2015 EVENT REPORT
BB16: September 9-11, 2016
Special thanks to our event sponsors and donors!
PREMIER PARTNERS
CK5.com: Steve Fox started it all in 2002 and continues to host BlazerBash.com and the Blazer Bash open discussion forum on the
CK5.com website. We always appreciate everything he does to keep the event going.
Deuling Design: custom beadrolled Blazer Bash sign
DIY4x: Provided $200 & (5) $50 gift certificates and a large cash donation to help cover event costs
Offroad Design: The ORD crew prepared and served all the food at this year’s BBQ including homemade brownies for dessert. In addition, they provided numerous door prize/swag items including: High Clearance HD Engine Crossmember, Competition Style Motor Mounts, and Tube Doors
Rockstar Kustomz: Smittybilt XRC winch 9500lbs
TNA: GM Replacement Crossmember
Wicked Wolf RC: Axial SCX10 Deadbolt with K5 Blazer body and numerous swag items
Big Horn Graphics: Donated all of the printed material used for the event including the vendor stickers in the registration packets, event stickers, BBQ banner, and trail run handouts
DOOR PRIZE DONATIONS
A&A Manufacturing: 2 sets of assorted Fabrication Tabs
CK5.com: Classic Heavy Metal shirts
JB Cust Fab: 4 shirts, NP205 stainless twin stick Lawrence Carlock: 8 CK5 Dante's Peak Suburban koozies, 4 iPhone Mickey Thompson tire tread cases, and 4 Mickey Thompson hats
RockAuto.com: approx 130 car pic magnets, marketing postcards, and $25 gift cert
Warn: W650D Driving Light Kit
FRIDAY
The first gathering of the event was a meet and greet at the Old City Park in Moab. It was an opportunity to greet old friends and begin to make new ones. It was also a chance to pick up shirts and registration packs before the Offroad Design BBQ later that evening. Later that meeting most everyone headed out to the Hell’s Invasion. This is an opportunity to share one of the most popular Moab trails, Hells Revenge, with a large majority of the event attendees allowing you can see various types of rigs ranging from nearly stock to Ultra4 race cars.
A smaller group of rigs headed for Seven Mile Rim. This is a trail located north of Moab. It features many landmarks including Uranium Arch and Merrimac Butte. It was a nice run for those that wanted to run in a smaller group or experience a new trail.
The first day of the event ended with everyone returning to Old City Park for the Offroad Design BBQ. The attendees are treated to a big meal prepared by the crew of Offroad Design. The evening is also highlighted with the awarding of the Jason Paul Payne Award traveling trophy for Most Innovative Vehicle and raffle drawing.
SATURDAY
There were four trails on the agenda for the second day of the event. Each group met in various locations around Moab before heading out to their chosen trail. One group headed to Fins & Things trail. This is a fun trail that climbs up and down and around many Navajo Sandstone slickrock fins along with the eroded remains of older fins or in this case the
things. There are also a number of sandy sections to traverse. The trail features Frenchies Fin and Kenny’s Climb.
Cliffhanger was the destination for another group of intrepid trail riders. This trail starts off with a difficult section putting the drivers in trail mode right away. There are many obstacles and sheer drop offs to overcome both mentally and physically. Packed with challenges beginning to end, this is a fun and rewarding day on the trail.
A third group of vehicles headed out on the infamous Golden Spike run which actually incorporates 3 trails, Poison Spider and Gold Bar Rim in addition to Golden Spike that connects th
e 2 trails. This is the longest trail offered at Blazer Bash and it is filled with plenty of obstacles and challenges. Depending on the group size and luck this trail can be either
a long or a VERY long day. Luckily this year’s group was able to finish the trail in a reasonable time with only a little bad luck.
The last option for the day was a run on the extremely difficult Pritchett Canyon; sometimes referred to as Prichetté or Prichard. Inside jokes aside, this is another popular Blazer Bash trail. It’s not nearly as long as Golden Spike, but can still be a VERY long day due to the extreme difficulty of the trail. This year’s group was able to finish the trail with relatively minor complications. As usual everyone enjoyed the challenge Pritchett Canyon offers.
SUNDAY
By the time Sunday rolls around, many of the participants are worn out or have broken rigs so this leads to a smaller number of vehicles on the trail for the last day. This year everyone met up at City Market in Moab before heading out on 2 different trail runs. A popular offering at Blazer Bash is the Powder Puff run. Every other year we offer a chance for the ladies to take the wheel and test their mettle on the trail. The 2016 Powder Puff trail was Poison Spider. There are many fun ledges to climb and also a tricky obstacle called the V-Notch. It was a good challenge for the ladies and with the exception of an electric cooling fan that let all of its smoke out, the day went smoothly.
The other group ran Gold Bar Rim trail. This trail works really well for Sunday because it is relatively short and usually doesn’t take very long time wise. The view through the entire trail is very spectacular. The highlight obstacle of this trail many refer to as The Waterfall but at Blazer Bash we refer to it as Butt Scratcher Rock. Right there at Butt Scratcher
Rock, on the rim of Gold Bar Canyon, you can find a plaque memorializing long-time Blazer Bash attendee and innovative truck trophy namesake, Jason Payne. From there the trail ascends to the rim overlook where you can see Arches National Park across the highway to the east.
Hope to see you at the 2017 Blazer Bash event!
