The 2016 Trail of Gnu happened on April 2, 2016 in Rocky Mountain House. It was great to see such a strong turn out – 27 cars started (an additional 5 cars received a DNS), which is a fantastic turn out!
The course was pretty well devoid of snow, but had many water splashes, long dry sections, and some super slick mud. It was a different Gnu than before, considering it’s usually considered a “winter TSD rally”. There were fast gravel sections, followed by technical blind crests, exposures, and all sorts of terrain and tricky route bits in between.
We had 4 ERC members participate in this event – Dave Sharp (Driver), Chuck Pifko (Navigator), Mike Thorn (Driver), and Kait Priest (Navigator). Chuck and his driver, Bruce Walker, took 11th place overall, and 4th in their class (Unlimited). Dave and his navigator, Kurt Schantz, took 17th over all, and 2nd in their class (Paper). Mike and Kait got a DNF, as they forcibly removed their oil pan on the second last regularity, and ended up needing a tow off the mountain. If you’d like to see all the results, please have a look over at the Trail of the Gnu website. Congrats to all our ERC members who placed, and a big sad trombone for those who didn’t!
Here are a few photos – please feel free to add your photos in the comments (requires outside image hosting like flickr or photobucket, and html code, which most hosting sites will provide for you).
Mike Thorn
April 6, 2016 at 4:21 pm
It really was a great event! Such awesome roads and really technical sections. I’m not sure if it would have been more or less difficult in the snow. It would have been slippery, but banks would have been a nice visual break between road and sky, and the giant sippy holes (and dips after crests with big rocks in them) would have been flat ice. It was great as it was, but I’m looking forward to next year and maybe (global warming aside) it will be snowy! The TDI will get a new oil pan and rad support, some new lights, and a skid plate! Before the Mudlark.
Huge thanks to the organizers and volunteers that make this kind of thing happen. Mudlark is next and then the ERC’s Northern Loon on July 10th.
Hope to see everyone there!
Don’t let the math deter you from a great Rally Experience. You only need to be good at the math if you want to win. Fun happens anyway!
Dave
April 6, 2016 at 8:28 pm
It was a great event. We had lots of fun. I was very glad we brought the little SUV, though, cause that “Hole In The Woods” section (see all the mudbog photos above) had a lot of deep watersplashes and potholes. Definitely needed the ground clearance through there! (Sorry, Mike). All in all, though, a great day driving through some of the most scenic backroads west and south of Rocky Mountain House (places you’d never see on your own). Taking part in navigational rallies like this one is more than just competing, it’s a complete adventure.