Trail of Missions – DAY 8 – 2016 Ladies Co-Driver Challenge – Event 1
Ladies Co-Driver Challenge Ladies Co-Driver Challenge Ladies Offroad Challenge Ladies Offroad Network Specials

Trail of Missions – DAY 8 – 2016 Ladies Co-Driver Challenge – Event 1

Day 8 – Horses headed to the barn

20160727_115936The official filming of the Monster Energy Trail of Missions presented by BFGoodrich Tires was over. Some had already flown home on the day before and a few more were flying out today. It was time to head home.

But for most of us, that still meant two days worth of Baja! Day 8 had some epic moments for us, or maybe I’ll be more specific, for me.

Read About Day 7 – HERE

I did it! I had completed the Rebelle Rally. I can hear you saying it…WHAT? In October, Kaleigh Hotchkiss and I will be competing in the 7 day Rebelle Rally where we will be driving Frankie, but will only be able to navigate through Bower Media Trail of Missions D8-17the southwestern desert with a compass and map. On Day 8 I looked at Marcie with a huge smile that she didn’t understand: “My body doesn’t hurt. My mind has been 100% focused the whole time. I haven’t hurt the Jeep, it’s still running great. I just finished the Rebelle Rally!” Competing for days on end isn’t easy, and even less easy to practice. It was a great opportunity to be able to know that my driving and personal skills had been put to the test and accomplished the challenge at hand.

Bower Media Trail of Missions D8-17Also on Day 8 was a huge jump. I bet if we were outside the Jeep we barely left the ground…but inside the Jeep we sailed for at least a dozen feet!!   There were three coverts that were called out. We slowed for all of them, but the third one had a bigger lip on the out edge than the others. As we sailed out of the other side, I grimaced, Hold On! We touched back down with a little forward to back motion that pretty much rearranged every single piece of luggage and equipment in the backseat. We giggled. We were reminded of our adventure when we got to the Malerimo Hotel in Guerrero Negro that night and had to rearrange our entire “house”.

See our Facebook Post for this Day HERE

Bower Media Trail of Missions D8-17The group as a whole didn’t have very many breakdowns, which was very impressive, especially considering the number of vehicles and the type terrain that we were running. But when we did, everyone was helpful, or knew to stay out of the way. I enjoyed watching Greg Foutz and Curt LeDuc work on the problems and come up with trail solutions. These guys really know how to engineer even the most challenging problem.

Bower Media Trail of Missions D8-17On the flip side were all of us that were better just staying out of the way. At one of the stops today, Football into the Raptor Window was the game of choice! The kids had a soft football that they were trying to throw a solid 30 yards into the back window of a Raptor. Heck, why not! The kids played for a while and then the ‘big kids’ got involved. Luckily no door panels were damaged in this game. Unfortunately, no one walked away the winner…but there were some that were very close!

Bower Media Trail of Missions D8-17With the official camera crews gone, I felt a little less awkward asking the important folks on the trip a important question: What is a co-drivers responsibility in your vehicle? Of course it was fun to listen to Ray and John Currie who both had their wives with them say “on this trip having snacks and drinks is their number one job.” Curt LeDuc got serious about the question pointing out that the driver is responsible for pushing the pedals, turning the steering wheel and getting the car to the next point as fast and as safely possible, and the co-driver is responsible for everything else. Heidi Steele was a great interview stating that her co-driver really had to have mechanical skills because she didn’t. We will share these interviews as we prepare for the 2017 Ladies Co-Driver Challenge.

Follow the Story to DAY 9 – HERE