With a motto of "No Whining," 25 custom 4x4s traversed four states on a 1,500 mile on and off road trip. The 13th running of the Ultimate Adventure traveled the South from Alabama through Georgia, Florida, and ending in South Carolina. The first day saw the group check in and learn the few rules of the trip, and then begin a trek that would have them living out of their vehicles for the next week. Appropriate for the start of an Ultimate Adventure, the first destination sees the group hitting Morris Mountain Off-Road Vehicle Park where they attempt the first obstacle, "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." Morris Mountain ORVP makes sure the group is well seasoned in 4x4 carnage before they travel to the next destination.
As the Ultimate Adventure 2013 continues on leg two, the group of 25 seasoned rigs continue the week-long trek from Alabama while enjoying the locals sights with stops at Auto City Salvage and Cheaha State Park- the highest point in Alabama. The group winds its way on remote dirt roads until reaching Georgia on as many back routes as possible. Setting up camp in the rain at River Rock in Georgia, the group embraced the true spirit of UA facing the elements, vehicle repairs and maintenance before spending their first night outdoors. Starting the next day at River Rock, (only open by special invite) the group faced challenges and obstacles in red clay, sand, boulders and various terrain, with mixed results but all reinforcing the camaraderie building in the group.
Packing up their muddy gear and hitting the road, the 2013 Ultimate Adventure crew began the next leg of their southern journey in Georgia for a road day, with plans to be in Florida by nightfall. Being part of the UA means experiencing all kinds of off-road elements, including sights and stops found along the route that most people just drive past, like Allied Metal Recycling. Drawn in by the vintage Jeeps seen from the roadside, the UA crew stopped at this Mecca of parts and vehicles, and were able to scavenge, do some wrecking of their own, and pick up parts - with one group even finding their vehicle for next year's UA. Another stop at a World War II flight museum added to the day's experience before the after-dark arrival at Mud Muckers park in Florida to set up camp for the night.
The Ultimate Adventure continues by muddin' in the swamp waters of Florida at Mud Muckers Family Mud Park, the self-proclaimed largest of in the world. This place had it all: mud bogs, drag strips, acres and acres of real Florida swamp complete with 'gators, Palmettos, hanging Spanish moss, and mud holes that could swallow a truck whole. This is where helping each other out becomes a visible bond as rigs use their winches to connect and get in and out of obstacles that other trail users would be leery of. After crossing a calm, serene field that felt like it was in another world, the UA group encountered their final mud mission, "The Big Pit," an optional challenge that saw many struggle but only a few succeed.
The final episode of the 2013 Ultimate Adventure follows the well-worn group of 25 custom 4x4s from the sands of Daytona Beach towards the rain and mud of South Carolina on a 600 mile road trip. Along the Buccaneer Trail they encounter bridges, ferries, and mechanical misfortune. The final day is spent beating on their 4x4s at the Gulches Off Road park, South Carolina's premier (and only) wheeling destination. With trails named Pirates Revenge, Shipreck, Death Valley, and Radical Ravine, it's easy to see why this is such a killer park.
The Ultimate Adventure technically starts with check-in and tech inspection, but in reality the trip starts for all a few days earlier as vehicle preparation drags on through late nights and into planned departure times. The true adventure begins when tires hit asphalt spinning. Once the group checks in and addresses any last-minute repairs or tech inspection issues they load up and follow leader Rick Péwé trekking to the Nebraska Sand Hills where they await steep climbs, narrow gullies, and plenty of trees before reaching a 3-foot water crossing at Dismal River. Fred Williams, editor of Petersen’s 4-Wheel & Off-Road and host of Dirt Every Day, tags along with his custom made 1990 Dodge Tug Truck prepped to tow out any stragglers,. Catch the entire week of 2014 Ultimate Adventure right here!
Ahh, an Ultimate Adventure road day! Many would think that the trail days are going to be the toughest challenge to the well-built off-road rig, but after a hard trail day is usually when one finds the weak links. Dirt packed in the radiator preventing cooling, water in the hubs or axles wreaking havoc, mud in the wheels causing death wobble . . . The group rolls out of North Platte Nebraska, and almost 700 miles and 18 and a half hours later, rolls into their first campsite near Dubuque, Iowa to rest up. The crew is greeted in the morning at Complete Off Road Ranch by 200 acres of forested patches interwoven with corn and soybean fields, and pastures. Because of the huge amount of rain chased into the area the trails are slick and sloppy. The greasy mud in this area of Iowa requires drivers to use wheel speed to clear tread lugs and keep ahold of Mother Earth. Catch the entire week of 2014 Ultimate Adventure right here!
The crew started the day rolling out of the cornfields of Iowa ready to pound some pavement following General Rick Péwé. Not knowing what was in store, they were ready for another epically long road day, a day with wheeling, fun stops, pie, and almost anything. Suddenly the group turns off the paved road onto dirt near Smithfield, Illinois. Here they found plenty of action in the form of a flowing creek and slick hill climbs at Engquist Farms. After splashing and slinging muck up the hills the group headed to another property. With more grade, more rocks, and less greasy mud, the slope known as Rock Hill gave the crew a different kind of challenge. After airing their tires back up, the second road day came to an end. Catch the entire week of 2014 Ultimate Adventure right here!
After rolling in under the shine of headlights the previous night the group is ready for another trail day in Pike County, Illinois situated near the Hopewell Winery. With steep climbs covered with still more slick mud the crew attacked the Atlas Trail beginning with a twisty hill climb called the Pin Ball, then the rocky boulder crawl called Bad Dog where wheel speed, suspension travel, and plenty of power are a necessity. After climbing Atlas they must tackle The Mystery Trail featuring a crawl through a creek and ending with an obstacle known as the Can Opener. Next up was another road day eventually leading the group out of Illinois and into Missouri the final official state of this year’s Ultimate Adventure. Oddly, until day 7, no ferries or ferry crossings had been encountered by the clan, but that was quick to change. Catch the entire week of 2014 Ultimate Adventure right here!
For the last day of Ultimate Adventure 2014 General Rick Péwé had something special in store for the group to play at Flat Nasty Off-Road Park. Finally back on dry land after days of mud and muck the group encounters plenty of trails to test both the mild and the extreme. The first trek of the day took them to the bottom of a dry, rocky riverbed. The rocks and traction proved to be a welcome novelty before the day ended with a run up some particularly nasty obstacles named Momma Bear, Papa Bear, and Baby Bear. Catch the entire week of 2014 Ultimate Adventure right here!
Whether Cro-Magnon Man or four-wheeling fiend, humans have, since the dawn of time searched out adventure to test their fortitude and endurance. Our near constant search for extreme 4x4 based adventure is what inspired Petersen’s 4 Wheel & Off-Road’s yearly summer gathering known as the Ultimate Adventure. This trip of epic proportions has led readers, aftermarket advertisers, a support crew of cronies and the magazine staff to off-road venues around the country for the past 16 years and is the pinnacle of off-road road-trips. This expedition combines long-distance road driving, hard-core wheeling, camping, exploring, comradery, vehicular failure and trailside repair, plus new for 2015, canoeing!?. This year’s UA had a summer camp (for adults) vibe and all campers were happy despite a few late nights and daily heavy rain.(it rained A LOT!) In the past we’ve waited months to show you a limited number of photos of the fun and action we have had on the UA in our monthly publication. Today will start in the beginning with shots of the check in and safety inspection and then our first off-road day of UA 2015 where we tore up the trails at Powerline Park in St. Clairsville, Ohio
While we joke that Ultimate Adventure 2015 is like summer camp for adults, the trip is not for the faint of heart. This is not the Mediocre Adventure or the Half Baked Adventure. This is a trip for a few hard core off-roaders from within the industry and a few select readers who expect tough trails and long days. The truth is participants know to expect anything from our whistle blowing leader, head camp counselor, Rick Péwé. While road days are all about getting to our next destination a side trip or two to a wheeling destination or ferry crossing are common occurrences. In the end, day two of UA 2015 will go down in history as one of the longest road days, not in overall mileage (although we did cover some ground) but rather a day that would last nearly 21 hours. After a 6:00 drivers meeting followed by a short drive to the muddy and tight trails at Clay Valley Dirt Park near Roseville, Ohio UA 2015’s to play summer campers drove a total of nearly 600 road miles and included a ferry crossing. The days trip meant driving late that night and into the early hours of day three before arriving at our next camp site in Harlan Kentucky. While this road day was long, the wheeling was awesome. We took plenty of photos from the road and trail including 4x4s making tight squeezes between trees, and maybe even a flop or two, followed by a trip on a ferry.
Hit the road Jack (and Jarred)! Day 4 of Ultimate Adventure 2015 was our second road day. We packed up camp in the misty hills of Harlan Kentucky, unlocked hubs (if your rig had them) and started pounding pavement. A few miles down the road we found out what the canoes that (were a requirement for UA 2015) were there for as the group pulled into a parking lot along the edge of Martins Fork Lake just south of Harlan. With that Campers unloaded their vessels and headed for the water. Canoe races were the main point (aside from the cool factor of 24 rigs with canoes on their roof), but things devolved into friendly sea (or is it lake) battles. Several of the watercrafts were capsized in the name of good old soaking wet fun. Once the canoes or other boats were dry and stowed the group headed for the Helms Ferry that crosses the Powell River that leads into Norris Dam Lake in Northern Tennessee. Once across we grabbed some ice cream from a floating store and headed down the road dodging rain storms eventually finding ourselves in Murphy, North Carolina home to the Durthamtown Tellico off-road park. Once we arrived in camp at Durhamtown at about 12:30 we got set up to catch some much needed sleep. Our dreams that night were of canoe based warfare and what tomorrow’s trails would bring. Waking to the sound of a downpour outside our tent cot meant that we may be wet, but at least we were still alive. Despite the huge amounts of rain that fell on our makeshift camp in western North Carolina it turns out we did not drown or wash away, but would live to wheel another day. After a brief and soggy driver’s meeting our rag tag bunch of Canoeligans loaded up in our 4x4s for more trails and adventure. We followed Chuck Davis into the hallowed hills of Durhamtown Tellico. DUrhamtown Tellico is not named for our friend and UA Crony Chris Durham, but it might as well be. The park is named Durhamtown Tellico because the private owners come from the Durhamtown Off-road area in Georgia,
Waking to the sound of a downpour outside our tent cot meant that we may be wet, but at least we were still alive. Despite the huge amounts of rain that fell on our makeshift camp in western North Carolina it turns out we did not drown or wash away, but would live to wheel another day. After a brief and soggy driver’s meeting our rag tag bunch of Canoeligans loaded up in our 4x4s for more trails and adventure. We followed Chuck Davis into the hallowed hills of Durhamtown Tellico. DUrhamtown Tellico is not named for our friend and UA Crony Chris Durham, but it might as well be. The park is named Durhamtown Tellico because the private owners come from the Durhamtown Off-road area in Georgia, and the name Tellico comes from the now closed public trail system that used to exist in western North Carolina. Those trails will be mourned, but at least we can still play on private land in the area. The trails and area have a definite Tellico feel and are open (for a fee) to anyone with a 4x4. Have fun and enjoy these trails as we did.
Ahh, the last day of Ultimate Adventure 2015! After a successful day on the trails of Durhamtown Tellico in the mountains of Western North Carolina it was time to hit the road to more adventure. Our end point would be South Pittsburgh, Tennessee, but there was no chance that we would get there via the most direct route. Now, if you’ve been paying attention you might expect us to visit an off-road park along the way, or at the very least find some ferry that crosses a lake or river. You would be wrong. Instead somehow the fearless Péwé found a place where a few of us could drive a tank…yep you read that right a tank. Well, maybe it’s not a tank exactly, but hey an armored personnel carrier is pretty close. Did we mention it can be driven in deep water and over junked cars. The adventure is about to come to an end for the group as a whole (although many of us have hundreds if not thousands of miles to travel to get home and more adventures await). This means that all the participants of yet another Ultimate Adventure made it to the end with only a few component fatalities. Course the action is not all over until the sun sets and Adventure Off Road Park near South Pittsburgh Tennessee would provide many a challenge for the experienced and soggy UA ’15 group. Our itinerary for the day would include slick orange clay, limestone rocks that seem to be able to bite, a BBQ lunch for all UAers, and more rocks and mud in an afternoon of dessert. While all rigs made it to the trail head of the last day not all would walk…or drive away unscathed.
It’s the often-copied, never-duplicated extreme off-roading adventure trip that started it all. Take a big group of extreme off-road rigs, a gang of crazy sleep-deprived dirt junkies, and a week-long diet of hardcore trails, brutal road days, and no trailers allowed and you’ve got Petersen’s 4 Wheel & Off-Road’s Ultimate Adventure. For this, the 17th Ultimate Adventure, we gathered our usual cast of characters, including some lucky invited 4-Wheel & Off-Road readers, aftermarket advertisers who sponsor the Ultimate Adventure, our support crew of cronies, and the magazine staff and headed to the high desert of California to begin what would be one of the most epically scenic and technically challenging UAs to date. As usual, UA2016 ticked all the boxes like long-distance road driving, hardcore wheeling, camping, exploring, comradery, vehicular failure and trailside repair, and just plain seeking adventure for which the UA has become well known. This year we’re skipping video of the boring tech inspection and check-in process so we can dive right into our first trail day of hardcore rockcrawling in 120-degree desert heat. We gathered in our hotel parking lot in Ridgecrest, California, before caravanning northeast to the Isham Canyon Trail. For more action, videos, pictures check out www.4wor-ua.com.
Participating in Ultimate Adventure definitely is not for the faint of heart. While UA always promises epic adventure, it can also test the limits of both man and machinery. No sleep, soaking rain, freezing mountain passes, and in this case, oven-like heat, are all part and parcel to the UA experience. And this year was no exception. On Day 2, Editor-in-Chief and UA leader, Christian Hazel, hammered that point home as he led the group from Ridgecrest, California, up to the night’s campsite in June Lake, California. But instead of a leisurely 200-mile jaunt up Highway 395 with plentiful fuel and ice cream stops, he drove the UA through the scorching valleys and passes of Death Valley...in the summer…on what turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year. And while we didn’t lose any men, we did kill a few machines. We also visited a ghost town, got to make some trail repairs, towed out some broken rigs, drank lots of water, removed some hoods to try to get engines to run cooler, and ran out of fuel. Then, on Day 3, we left the furnace in the rear view and pointed the rigs skyward, enjoying the incredible drive and picturesque views over the Sierra Nevadas through Yosemite National Park. For more action, videos, pictures check out www.4wor-ua.com.
Sleep? We don’t need no stinkin’ sleep on Ultimate Adventure! What do you do when you spend most of the night making repairs in your hotel parking lot? That’s right – you get up bright and early before the sun is up, make more repairs, and then head out for the trail! In this case, that trail happens to be the most famous in the world: the Rubicon. Everybody with a 4x4 has dreamed of running it. Now, no matter where you live you can come along with the Ultimate Adventure as it locks the hubs and drops through the Gatekeeper at the beginning of the Rubicon Trail for the first time since UA hit this trail on the 2001 Ultimate Adventure. We shuffled ahead of a couple big groups airing down to get our foot in the door and earn a clean shot to our campsite half-way through at Buck Island Lake. And thanks to a pretty severe winter and the fact that we hit the trial rather early in the season before most of the big Jamborees rolled through, the Rubicon was all kinds of torn up and extra-challenging. We definitely put the Warn winches and Bubba Rope recovery product to the test on this one. And just when you think we’re done for the day and it’s siesta time, here comes the helicopter with our afternoon cups of coffee. Only on the UA!
Once camp is made, the shenanigans invariably begin. After a long, hard day on the trail there’s nothing better than cooking dinner over an open campfire, relaxing in your tent, and watching your buddy’s face as he realizes you’ve wired his horn into his ‘fridge thermostat control. Okay, we didn’t do the horn trick (this year at least) but thanks to our early start on Day 4 we had camp set up with enough daylight left to bust out the water balloon cannon and some fun party tricks. Day 5 began with T-cases in Low Range and hubs locked – just the way we like it. We re-entered the trail from Buck Island Lake on the way to Big Sluice. And man, was it torn up. Ground up sheetmetal, snapped brake lines, and some other broken parts and field fix opportunities were our reward for a great day on the trail. Straight through Rubicon Springs with a little history lesson on our way up the off-camber, cliffhanging Cadillac Hill. Man, the fullsize Super Duty and Chevy trucks really enjoyed that! With the Rubicon behind us we made it more or less unscathed to our night’s stop in Truckee, CA. But one of our rigs wouldn’t be able to continue. Check the next episode to see who.
You often save the best for last. In the case of Ultimate Adventure, you save the most challenging for last…which in our minds is the best. So, technically we’re still saving the best for last. We left Truckee, California, the morning of Day 6 and wound our way past Donner Lake and up through Donner Pass….with plenty of food in the coolers. After topping the tanks and airing down, we nosed into the last trail of UA2016. And what a last trail the Fordyce Creek Trail turned out to be! It starts out pretty slow and mellow, but before long the scenery and terrain become exponentially more incredible. Big winch hills and deep water crossings are this trail’s forte. And before the sun fell on our first day on Fordyce Creek Trail, we’d nearly laid several rigs on their sides, overheated some, and left a bunch of rubber on rocks. Skinny pedal throttle action anybody? Good, because it’s here. On Day 7, we awoke next to a rushing river at Committee Crossing before wading through to the other side and breaking some parts. Nobody get out of UA without some kind of malady. Whether it’s a blown up engine, fragged axleshafts, dented sheetmetal, or even a stubbed toe, carnage is the word of the day. And this year’s UA was no exception. See if you favorite rig makes it out alive.
Part 1 of Ultimate Adventure 2017. Ever hear of a day when it’s literally too hot for airplanes to fly? That was the top news story across the country the day Ultimate Adventure 2017 began in Phoenix, Arizona. And epic heat wave or not, the event must go on. After all, Ultimate Adventure is always an extreme test of both man and machine. With the thermometer hovering around 127 degrees the group pulled out with trial leader Trent McGee leading the way and Editor Christian Hazel putting the very first miles on the newly finished Cummins-powered UACJ-6D Ultimate Adventure Jeep. With the Table Mesa trail in its crosshairs the group got out of the city as fast as it could, locked the hubs, aired down the tires, and go to ‘wheeling. The terrain features razor sharp rocks and sketchy ledge climbs which the served as a perfect introduction to what the rest of the week would hold. Before the day would end we’d have plenty of near-vertical waterfall climbs, big-throttle attacks, trail repairs, welding, body damage, and some fun pranks. And as always, Day One was just a warm-up for more challenges to come. Unlike UA2016, the heat didn’t claim any victims and nobody wound up in a hospital emergency room. But as for the machines, let’s just say UA2017 won’t prove as forgiving.
Part 2 of Ultimate Adventure 2017. The standard Ultimate Adventure formula has typically been one hardcore off-road day followed by a long, slogging road day to get to the next trail system. However, for UA2017 even our road days required low-range. With another incredibly hot day in store, we began Day Two high-tailing it out of Phoenix, Arizona, into the outlying mountains and began climbing in elevation. As the trail continued the scenery got better, the terrain got a bit more challenging, and mechanical issues began to manifest themselves. By the time we got to our camp that night, we had plenty of repairs to make from rebuilding a steering box to bending suspension links back into shape, welding stuff back together, and more. Day Three began early and promised an equally slim amount of pavement as Day Two as we hopped on the DeSoto Mine Trail. With rocky ledges, steep switcbacks, and killer scenery, the hot, dusty trail continued until many of the vehicles were on vapors. After a quick fuel stop, we were back on dirt and more overlanding, taking the Great Western Trail to our final destination for the day. In the end, this would the longest off-road day in Ultimate Adventure history. But it’s not over and the rest of UA2017 would see more firsts for this event.
Part 3 of Ultimate Adventure 2017. On Day Four of the Ultimate Adventure we left Payson, Arizona, and caravanned to the rockcrawl trail, Pyeatt Draw. With huge boulders, big ledges, and dry waterfalls, Pyeatt Draw held the potential for carnage. And it delivered on that potential. Any weaknesses the triple-digit heat didn’t expose were soon made evident by Pyeatt Draw’s terrain. Before the end of the day several vehicles would succumb to its hazards with flat tires, broken hubs, a busted motor mount, twisted driveshaft, and some other axle-related issues. While the trail fixes continued, the rest of the group climbed “the filter”, which is a gnarly off-camber waterfall climb at the end of the trail that’s just begging for any driver to make the slightest mistake. A tumbling fall into the dry riverbed below would be the result. Some gave it a whiskey-throttle high-horsepower attack with tons of wheelspeed, some crawled it with a little bump, and some had to resort to the winch cable. With the whole group through, we hit the road and climbed in elevation to one of the most scenic campsites Ultimate Adventure has ever enjoyed on the Mogollon Rim, which the whole group would discover when we woke up on Day Five. Check back as the adventure continues.
Part 4 of Ultimate Adventure 2017. We awoke on Day Five to a stunningly panoramic view from our campsite high atop the Mogollon Rim. With all of Arizona laid out below us we drank in the scenery before mounting our 4x4s and heading for Flagstaff, Arizona, to wheel one of the coolest natural features in the area. The Cinders area is just what the name implies: huge mounds of volcanic cinder, or less specifically, volcanic lava pebbles. With huge, towering mountains of cinders several hundred feet high and sprawling over a wide area, the group was turned loose to explore and hammer down on the throttle. Making sure to stay well clear of any vegetation, pretty much any line is allowed here so the rigs with more horsepower put on a really good show. And those that didn’t have power to spare put it in Low Range and did their best to putt up the steep slopes. With some fun under our belt, we hit the road because we still had over six hours to get to our campsite at Jacob Lake. On Day Six we awoke at 8,000-foot campsite and hustled over to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for a Griswold view of the rim and then aired down for 180 miles of dirt adventure driving, including a visit to the Grand Canyon at its most remote location accessible by motor vehicle. After that, it was more dirt into the night.
Part 5 of Ultimate Adventure 2017. Day Seven began with some parking lot repairs in Hurricane, Utah, before the group made the short drive from town to Sand Hollow OHV for some technical rockcrawling and high-speed sand dune action. San Hollow is a completely open off-road play area with incredible sandstone obstacles. We slid in behind our local trail leaders, Rich Klein and Woody Swearingen, locked the hubs, and were climbing crazy-cool obstacles within 100 feet. With tacky sandstone providing insane traction, impossible lines are possible. As the Ultimate Adventure group made its way through the twisting, ledge-filled, off-camber terrain we eventually got to the last rockcrawling obstacle of the day called The Chute, a 150-foot-tall nearly-vertical wall that everybody needed to climb to get to the dunes. Take the right line and there’s no problem, but if you fall off the line your reward will be a tumbling roll straight to the bottom. Some had no problem, some had to back down and fiddled around a bit for the right line, but all the UA participants eventually made it up to the reward of Sand Hollow’s dune area. Once again, horsepower reigned supreme here and those with the most put on the best show, railing corners and going airborne for the cameras.
Part 1 of Ultimate Adventure 2018. While UA2017 started on one of the hottest days of the year, UA2018 kicked off in the cool climate of Wilton, Maine, right after the skies had dumped rain all night long. With little fear of dehydration this year, the group rolled out for the Rocky Mountain Terrain Park in Carthage, Maine, to wheel some of the toughest trails in the Northeast. Huge rolling boulders and severely steep climbs make these some of the most challenging trails around when it’s dry. But add a whopping 24-hour deluge which only tapered off as the group was airing down and you know the action is gonna be epic.
Part 2 of Ultimate Adventure 2018. Historically Ultimate Adventure has alternated between hardcore trail days followed by a long, slogging pavement-pounding road day, but not this year. On Ultimate Adventure 2018 the participants were surprised to learn every day would feature at least one hardcore trail. On Day 2 the Ultimate Adventure hooked up with the Western Maine Mountain Jeepers to hit the Dragon’s Tail trail in Bethel, Maine. With tight tree separation and super-squeezy turns it was a challenge getting the larger rigs through, but everybody tackled the long, snaking trail with enough daylight left to make a run to the top of Mt. Washington on the Auto Road. After a sunset tour of the historic New Hampshire mountain byway and enjoying the 20-something-degree weather and killer 100-mile views on the summit, the group high-tailed it back down and headed for camp to make repairs, cook dinner, and get ready for more hardcore wheeling through Jericho State Park on Day 3. We even had enough time to squeak in some Alpine slide fun before ending the day at the Mountain Mud Run park in Warren, New Hampshire. Wheeling, wacky fun, and repairs: It’s definitely a can’t-miss-episode.
Part 3 of Ultimate Adventure 2018. On Day Four of the Ultimate Adventure we packed up camp and headed for the next trail through quaint New England town, crossing rivers via covered wooden bridges and dirt roads passing ancient Revolution War era cemeteries before arriving in Brattleboro, Vermont, to ‘wheel the Crazy 8s trail with the Easter 4 Wheelers club. The conditions were slick, requiring lots and lots of throttle-down, smoky-tire-speed, and momentum to make it through. We had fullsizes and 4x4s bouncing off the rev limiters and the bumpstops all afternoon long and then it was time to air back up and keep heading on to the next adventure. Day Five began in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in a crazy downpour. After a soaking wet driver’s meeting we pulled out of town en route to the Sawmill trail, which lies on 240 acres of private land in Connecticut used by the Eastern 4 Wheelers club. We promptly proceeded to break parts and sling slop. With a jungle canopy above and gooey mud-covered rocks and roots below, we ended the day on the trail, arriving at camp in Ellensville, New York just before evening set.
Part 4 of Ultimate Adventure 2018. We awoke on Day Five in Ellenville, New York, at Northeast Off-Road Adventure facility. With 68 acres of trails running from beginner to expert, we restyled Rick Pewe’s hair after he lost a bet, locked the hubs, and hit the trail….and the trail hit back, pitching the Warn Golden Eagle LJ onto its lid. With the first rollover of UA2018 out of the way, we picked up the glass, thanked our EMT for making sure all occupants were okay, and then soldiered on, wrapping up our on-trail fun before heading to Red Hook, New York, to gawk at historic aircraft and early 20th century mechanical memorabilia at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. Then we snaked through New York, cut through a corner of Pennsylvania on a historic toll bridge, hoofed it through a slice of New Jersey, and then arrived back into Pennsylvania where we headed due west for the Millersburg Ferry. Ending the day across the Susquehanna River on a vintage paddle wheel ferry is how it’s done on Ultimate Adventure.
Part 5 of Ultimate Adventure 2018. The final day of Ultimate Adventure 2018 and the whole group arrived at the Anthracite Off Road Adventure Area in Coal Township, Pennsylvania. Built atop reclaimed coal mining land, AOAA provided an incredible array of terrain, from snaky rock crawling to throttle-down ledges to everything in between. We wedged vehicles between trees, got hung up on huge boulders, employed high wheel speed to get up steep climbs, winched, and went in search of a shrubbery as we meandered through several trail systems at AOAA. This was some of the most challenging terrain of any Ultimate Adventure.
The 20th Anniversary of Ultimate Adventure goes big in Alaska! On Day 1 the group departs Wasilla Alaska, airs down, and engages 4x4 to tackle the deep water, bottomless mud, and gooey silt on the trail leading to the Knik Glacier. After getting stuck, suffering some axle and tire carnage, and fixing a few flat tires, Ultimate Adventure heads back to civilization to prepare for UA2019 Day 2.
With the fuel tanks filled and several days of supplies stowed in the 4x4s, Ultimate Adventure leaves civilization behind on Days 2 and 3 and forges deep into the Eureka Trial System where the mud is sticky, the water crossings are deep, and the Muskeg is unrelenting. We find moose, nearly blow up an engine, come close to a rollover, make some field fixes, and show what real hardcore overlanding is all about.
As it turns out, time travel is possible in Alaska as Ultimate Adventure discovered on Day 4 by following the meandering Copper River until the road ends at the historic Kennecott Mine. When the mine shut down in 1938 the workers simply walked away, leaving all the tools of their trade behind. Its remote location allowed the mine to remain undisturbed for decades, a living time capsule of an early Alaskan mine. After touring the historic site, Ultimate Adventure hit the road, peeling off the pavement at sunset and engaging 4x4 because the campsite flanking the Alaskan Pipeline wasn’t accessible without Low Range and big tires. UA2019 set up camp and cooked under the stars among blueberry bushes and wildlife track.
Ultimate Adventure Day 5 began early with the group firing cold engines and wheeling back to blacktop before heading out across the historic Denali Highway, after which the camping gear and unnecessary equipment was dumped at camp to lighten the load for a serious day on the Stampede trail. Most familiar with the “Into the Wild” book and movie know this as the route Christopher McCandless walked on his ill-fated journey to the school bus in which he died. While it was too dangerous for Ultimate Adventure to make it all the way to the bus, we did find the Teklanika River as well as some of the most intense mud wheeling in Alaska.
While some members of Ultimate Adventure spent the morning of Day 6 making repairs, the rest of the group headed to the nearby Usibelli Coal Mine to get a tour of Alaska’s only working coal mine and gawk at some of the biggest, gnarliest machines in North America. After a mine tour, we high-tailed it back down to Wasilla past active wildfire areas to the Transportation and Industry Museum of Alaska which has some of the best examples of backwoods machinery in the state. Finally, UA2019 closed out on Day 7 with the best trail of this year’s event, with a trip up to the top of Bald Mountain. Crazy vegetation, deep mud, and even some rock crawling are on this trail. A near rollover, a B-29 crash site from 1956, and an incredible 360-degree view were the reward.
This is the 20th Ultimate Adventure since the original hardcore off-road event began in 1999, and this year the group kicks off from Kalispell, Montana, and heads to the challenging Blacktail Wild Bill OHV Area, which is one of the only off-road vehicle parks located inside a national forest.
The UA2020 group pulled out of Kalispell, Montana, and the calamities started right away with a vehicle fire before reaching the incredible Miracle of America Museum in Polson, Montana. Then we shifted into 4x4 and climbed through the woods to a mountain top to make camp.
Ultimate Adventure 2020 starts heating up as the group wheels back down from Caruthers Lake, goes overland through an abandoned ghost town, drives through a mile-long abandoned train tunnel full of water, and changes routes on the fly because of an unexpected wildfire.
UA2020 got the show on the (off) road early to check out evil-looking abandoned mining equipment at the Missouri Mill, and then pointed the bumpers towards Yellowstone. Old Faithful erupting, moose, elk, buffalo, and bear, and even some fossil exploration in the Wyoming badlands were on the bill.
The final day of Ultimate Adventure 2020 really pulled out the stops in terms of trail difficulty. The group locked hubs and dropped into the Bikini Trail in the Black Hills of South Dakota, but before half the group had made it through the first obstacle, we had our first flop, and it only got harder from there.
Ultimate Adventure is back for another year of wheeling, and this time around the group is navigating the grueling yet rewarding trails of Texas and Oklahoma. Today, they’re hitting up Rugged Mountain Ranch in Burris Valley, Oklahoma. Strap in, it’s gonna get a bit bumpy.
"Wheel for the day, not for the week” — that’s the motto of Ultimate Adventure, and Day 2 proves it when the group makes their way through the waterfall ledges and off-camber climbs at Cross Bar Ranch in Davis, Oklahoma.
After an aggressive first two days on the trail, the gang heads to city-owned and city-run Northwest OHV Park in Bridgeport, Texas on Day 3. Then on Day 4, they hit the road for a truly unique experience at the Vintage Flying Museum in Forth Worth.
Day 5 sees the group taking on the Moab-like terrain of Katemcy Rocks, which since UA’s last visit in 2007 has moved to an entirely new location near Mason, Texas. After that, it’s another road day to Fredricksburg to visit the National Museum of the Pacific War.
It’s the final day of UA 2021, and the trails at the Escondido Draw Recreation Area in Ozona, Texas put the vehicles to their biggest test yet.
Ultimate Adventure is back with full-length Episodes. Will the two IFS Toyotas make it to the end? How long until our full-bodied trucks have battle scars? What show will Tiger put on in the Quigley van? Follow along as we take 26 rigs through some of the best trails, roads and landmarks the South has to offer.
UA2022 heads for Dawsonville, Georgia, a small town steeped in automotive history and home of a private piece of land called "Black Moose." Get ready for some epic wheeling, carnage and one of the coolest automotive museums in the country.
Ultimate Adventure heads to Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina. FourWheeler's Ian Johnson joins a list of drivers who temporarily drop out of UA when his engine and transmission lock up. Then it's off to Pentos, Tennessee, to visit Brushy Mountain Penitentiary, a former prison that is now a museum.
On Day 5, UA heads to Windrock Park in Oliver Springs, Tennessee. With more than 300 miles of trails and technical obstacles on the side of a mountain, vehicles are always clawing for traction. The day's carnage includes a motor mount, a lower control arm, several brake lights and lots of sheet metal.
UA Day 6 is a travel day where the caravan takes on the Tail of the Dragon, an 11-mile stretch of US-129 near Deals Gap, North Carolina, that features 318 turns. The next day, UA 2022 wraps up at Coalmont OHV Park in Tennessee, as drivers abandon the mantra of "wheel for the week, not for the day."