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Skyjacker®
Run @ Steelbender
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Photography by Sven Schlogl &
Jordon Solomon
Skyjacker
hosts an annual trail run and invites
friends, business partners and sponsors.
In the morning over twenty vehicles lined up
in the Spanish Arena and after a briefing
the convoy was ready to tackle the
Steelbender Trail. We snaked down the sandy
road and crossed a creek before we got to
the first obstacle. Xtreme 4x4 TV joined us
on the run and so we gathered at every photo
opportunity to give the cameraman a chance
for a good shot.
 
The
terrain is mostly sand with some rocky
sections. The first challenge was a series
of rock ledges with a good portion of sand.
There was a number of lines to choose from;
some were fairly easy but there were also
tough parts. Rig by rig climbed over the
obstacle and we pushed on through the great
scenery of Moab’s surroundings. Slowly we
worked our way through to the lunch spot on
top of a plateau. This was a great chance to
meet people, exchange ideas and marvel upon
the many vehicles. With a group that big, it
took time to tackle the rougher sections but
all trucks were heavily modified and nobody
had any problems continuing. Especially the
drivers of rock buggies were looking for the
hardest line possible and this again made
for amazing photo ops. The group looped
around the plateau and made its way down
some rock steps. Several other obstacles
were scattered along the way; one climb up a
portion of rock and sand proved to have some
challenging lines. Near the top of this hill
a vertical ledge provided a great challenge
for the extremely modified rigs. Further on,
an off-camber drop over a big rock with
loose gravel at the bottom made each truck
lean dramatically towards the valley floor.
 
Close to
the end of the trail we had to cross another
creek with a steep exit on the other side.
We stopped to look at ancient pictographs on
an enormous rock wall. Unfortunately some
not-so-ancient carvings added by modern
visitors destroy the effect of historic
relevance.
Only a
couple of minor vehicle issues came up
during this run and there was no major
delay. We were able to get all vehicles back
to the arena in one piece and brought home
more stories to tell. We all enjoyed the
beautiful day in the company of some fellow
wheelers and are looking forward to next
year’s Easter Jeep Safari.
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