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Story & photos by Budd Stanley
Wheelers unite at Thunder Mountain
If you build it, they will come. I couldn’t help but think of those iconic words as I witnessed BC’s four-wheel drive community come together high in the mountains south of Kelowna on a particularly warm October weekend. The call went out across the forum boards, a place called Thunder Mountain was going to open its doors to those of the 4WD persuasion in a test run to see if an off-road park would be feasible to run on private lands.
It was a “come one, come all” call out, bring a helmet and leave the beers at home, the message boards proclaimed. The owners of Thunder Mountain (a well known drag strip and abandoned motocross track) wanted to test the off-road waters and were ready to accommodate. Motocross trails already littered the vast plot of land and more challenging obstacles were dug and brought in. Our own Mr. Irons hauled up several old tires to toss on a rock garden, while the landowners went to work with an excavator to dig a trench suitable to challenge those who dare not risk the heavy rockery.
The turnout was beyond anything expected. 20 4WD’s were expected, but only a few hours after the gates opened, there were over 40 rigs out playing and nearly 100 people taking in the sights.
First thing in the morning, the newbies showed no signs of shyness; attacking the easy whoops and steep climbs of the abandoned motocross course in stock Tacoma’s, Wranglers, Pajero’s, Tundra’s, Cherokee’s and even a Subaru Sambar Kei truck. Each driver learning the valuable lessons of limitations in both man and machine as they got away with getting hung up on soft dirt crests or losing the fight with gravity on straight hillclimbs. The big boys were waiting patiently for the excavator to finish digging a more difficult obstacle course.
With the trenches dug, some much more seasoned wheelers took to the dirt course, lifting tires high into the air and finding the limitations of wheelbases and clutches. It didn’t take long for the rock garden to find its first victim. After editor Irons scraped and crunched his way over the rocks, a more aggressive approach found a Jeep XJ hung up with a broken front axle.
Spectators lined the main trench in eager anticipation for the big snow wheelers to put on a show, and put on a show they did. With massive tires and even bigger power, the snow wheelers threw themselves headlong into the trenches in a fit of speed, dust and the sound of screaming V-8’s echoing off the adjacent mountains. They bounced through with little issue, soaking up every deliberate obstacle with ease. It almost looked boring for them, if not for spikes on the rev limiter and front tires reaching six-feet into the air. Just behind, the familiar wail of a little four-banger, as a Sidekick expertly made good use of its size, burning through the torn up terrain proving bigger isn’t necessarily better.
During the afternoon editor Irons put on a winching clinic for the newbies, then went to watch who might tackle the rock pile next. With his back turned I jumped into Stinky Jeep (project Samurai is still coughing and spitting, not quite time to mark up that Aqualu body just yet) and sped away to explored some of the freshly marked bush trails. Thunder Mountain has a beautiful mix for trails and obstacles for all levels and genres of off-roaders, and to see so many different brands, styles and breeds all intermingling was a… oops, was that a tree, sorry Bryan. No snobbery could be found here, just a good group of wheelers all looking to enjoy a day in the wilderness.
Thunder Mountain witnessed a fantastic and varied day of wheeling come to an end.
Having been to some of the big private off-road vehicle parks down in the States, I know the value such a site has to a sport such as ours; so much so, it goes well beyond brands, genres and tastes. A place like this is a clubhouse for wheelers, a common ground, the United Nations of Wheelers if you will. We’ll be back to update just what happens to the Thunder Mountain off-road park.
Until then, here is just a taste of the action up on Thunder Mountain.