Ah, another Jeep Jam weekend is officially in the books. A handful of incredible days of Jeeps, friends, and questionable decisions; I’m already looking forward to next year. But for now, let me walk you through what exactly went down.
Wednesday actually kicked everything off, at least for my crew. We meet every month at a place in Myrtle called Whiskey Roots, just to hang out, talk off-roading, and have a good time. We met up that night and talked about our plans for the upcoming weekend, who was hitting the obstacle course and when, and what we were looking forward to.
Thursday started out with the Poker Run, which is basically a scavenger hunt on wheels. They hand you a card with a list of places, you drive from spot to spot and pick a playing card at random from each location, and whoever ends up with the best poker hand wins. I pulled two Jacks, so a two-of-a-kind, but nowhere near enough to take it home. My friend Ayme was only one step ahead of me with three-of-a-kind.
Of course, just before Jeep Jam, Tank decided to have a minor problem: he decided that he doesn’t want to start up on a warm-start, which basically means that running to get groceries is gonna take me a little longer since I have to try and get Tank started. He cranks up fine in the morning when the engine is cold, but this issue only just began happening that Tuesday before Whiskey Roots, so it was too recent and fresh for me to bring him into the shop. I have a feeling I know exactly what it is.
I was fortunate enough that Ayme brought her friend Christine along for the Poker Run, and the three of us had an incredible time traveling along the route I had mapped from place to place. Christine rode with me and stayed with Tank so I didn’t have to turn him off and hope that I could get him started again. Since Tank’s front driver tire fell off that time, I keep circling back to something I tell myself often: everything always works out in my favor. I have a whole Journal about it, which, if you didn’t catch, you can read it here.
Anyway, back to the story!
On Friday, I went on my own to Jeep Jam (Dylan was working), and I just wandered the vendors but still managed to run into friends along the way. I picked up a few stickers, a shirt for Dylan (which I apparently had forgotten to grab when I registered for Jeep Jam months ago), and some new valve stem caps. I spent a good chunk of the day watching Jeeps run the obstacle course and the mud pit, and I tried a new lager from Wicked Weed called Lime Drop. It was an incredible day.
On Saturday, Dylan joined me and I did it all again! We wandered the vendors, watched the course, watched the mud pit, and just enjoyed the day. It was this day that I finally found the raffle tent and put in a few tickets to try and win my picks—a recovery kit, a Tallboy jack, or an air compressor.
Then came Sunday, the day to close everything out. We started with the sunrise beach crawl, which is honestly what I look forward to every year I’ve been signing up to do it. It feels like it ushers in the end of the weekend. They do beach crawls Thursday, Friday, and Saturday mornings too, but Sunday just feels right. It feels peaceful to be driving on the beach, watching the waves, and handing out ducks to the kids to gather with their families to watch us all cruise the beach.
After the crawl, we have a sort of tradition now, where we gather at Johnny D’s for breakfast. If you’re ever in the Myrtle Beach area, hit up Johnny D’s; you won’t regret it.
Once Jeep Jam opened for the final day, we drove over and I immediately hit the obstacle course. With Tank’s starting issue, I didn’t want to risk wandering the Jam and then deciding to hit the course. They upped their game this year, and the easy course actually had a pretty good obstacle at the end! It was a pile of those huge cement drainage tubes that we had to crawl over. After all of the trails I’ve run at Uwharrie, this was a walk in the park. A very bumpy, very loud park, but a park nonetheless.
Once we completed the course, then came one of my favorite parts: the mud pit. It was a little steep of a drop on the way in, so I eased my way down, but once I evened out, I put the pedal to the floor. It was smooth sailing, mud flew everywhere, and then I started to climb out and…!
I got stuck. For the second year in a row. The tractor had to come pull me out, but honestly? I wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s something about sitting in a stuck Jeep, laughing with everyone watching. It feels fun. Exciting, even!
Looking back on this past weekend, it was just everything. Hanging out with friends, meeting new ones, good food, and just enjoying what we’re all passionate about. That’s what I love most about Jeep Jam, I think. It’s not really about the obstacles, the mud, or even the beach for that matter, but it’s about being surrounded by people who get it. People who get just as excited about a Jeep as I do.
It was another incredible weekend, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it.
Now, to my fellow chroniclers—what’s a tradition or event you look forward to every single year?
