Off-road trails offer fun for all skill levels
Jeep enthusiasts looking to drive off-road trails at the Bantam Heritage Jeep Festival this weekend face a challenge that's not much different from snow skiers trying to choose what kind of slope they're capable of handling.
Bruce Shallis, who co-owns Rausch Creek Offroad Park in Tremont near Harrisburg, has designed the trails at the festival since it started. Those trails, initially at the Butler County Fairgrounds, are at Cooper's Lake Campground, which is hosting the festival Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
“The easiest way to think of it is like skiing. The first time you go skiing, you don't leave the beginner trails, and then you work your way up from there,” Shallis said.
“Trail riding in Jeeps and trucks is the same kind of concept. You generally start out off a green, or a stock trail, and then work your way up. You got to look at the vehicle, as far as what size tires, what size lift kits, and then match it accordingly to the trail difficulty.”
There are four trails at the festival. There is a stock or beginner's trail, an intermediate and an advanced trail.
There also is a dealership trail specifically for those thinking about buying a Jeep. Those people can test drive a new Jeep on a mild off-road trail. Each trail is about a mile long.
As the trails become more advanced, the same obstacles, whether it's mud, grade or rocks, become more difficult to drive through, around or over.
“They all face the same challenges; it just varies how difficult that challenge might be,” Shallis said.
“For example, how loose or steep the hill might be, how loose or deep the mud might be on that trail. The rocks, how big are the rocks.”
Each obstacle is built based on experience. A backhoe is used to line up “rock gardens,” as they're called, with spotters often communicating with drivers to beat the obstacle. Also, log bridges some Jeeps drive across at the more advanced levels are built from old telephone polls.
There are a few extra steps to building mud pits, which can be seen at the Jeep trails and the playground.“In the mud pit … It's dug out with a layer of shale put in,” he said. “And then the topsoil you put back on top, add water and then you have mud. The shale gives a firm footing underneath, so that way, you don't keep digging down, down, down and down.”Trail drivers go in groups of 10 to 15 vehicles, along with a trail guide. Shallis said each trail takes roughly 45 minutes to complete.The Jeep playground has a similar set of obstacles for drivers, which Shallis also has designed.“You have some off camber, that means a tilt, areas where you take the Jeep along a long, graded, smooth dirt mound, so you can kind of get used to your vehicle leaning at a certain angle,” he said.“We have a steep hill climb, and then, once you get to the top, there's a steep descent. So it kind of let's you understand how your vehicle will climb and also descend off hills. We have lock bridges, rock piles, a mud pit.”Shallis said there have been discussions about expanding the trail acreage for next year, which could allow for additional trails and/or challenges.
