BOAR 2017 began in the same spot as where we met back in 2013 for the first BOAR run, in the corner of the Saratoga springs Wal-Mart parking lot. 3 billboards, 2 north and 1 south of the meeting spot, were displaying a welcome message from 7-9 for our participants.
After a slight delay, we handed out the swag bags, signed waivers, history packets, went over rules, and then hit the road for Elberta.
After a quick stop to air down, the group proceeded up to, and through, the Elberta Slant train tunnel. We then headed up to Eureka, back down through the Allens Ranch area, and took a break at Little Moab. After completing some obstacles without incident, it was discovered that the t-case had cracked on Brians YJ, so the group carried on while he waited for a trailer to recover him.
The rest of the group continued past the nutty putty cave, and made a stop at the colored tailings pile area.
The next area, and lunch break stop, was on top of Lake mountain near the cell towers and other communications equipment. During this time down on the highway Brian passed by the group in the recovery vehicle/trailer and met up with everyone at the gas station stop in Lehi a short time later.
Following a short chat at the gas station regarding the next area, the group proceeded up American Fork canyon, ran BOARs adopted trail(North Fork FR085) over to Wasatch State park, passed Cascade Springs, and headed up over the mountain to Deer Creek Dam. On the final gnarly climb area, the t-case in Nicks ZJ locked up and the vehicle refused to move forward or backward. After some troubleshooting it was decided to remove both drivelines and pull the jeep to the parking lot. Due to the steep terrain, it required 2 jeeps strapped together in order to get to the top of the hill. By the time the rest of the group reached the parking lot it was getting late and was dark already.
Assistance was called in to get nick home and the rest of the group continued on through Wallsburgh, and up the final rocky climb to the camp area near strawberry. A fire was quickly made, BOAR provided stew was put on the burners, and camp was setup. Fun conversations took place around the fire while we had our hot meal, then it was off to bed in the somewhat chilly weather.
Despite the elevation change it was another brisk morning when we struck camp on our way to Temple Mountain. A few minutes from our destination Brandon reported a grinding noise from the front end. It was discovered that one of the brake caliper bolts on the front drivers side had come out. Some work with bailing wire got the rig back on the road and down to Temple Mountain without issue.
Fred lived down at Temple Mountain during the Uranium boom, so we gathered together to hear him tell stories from growing up in the area. It was such an incredible experience to hear first-hand what it was like living in that area, and was definitely a highlight of the trip.
Leaving temple mountain we began our journey to our final destination of the trip, Panorama Point. The trip to the overlook started out on nicer dirt roads where we were able to get up to some decent speeds, but after checking into the Hans Flat Ranger Station the road got a bit rougher so we also got some rock crawling practice in on the final stretch.
The group reached panorama point without incident despite the rough terrain, and enjoyed the amazing views the area had to offer.
On our way back to the highway, the swaybar link in Brians JK sheared off. A quick trail fix got him back on the road but shortly after passing the ranger station the transmission on Andys JK decided it had enough. It was getting late so the group was sent on ahead while Brian pulled Andys rig 40 miles to the highway and an awaiting trailer. Along the way Joe showed up and used his lightbar to light up the way and allow a faster rate of travel in the dark than the stock headlight could manage.
Due to the late hour, the rest of the group had already headed for home. The last of us stragglers hit the highway for home and BOAR 2017 officially ended.
Thank you everyone who was able to make the trip this year. I cant express how much it means to us having everyone come out each year for the event, and we are already looking forward to next year.
Til’ Next Time!
The next morning the group woke up to fridgid temperatures and snow on the ground. Camp was struck and despite the cold the group rolled out on schedule for our next days adventure.
After picking up another participant, we hit the backroads again on our way to highway 6 and skyline drive. Along the way we stopped by a fantastic overview and had a quick lunch.
Our gas stop for the day was at the top of soldier summit, but the station was under maintenance and had no gas. Fortunately everyone had their spare gas cans so we decided to press on with the trip rather than drop down into the city for a gas stop. Before leaving the station Randy helped out a stranger by roll starting his diesel.
We hopped onto skyline drive and continued south across the mountains. After seeing some awesome views we passed by Huntington Reservoir. This is a unique site because a mostly complete mammoth was discovered during some work on the reservoir dam. A short time later we were heading towards Joes Reservoir when the call went out that we needed to stop since the back window had just shattered on Jensens jeep. Some duct tape was needed to perform a trail fix, but the group was in two parts and turning around would have been an issue so instead we tied some duct tape to the drone and flew the repair parts down into the valley.
Our next stop was in Orangeville for a quick refuel. Fred was born in Orangeville, and the station we stopped at was right across the road from where he grew up, so decided a quick jeep shot in the front yard was a must.
From there we pressed on into the swell. Shortly after entering the northern section, the transmission started acting up on Andys jeep. We pulled over to check it out and were serenaded by some severely irritated cows.
The group continued on to the swell and got to enjoy some amazing sunset shots from the Wedge/Little Grand Canyon overlook.
By the time we left the wedge it was dark. This was a concern because we were wanting to check out the pictographs down in Buckhorn wash and wouldn’t be able to see them, but some quick work with a few members light bars made for a unique viewing experience.
We were a little behind schedule so we decided not to try and make it all the way to temple mountain that night, but stopped at our alternate campsite instead. The group spread out into the camp area to setup, but gathered around the fire for another great night hanging out with friends.