The Sledgehammer 4WD Trail, California

Fun in the Desert V

by Mike Wickhan

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Words in print or color photos galore could only begin to describe the type of wheeling that went on at Fun In the Desert V. 82 paid registrants tried at least one of 5 trails offered by the Victor Valley Four Wheelers on Saturday. All 5 trails carry the highest trail rating of 5 with some being more intense than others.

Victor Valley breakfast crew on Means Dry Lake.

The morning began with a fine club-provided breakfast and by 8AM five strings of Jeeps, Cruisers and Broncos were on their way to trailheads. Ok Ok, there were also four Toyota pickups, a Scout, a Suzuki and a small Eagle.

All five of Saturday and Sunday's runs incurred catastrophic failures requiring repairs or extractions. Broken axles, transmissions, leaf springs, brake lines, and flat tires were common occurrences . One poor guy had two broken axles and no brakes but he did have a lot of help and the camaraderie characteristic of the 4X4 community. Just ask anyone who attended and you'll understand that most people didn't expect the trails to challenge both their vehicle and driving skills so severely. However, all who attended seemed to have a great time. Saturday night featured a tri-tip feast and raffle drawing provided by the many fine sponsors we appreciate so much. Sunday on the trail was much like Saturday except there were roughly half to two-thirds as many vehicles as the day before which means that a third to one-half got their money's worth on the first day! The event seemed to go as smoothly as possible with the exception of the trail damage which is always expected anyway.

The five runs offered this year were Jackhammer, Sledgehammer, Sledgehammer backwards( The Slam), Aftershock, and Sun Bonnet Pass. Our newest trail, Sunbonnet Pass is apparently so forbidding that of the 30 or so guests whom had signed up for it that weekend, only nine made it through. Sun Bonnet starts at Hell's Gate, then down Devil's Slide. From there, a left turn takes a shortcut back to camp, a right turn goes to Sun Bonnet. The Jackhammer run was probably the most successful of the event, being led both days by our best trail man, Chuck Shaner.

The Victor Valley Four Wheelers would like to thank everyone who attended and welcome them back next year. If you missed it this year, there's always Fun in the Desert VI next year. There are a few tips to help make sure your experience is as uneventful as possible right after the photos

A TPI powered CJ-7 makes Sledgehammer backwards (The
Slam) look easy.

A CJ-5 negotiates the Slam

Mike Kunz' capable CJ-7 found this rock under his front axle on the Jackhammer Trail.

This Toyota did well on the first half of the Slam but didn't try the real fun stuff.

This is a popular place to break an axle - but not this year.

 Deep in Sledgehammer Canyon #1.

 This broken leaf spring was probably the result of being geared too high(3.73) for these runs.

TECH STUFF

The usual rating system ( 1 to 5 ) is clearly inadequate for the type of trails run at FidV. Granted they may be rated 5, but so are many other trails in the country. The difference being other trails have hard spots which truly deserve a 5 rating whereas the FidV trails are an unrelenting, continuous stream of axle - braking obstacles. That's not to say the Johnson Valley trails are the best or the toughest, let the 4-wheelers who run them be the judge of that. For example, there are spots on some of the Moab trails much harder than any individual spot on any of our trails. This brings me the real point to be made, and that is the minimum requirements to run the Victor Valley trails. You can be locked up front and rear with 35" tires and still do some serious thrashing on your wheeler. This year we had quite a few guys with 3.73 and 4.11 gears. Mostly they had big problems. If you have a manual tranny, a crawl ratio of 75:1 is probably adequate. Automatics' torque converters wind them up tighter than their first gear ratios calculate out to, but 4.56 and up is recommended for the ring & pinion with 4.88 or 5.38 being ideal. 33" tires work quite well but 35s do make it easier. A reworked Power-Loc in front can do very well, but 90% of the ones
I've seen have no place on these trails.

Email for VV4W at: emwick@ctainforms.com

Victory Valley 4-Wheelers webpage - http://www.mscomm.com/~emwick/vv4w04.html

Editor's note: Fun In the Desert is held in the Mojave Desert about 50 miles NE of San Bernardino. Base camp is set up on Means Lake (dry lake) which is roughly 5 miles north of the small town of Johnson Valley (on Hwy 247) via Boone Road. Johnson Valley may not show up on your map, it is roughly  20 miles NNW of where Hwy 247 leaves Hwy 62. Hwy 247 runs roughly between Yucca Valley and Victorville.

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