Introduction

May 27, 2000

With every passing year, Rock Crawl gets larger and larger. This year was the biggest ever with about 200 vehicles and roughly 380 people. It was also the year with the largest number of difficult trails being offered to the participants. R.I.P., Morningside, Doomicon (extended play version), and D.S.S. provided challenges to satisfy the most rabid of hardcore fourwheelers. In fact, demand was so high this year that the event sold out in less than a week.

The trails making the biggest news were R.I.P. (Rest In Pieces) and Morningside. R.I.P. was added to the trail inventory earlier this year and has earned the title of the most insane trail ever offered at these events. From beginning to end, it slaps you in the face with one obstacle after another. Due to its extremely narrow sections, only vehicles with a width of 76" or less were permitted. Unfortunately, this precluded any vehicle running full-size truck width axles from participating. Morningside is an old stand-by that has earned the reputation of having the most demanding trails available in British Columbia. It is a 4x4 playground situated on a First Nations reservation near the Metchosin/East Sooke area. If you enjoy steep, off-camber hill-climbs, this is the place for you. Both trails posed a high potential for vehicle damage. R.I.P. more so than Morningside, because there were NO bypasses or escape routes available. On the other hand, Morningside's extreme, off-camber hill climbs promised severe vehicular and personal damage if you screwed up.

Over the next few weeks, we'll be adding Rock Crawl 2000 stories to this area, along with a gallery of photos from the event. The first story is from the R.I.P. trail. We hope you enjoy it.

...lars