- First Name
- Bruce
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2021
- Threads
- 18
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- 205
- Reaction score
- 351
- Location
- Castro Valley, CA
- Website
- sites.google.com
- Vehicle(s)
- '21 Bronco Sport FE Area 51
- Thread starter
- #1
S’Up Sportsters!
I can rightly say I was the first Bronco Sport owner to take part in the annual Bronco Safari. This event has been held in Moab for years, if not for decades with as high as over 4000 participants. However, 2024 was the first year it was held at its new location in Vernal, UT. For its sophomore year I joined close to 100 participants at the Vernal Rod and Gun Club. The Utah Bronco Club puts on this family and pet friendly event with the help of many volunteers and off-road company sponsors.
Pre-Registration
If you follow the official FB page, Bronco Safari Group, you will get the latest updates, ask questions and see past event postings, including mine. However, if you are not on FB , the official website is BroncoSafari where everyone will register and get trail details. The registration period opens up sometime in January and event dates are confirmed for the year. This is the best time to make your hotel or vacation rental reservations as well. My original group was 6 people in 2 full size Broncos and my “fun-size” Sport. I booked a large house early enough to cancel when I needed to downsize to a townhouse when the group went down to just me, solo - lone wolf.
The event starts on Wednesday and goes to Saturday. I double booked 2 events, so this time I only did 2 days and did a cannon ball run to Salt Lake on Friday. I drove in on Tuesday afternoon in time to sign-in and get my official event badge you stick on your windshield. You will also need to get a FREE Utah OHV Education Certificate to wheel on the trails. Get yours here if you do not already have one.
Day 1 Wednesday - Event Opener and Ashley Twin Lakes (Rated 2)
There are 5 to 6 trails to choose from the day before. I chose an easy one to start, rated 2.
I was “the new kid at a new school” and I felt the pressure to not be a spaz. The following 2 days would set the benchmark for fellow Sportsters and even if AWDs would be welcomed back. So you can imagine the looks and stares I got while parking at the main parking lot at 8 am for the Driver’s meet up and daily raffle.
I got out next to a couple from California and there was a small group standing across the lot. I start walking towards the entrance with confidence until I suddenly start trip-falling head first towards the ground (my shoe went sideways on a small rock) *bongo drums playing rapidly* - so I start running like an anime character - hutch over running towards danger. I was able to run out of my fall and stand up straight. I hear the lady from California , “Nice Catch”. I heard in my head, “Stupid Baby Bronco Guy can’t even handle walking over rocks…what’s gonna happen on the trail?!?”
Ok, so after signing in for the day, getting the official spill kit, confirming who was my Trail Boss and what row to park my Bronco - I changed my shoes to my official off-road boots. We had a group meeting to understand where we were going and what GMRS channel to be on. It was a nice mix of newbies to oldies, people and Broncos. This is when I learned from the Trail Boss this adage when you air down, “50/50 - no more than 50mph for 50 miles” to get to the trail head. If more than 50 miles away- then air down at the trial head.
The trial we took up to Ashley Twin Lakes was a very rocky one and it was bumpy for sure. There were a few water/mud crossings you could avoid or not. We steadily climbed up to 10,535 feet to beautiful mountain lakes. Lots of mosquitoes made for an uncomfortable lunch time there that was cut short due to incoming thunder storms & rain. Because of the variety of people and skills, safety is priority on every trail for the event. As we came down and stopped at the trail head for pit stops, some decided to break off to do other things and some went to a ranch you can hike out to see pictographs.
Day 2 Thursday Sand Bar (Rated a hard 4)
Everyday except Saturday there is a driver's meeting and raffle. Again not a winner. We had a local expert trail boss for this run. There were both sandy and large pebble roads with huge rock formations to climb up. Of course, I took the bypasses on most of the hard climbs, but even then I had to pick my lines well and needed direction. We made a stop at a great vista point for lunch before we continued. There is a “canyon chute” to exit the trail that has no bypass so it was rock sliding time. At this point, I was thinking no stock Bronco Sport could do this without tearing up the underside.
Night Run Butch Cassidy (Rated 3)
This was a dusk to night run with dusty roads and steep hill climbs and descents. We got to a vista point overlooking Vernal city and lined up for an “all lights” group photo. At this point it was dark and following the Bronco ahead of me was critical. I did go off trail once and was heading down a hillside. I stopped and got out to look and found my way back on. One of the guys had a drone and did a fly over as we were rolling down the trail. It was late when we got back on the main highway. Unfortunately and inexplicitly my dash camera did not record anything- so all the shenanigans will only be in my memory. Someone did play over the radio the intro to Circle of Life- Lion King as we came over a crest at sun down. Here is our Trail Boss for the night, Amanda's Stormy D and snap shots from the drone.
Conclusion
I would recommend any Sport that has been lifted with some modifications could do this event and keep below trails rated 4 or less. Could the stock Sasquatch trim do it? I would love to see someone try it next year. I met many positive wheelers who love to share their experiences and help us “newbs”. I have only been wheel’n for 3 years but I am always ready to learn more. There was a Shine-n-Show event on Saturday at the local FORD dealer that I missed but I saw so many modified Broncos and builds during the 2 days I was there, it was no disappointment. Looking forward to next year and taking my Baja Blast "to the limit one more time”!
I can rightly say I was the first Bronco Sport owner to take part in the annual Bronco Safari. This event has been held in Moab for years, if not for decades with as high as over 4000 participants. However, 2024 was the first year it was held at its new location in Vernal, UT. For its sophomore year I joined close to 100 participants at the Vernal Rod and Gun Club. The Utah Bronco Club puts on this family and pet friendly event with the help of many volunteers and off-road company sponsors.
Pre-Registration
If you follow the official FB page, Bronco Safari Group, you will get the latest updates, ask questions and see past event postings, including mine. However, if you are not on FB , the official website is BroncoSafari where everyone will register and get trail details. The registration period opens up sometime in January and event dates are confirmed for the year. This is the best time to make your hotel or vacation rental reservations as well. My original group was 6 people in 2 full size Broncos and my “fun-size” Sport. I booked a large house early enough to cancel when I needed to downsize to a townhouse when the group went down to just me, solo - lone wolf.
The event starts on Wednesday and goes to Saturday. I double booked 2 events, so this time I only did 2 days and did a cannon ball run to Salt Lake on Friday. I drove in on Tuesday afternoon in time to sign-in and get my official event badge you stick on your windshield. You will also need to get a FREE Utah OHV Education Certificate to wheel on the trails. Get yours here if you do not already have one.
Day 1 Wednesday - Event Opener and Ashley Twin Lakes (Rated 2)
There are 5 to 6 trails to choose from the day before. I chose an easy one to start, rated 2.
I was “the new kid at a new school” and I felt the pressure to not be a spaz. The following 2 days would set the benchmark for fellow Sportsters and even if AWDs would be welcomed back. So you can imagine the looks and stares I got while parking at the main parking lot at 8 am for the Driver’s meet up and daily raffle.
I got out next to a couple from California and there was a small group standing across the lot. I start walking towards the entrance with confidence until I suddenly start trip-falling head first towards the ground (my shoe went sideways on a small rock) *bongo drums playing rapidly* - so I start running like an anime character - hutch over running towards danger. I was able to run out of my fall and stand up straight. I hear the lady from California , “Nice Catch”. I heard in my head, “Stupid Baby Bronco Guy can’t even handle walking over rocks…what’s gonna happen on the trail?!?”
Ok, so after signing in for the day, getting the official spill kit, confirming who was my Trail Boss and what row to park my Bronco - I changed my shoes to my official off-road boots. We had a group meeting to understand where we were going and what GMRS channel to be on. It was a nice mix of newbies to oldies, people and Broncos. This is when I learned from the Trail Boss this adage when you air down, “50/50 - no more than 50mph for 50 miles” to get to the trail head. If more than 50 miles away- then air down at the trial head.
The trial we took up to Ashley Twin Lakes was a very rocky one and it was bumpy for sure. There were a few water/mud crossings you could avoid or not. We steadily climbed up to 10,535 feet to beautiful mountain lakes. Lots of mosquitoes made for an uncomfortable lunch time there that was cut short due to incoming thunder storms & rain. Because of the variety of people and skills, safety is priority on every trail for the event. As we came down and stopped at the trail head for pit stops, some decided to break off to do other things and some went to a ranch you can hike out to see pictographs.
Day 2 Thursday Sand Bar (Rated a hard 4)
Everyday except Saturday there is a driver's meeting and raffle. Again not a winner. We had a local expert trail boss for this run. There were both sandy and large pebble roads with huge rock formations to climb up. Of course, I took the bypasses on most of the hard climbs, but even then I had to pick my lines well and needed direction. We made a stop at a great vista point for lunch before we continued. There is a “canyon chute” to exit the trail that has no bypass so it was rock sliding time. At this point, I was thinking no stock Bronco Sport could do this without tearing up the underside.
Night Run Butch Cassidy (Rated 3)
This was a dusk to night run with dusty roads and steep hill climbs and descents. We got to a vista point overlooking Vernal city and lined up for an “all lights” group photo. At this point it was dark and following the Bronco ahead of me was critical. I did go off trail once and was heading down a hillside. I stopped and got out to look and found my way back on. One of the guys had a drone and did a fly over as we were rolling down the trail. It was late when we got back on the main highway. Unfortunately and inexplicitly my dash camera did not record anything- so all the shenanigans will only be in my memory. Someone did play over the radio the intro to Circle of Life- Lion King as we came over a crest at sun down. Here is our Trail Boss for the night, Amanda's Stormy D and snap shots from the drone.
Conclusion
I would recommend any Sport that has been lifted with some modifications could do this event and keep below trails rated 4 or less. Could the stock Sasquatch trim do it? I would love to see someone try it next year. I met many positive wheelers who love to share their experiences and help us “newbs”. I have only been wheel’n for 3 years but I am always ready to learn more. There was a Shine-n-Show event on Saturday at the local FORD dealer that I missed but I saw so many modified Broncos and builds during the 2 days I was there, it was no disappointment. Looking forward to next year and taking my Baja Blast "to the limit one more time”!
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