As the sun rises over the high mountain prairie of New Mexico, the rumble of engines echo around camp from the 16 vehicles that converged on a map-dot in what feels like the middle of nowhere.  Hidden within the vast grassland the Canadian River has carved a spectacular canyon that is home to some of the greatest technical 4WD trails this country has to offer. Of course, there is always a catch with finding a goldmine within off-road awesomeness, and this area has one: it is all on private property and you have to be invited to partake in the once-a-year rendezvous of wheeling south of the Kiowa National Grassland.  An email invitation from one of the landowners regarding the annual event was our access pass, and of course I could not pass it up.

Nine trails were offered for the 2016 Ridin’ The Ranch Rocks event over three days. All required transit zones to the trailheads, crossing through cattle gates to keep livestock in (always leave the gate the way you encountered it, which is usually closed!). All required a drop-in off the Rim into some of the most remarkable virgin country: boulders the size of buses intertwined with Volkswagen-sized rocks skirting meandering creeks that fed into the Canadian River Canyon. Up to 600 feet we would descend each morning, anxiously awaiting what the canyon floor had hidden for our adventure in its untapped landscape.

The trails we encountered were mostly three-part trails with a lower, middle and upper section. Exits were available throughout some of the trails, but not all, so if there was a vehicle issue it may need to be left on the trail for recovery the next day. When you are wheeling in areas extremely remote on trails rated 10+, you need to go prepared.  Items like QuickSteel and a Readywelder are highly recommended. If you do not have QuickSteel in your trail repair kit, get some. It bonds to everything and can help get you off the trail if you puncture a vital organ on your vehicle.

The trails were challenging and fun, keeping the most daring of drivers with rear steer interested. Negotiating slot canyons with overhanging rocks that would love to grab the top of the roll cage was only one of the many challenges we drove. Squeezes between dead trees and canyon walls may have left tattoos down our buggies, but we didn’t care. We were engrossed in the trail so much that we were laughing every time someone caught a diff on a rock, was hung up by their link mount, or even decided to accidently “Austin Powers” a three-point turn into an 80-point turn.

It may have been the company we were with, it may have been the area we were in, but most likely a combination of the two led us to an amazing adventure in Northern New Mexico. Never pass up a unique opportunity, be respectful of the land and its owner, and have fun!