By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress
It was four days of white-knuckle thrills at 2 mph last weekend at the 42nd annual Hump N Bump event, presented by Vegas Valley 4-Wheelers Club (VV4W) in the Logandale Trails area. A total of 280 vehicles registered for the event which was held from Oct. 19-22.
This yearly event features custom off-road vehicles in action doing gravity-defying rock crawls and adrenaline-pumping vertical climbs over the sandstone cliffs of the Logandale Trails area, always going at extreme slow speeds.
Event organizer Kevin Bailey said that he was pleased with the turnout this year which represented moderate growth from the year before. He estimated a total of 500 people had shown up from all across the western U.S..
The Clark County Fairgrounds was bustling with activity as 110 RVs filled the camp slots as well as more than 60 tent campers on the midway grass area. And that didn’t even count the two dozen some-odd “boon-dockers” who showed up with RVs but didn’t use power and water hookups.
“We are grateful to the local Parks and Rec staff for accommodating us,” said Bailey. “We realize that this facility is not an RV park. But the local staff has allowed us to spread out into the northern end of the fairgrounds. With the exception of the rodeo arena, we have pretty much take over the whole facility. They have been great to us.”
The action started early on Friday morning. Lines of tricked out rock-crawlers, buggies and custom Jeeps lined up to start on one of the half-dozen or so trails featured in the event. The drivers set out in groups of 15-30 minute intervals to tackle their chosen trails.
There were plenty of challenges in store on the trails each day. And it wasn’t abnormal for vehicles to come back in less pristine condition than they set out. Mechanical damage from the rigors of the trails is frequent. And once in a while a vehicle gets turned upside down out on the trail.
Bailey said that the notorious trail feature, called Bronco Falls by the riders, was the most perilous obstacle in this years event. Many vehicles took on some damage there. Also, the Shedder bowl on the northern end of the trails, caused trouble for a couple of drivers.
“Having a rollover or a broken axle out on the trail is not abnormal at all,” Bailey said. “Fortunately, though, no one has been hurt this year on any of the rides – that is if you don’t count their bruised pride.”
But there is always help at the Hump N Bump when things turn upside down for a driver. A group of volunteers, from Total Karnage 4WD club in Las Vegas, are always just a radio distress call away.
“Those guys have seen everything,” Bailey said. “They respond right away and get right to work on it to bring the vehicles back to camp. They don’t do the repairs for the person. But at least we bring them back off the trail. Nobody is just stuck out there on their own.”
There were a lot of interesting people having fun out on the trails throughout the weekend.
For example, the Race 2 Erase 22 offroad club invited a group of veterans to go on rock climbing ride-alongs on Friday morning.
Local veteran and business owner Bernie Conrique was one of those who took a ride. Conrique said that climbing what seemed to be a vertical rock cliff in an off-road vehicle was a real thrill.
“Of course, I experienced a few similar things when I was in the service,” Conrique said. “But it was never as much fun. There was definitely a pucker factor to it!”
Scott Harward of N. Las Vegas was riding in the Hump N Bump for his fifth year running. He climbed the cliff out of the Shedder bowl with a custom 2005 Jeep Wrangler. Then he got out and spotted someone else on their way up.
Harward’s vehicle was fully outfitted for trail action including custom axles, frame, engine, roll cage, brakes, a gas tank that had been shifted to the center of the vehicle for stability and more.
Harwood gave away one of his tricks for helping to keep the front end on the ground in vertical climbs. “I put 200 lbs. of water into the front tires,” he said. “That keeps the front end weighed down and prevents flipping over.”
It was the very first time driving Logandale Trails for Sanford Lieberg who came from Canyon Lake, California for the Hump N Bump. Riding shotgun with him coming up out of the Shedder on Friday was 10-year-old Zach Lankford.
“We are definitely having a lot of fun,” Lieberg said. “I’ve never done anything like this. I do a lot of trail riding in the Sierras and up at Big Bear. But I haven’t done nearly vertical-falls like you have here. It definitely gets your heart rate up.”
Bailey expressed appreciation to the BLM, Metro Northeast Resident Section, Moapa Valley Fire District, an array of local businesses and the Moapa Valley residents for supporting the Hump N Bump event.
“We appreciate all the great support that we get from the community and we are always happy to give back by visiting local shops and restaurants and spending our money here,” Bailey said.
