Day Three:Monteagle to Alabama We got off to a late start Tuesday morning (hey, some of us were still on West Coast time) and began our ascent out of the campsite in hopes of reaching our lunch stop and the BFGoodrich race support tractor trailer and crew by noon. The idea was to get some mild wheeling in, eat a good meal, and make a run for Alabama to check into our hotel before nightfall. We gave it our best shot, but those plans didn't exactly come together like we had hoped.
Within the first hundred yards of the trail the Avalanche sheared the bolts that held the front driveshaft flange to the Atlas, and we realized that one of the 8.1L engine mounts had come apart. To keep the pack moving, Jerrod "Winch Boy" Jones ran cable for the next hour or so to get the Avalanche moving up the trail and back to safety-or at least to where Williams (Pw's pit crew) could continue to work on it. It wasn't until after Jones made dozens of winch connections and pulls that he admitted to us that due to his desert wheeling background, he had never actually touched a winch before.
Luckily the rest of the group had an easier time with the trail, but on Ultimate Adventure, the challenges aren't limited to just what happens off-road. Day Three proved that point. While the back of the pack was still crawling uphill, the real action was back in town where the repairs and FedEx charges were starting to pile up as parts were being ordered and sent ahead to our next stop at the Off Road Connection in Gardendale, Alabama. A few of us were able to have a relaxing lunch, while reader Mike Copeland and co-driver Norb Linenfelsor were swapping upper control arms on their LS1 S-10, and BFGoodrich and Detroit Locker representatives verified that the Electrac in the front of our Blazer was functioning properly. We tried to keep our motley crew hidden from the good people of Monteagle behind the restaurant, but we still attracted the attention of local law enforcement. Not because we were doing anything wrong, but because the local police officers know capable 4x4s when they see them and they wanted a closer look. By 3 p.m. we were on the road to Alabama, where Keith Bailey had shop space, spare parts, and mechanics on hand for anyone that needed repairs, such as Feature Editor Fred Williams, who spent another long night wrenching on the Utimate Avalanche.
Day Four: BirminghamAfter a night in Fultondale, Alabama, the only bad news we woke up to was an impending electrical storm working its way up the Gulf of Mexico. Pw wanted to make sure we got on the trail before the clouds rolled in, so he called an 8 a.m. drivers' meeting and we were on the road by nine.
We spent our fourth trail day as the guests of Tony and Myra Cousins, who invited us to test our mettle (and metal) wheeling at their Gray Rock ORV Park just north of Birmingham. While not a true trail ride in some senses, this type of venue strings a series of short off-road obstacles together in ever-increasing levels of difficulty. The best part about this format is that even if vehicles break, the rest of the group can move on to the next stage of wheeling without waiting around for endless repairs.
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