I don’t mind technical rock crawling and I had a blast running down desert trails a couple of weeks ago, but when it comes to off-roading, my heart is still stuck on mudding. The great equalizer, mud will stop the baddest truck in the field and will let the most unassuming, unlikely thing pass by provided they can keep the wheel speed up and the tires free from turning into muddy balls of rubber. The Pacific Northwest is where I’ve done most of my off-roading, and it usually looks just like what you’re going to see from the Mud Fest 2018 footage here: rich, sloppy mud that varies in consistency, from a thick, grippy peanut-butter like mess to absolute soup. It’s not like red clay, where it’s going to stop your truck the second you think about getting off of the gas. The mud around Washington and Oregon is a little bit more forgiving, but if you dig yourself a nice little pit to China, just go ahead and get your buddy with the trackhoe to come out and rescue you, because you’ll be digging for a while if you don’t.

Mud Fest 2018 went down at the beginning of March this year and was the 49th annual event. It’s a family event, so you can bring the kids and make a day of it without worrying about tons of beer flowing or any issues. The Santiam Four Wheel Drive Association put the deal on and have made it a simple deal: bring your four-wheel drive rig out and have fun spending the day playing in the sloppy stuff with a background of Oregon forest behind you. They even provide pressure-washing when you’re ready to leave!