MOAB, UT ZUKIWORLD’s Fun Run
ZUKIWORLD Covers Moab and Holds it’s Third Annual Fun Run
Story/Editor: Eric Bewley Photo: Sara Bewley, Jason Hutchison, Mike Hagen
MOAB, UT. ZUKIWORLD traveled to the Mecca event Easter Jeep Safari, EJS, this year with a new mindset for enjoying what Moab has to offer with a more relaxed and informal approach. EJS this year was bigger than ever with over 120 vendors at the Thursday and Friday Arena show. It seems like EJS is starting to rival the SEMA show for product releases and is turning into a ‘Must do’ for anyone vendor that is serious about being in the business.
The ZUKIWORLD Adventure Series for 2003 included a week long series of trail runs during the week of EJS. During the course of the week we were blessed with good weather and good friends as we ran several exciting and new, to us, trails. The Suzuki showing was strong this year with the notable absence of a few key vendors and people. We hope they will return next year to this great event.
Monday, we scheduled Pritchett Canyon which is considered by many to be the toughest four miles in Moab. Obstacles like Rocker Knocker and the Rock Pile which previously had no bypass and were quite impressive gave our group plenty to enjoy.
Tuesday was the only day where we met with bad weather. The rain was too much for some of the non-doored vehicles; especially if they were in shorts! Some turned around and headed home while others pushed on though the ‘Steel Bender’ trail. Steel Bender is a 3.5 rated Steel Bender trail follows a historic wagon road that works its way up from a beautiful canyon to elevations above 6,000 feet. It features 2 creek crossings, numerous steep ledges, and two challenging rocky climbs that have bypasses. We found this trail to be kind of a snoozer that made us really appreciate some of the other trails.
The following day, Wednesday, had us scheduled up for the longest trail day yet with the running of Poison Spider, Golden Spike, and Gold Bar Rim. The whole day was slow going due mostly to traffic. We found that the most exciting obstacles, such as The Crack and Double Whammy, are on the end of Golden Spike and Gold Bar Rim. Brent, from Trail Tough, took a group of Suzuki enthusiasts the other direction doing Gold Bar Rim first and in an interesting pseudo historical moment we met up at ‘the crack’ on the Golden Spike trail. We all watched as several Nissan vehicles hammered this obstacle, Most had to have tires piled in the crack so they could make it through.
Thursday came and it was off to do the Helldorado. trails. As always the lower and upper Heldorados are very popular and time was of the essence. It is almost becoming impossible to run lower and upper in one day due to the traffic. In retrospect it would be better to pick either upper or lower and do that first because you may not have the time to do both.
Friday was a relaxing day where we went with a small group to the proving grounds for some much needed relaxation. This newer trail is impressive with long vertical climbs and exciting washes that one must drive up to ‘do the trail.’
The 2003 ZUKIWORLD Fun Run was a great success. We were fortunate enough to meet and wheel with several new Suzuki enthusiasts from around the country. We said it before and we’ll say it again. If you’re into the off-road sport in any way, you’ve got to go to the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, period.
Below is a picture dump of the week’s activities. ENJOY!
