Training with the Champs
Seven Days in the Desert with Rebelle Rally 4x4 Winner Nena Barlow and many more!
Team Dead Reckoning recently traveled to the Imperial Sand Dunes for seven days with the Barlow Adventures squad for training in driving, navigation, and a small dose of desert survival we’ll need for the Rebelle.
Training with the Barlow team is always a pleasure. They’re kind, patient, fun, and know when to challenge you. I always recommend their training for anyone just getting into off-roading. You’ll learn a ton, see some beautiful scenery and have a great time. Barlow classes start with 4x4 basics and range all the way up to more advanced trips such as the Rubicon trail. As a Rebelle competitor and winner Nena is able to create a curriculum built around the unique format used by the Rally and teams that train with her consistently place high in the standings. For this class we were also led by Rebelle Head Mechanic and 4x4 instructor Nick Cimmarusti (AKA Nickgyver), Rebelle competitor Mandy Mnster, and X-Cross third place driver Carey Lando (in her amazing Mtn Subi). It's great to hear in context what skills, equipment, and strategies will serve us, and which we’re better off abandoning from folks who’ve actually competed and succeeded in the rally!
The Barlow team ran us through desert driving basics in the dunes and in the nearby Cargo Muchacho Mountains Sunday through Tuesday. They showed us how to safely tie down our cargo, proper seating position, hill climbs and descents, and we chatted through getting unstuck and recovery methods and best practices. I was happy to volunteer the Bronco for a recovery demonstration more than a few times by burying Hank solidly into the sand to the frame. My classmates were champs and helped us dig out and use traction boards or kinetic rope to pop ourselves out of trouble. We climbed rocky hills and explored the Buttercup Sand Dunes south of I-8. We did donuts on Sand Highway. It was glorious and fun. I brought along some maps of the dunes so Danielle could get a head start on finding our way in that enormous ocean of sand. She quickly went from having no idea where we were to telling me where to go. It was awesome.
For the latter half of the week several veteran Rebelles joined us for a few days of plotting and hunting checkpoints. Nena’s navi Teralin Petereit joined us as well as 2022 second place 4x4 driver Laura Wanless. We split into three groups to team up and go after checkpoints. From what I understand this is encouraged during the rally since getting stuck in the dunes is a given! Our group was lucky to include two veteran navigators, Lola Wofford (partnered with driver Peg Eaton) and Renee Vento (teamed up with her awesome sister Gail). With this dream team we picked our way through the dunes and made it all the way to the Glamis Swing Set and the Flag. It was a huge accomplishment and something I’ve wanted to do since I knew those places existed!
Our seven day training gave us the opportunity to settle into our roles of driver and navigator, to talk through how we’ll handle situations during the Rally, and practice how we plan to compete. We got to test out gear and figure out what’s a must have and what we can eliminate. We still have a lot to learn but I feel like we were really able to level up during our time in Glamis. I’m so grateful we were able to participate in the training and really looking forward to tackling those dunes in the rally!
