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Another very enjoyable and challenging trail ride is in the books. After last minute route changes due to our planned leader stepping aside due to possible virus exposure, we quickly arranged a different route knowing that everyone was already loaded and ready to go.  To the surprise of many, this cold and cloudy January day brought out 14 vintage Willys jeeps and one modern jeep for moral support.  Actually we only let David come along in his modern Jeep because we are secretly trying to convert him into a REAL JEEP!

We did not have a defined route or destination which I love.  We first tried one trail that we had traveled many times only to find it now marked off limits.  Mature thinking prevailed and we decided to obey the trail marker.  So off we went looking for new trails.  Thanks to Dave, our leader with the digital maps, we quickly found what we were looking for.  Lots of steep, narrow, and rocky trails.

These trails do require a certain degree of experience or a great deal of luck to navigate.  The trails were very rocky which I am sure took its toll on some jeeps.  Most of us have learned to leave our show jeeps at home and have built up trail jeeps.  Some of us have put some time and money into our trail jeeps and others just bring an old jeep with the mindset that we will simply fix what breaks (don’t forget to get you parts here at Classic Military Vehicles!).

We did have at least three minor trail wounds opened up.  Not sure what they all were, but one of them was fixed by the same roll of Gorilla Tape that has saved us in the past and the other will be fixed with a piece of exhaust flex pipe.  I think the third was fixed by robbing a bolt off of another Jeep when nobody was looking.  At least that is how I heard it!

Great Arkansas Ozark’s scenery as always.  We are truly blessed to have such a resource in Arkansas.  We do our part to keep trash picked up along the trail.  At least we try to leave it cleaner than we found it…. minus an abandoned jeep or two.  We had lunch along a nice stream with a nice bluff line along the back.  

Mostly we enjoyed old Vintage Willys Jeeps, a MUTT or two, and good friendship.  It is neat how we all come from many different walks in life but are all very closely knit together by our interest in the Vintage jeeps.  Some of our jeeps are slightly modified, but generally we are all interested in the nostalgia of the vintage mechanical wonder called the Jeep.  Some life long freindships have come from this group and some new friendships are starting and growing.  Too bad our political leaders can’t do this today.  Maybe someone needs to send a 1946 Willys trial jeep to DC…. no, they would only fight over it.

Amazing that all jeeps made it back under their own power.  I’ve often wondered exactly what we would do if we had a major break down on the trail that Gorilla Tape would not fix on the side of one of the mountains.  I guess we would figure out how to get it to the top of the mountain where we could get a truck and trailer to it.  As of yet, that has never happened. 

Good memories!  Can’t wait for the next one!