Bobby’s Hole. For our last day with Bill we set off heading through the Needles District with breathtak4-Wheel Drive Off-Road Safety Training for industry, ing rock formations on government and recreation. Private training available. either side of us towards Visit www.bb4wa.com for dates and locations of our Chessler Park. The trail trips, expeditions, adventures and training classes. took us towards another
climb through the rocks, the last part being so narrow we had to reverse to make the final turn to climb out. All went well until Laura, driving Darrell’s Range Rover Classic, started the climb. An apparent miscommunication between driver and passenger meant the Rover did not follow Bill’s direction, resulting in a snapped rear axle. Bill once again came to the rescue and guided the Rover down the hill, where an hour later, the axle was swapped out with a donated one from the Caldwell’s. We set off again, slowly descending with a lot of rear ends banging down Silver Stairs towards our last lunch stop at Confluence, where the Colorado and Green Rivers meet. Another brisk hike up to the viewing spot gave us a wonderful view of the two rivers. After lunch we set off for Elephant Hill. Climbing up this switchback required us to reverse when we were halfway up, so that we could make a very sharp turn and continue. Everybody made it up without drama and then we got to do the same maneuver on the way down. Leaving the Hill and heading towards Newspaper Rock, our goodbye hugs and tears spot, we stopped off to air up and change our air filters. Off-roading with Bill Burke provided us all with the hands-on, scenario-based, real time training that enhanced our off-road skills. Darrell Oliver would later say that, “Bill made it clear that he was the trail leader and that we had asked him for his expertise and knowledge. Following his instructions taught me a lot—and that he’s a very intelligent, very interesting guy!” Things I learned: 1. America is one hell of a beautiful country. 2. A Trasharoo is a very important off-road accessory. 3. Good friends are precious. 4. I need to improve my left foot braking technique. 5. I’m doing another trip with Bill next year. // [For more information on Bill Burke’s 4-Wheeling America, visit www.bb4wa.com —ed.]
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