By: Matt Konkle
Take one part off-road. Add a pinch of geocaching and time management. Toss in some scavenger hunting, then mix in a few days of overlanding. Stir everything together with a big spoon of adventure, and you now have something new and exciting for Jeep enthusiasts this October.
Called the First Annual Woodland Adventure, this 'off road and more' event is set up for October 29-30 and promises to test its participants in a variety of fun and different ways, says Woodland Adventure founder Kyle Buchter.
"Designed for both stock or modified vehicles, Woodland Adventures was created so that families and friends could spend a weekend outdoors, exploring PA and enjoying the camaraderie and friendly competition between event participants," Buchter said.
Buchter, who owns an eastern Pennsylvania Off Road business called Off Road Consulting that - among other things - specializes in diverse off road training and trail rides for drivers of all skill levels, said the idea came from seeing the recent influx of overland challenges.
"However, most of these challenges require individuals to spend large amounts of money and prep time to prepare for the event," he said.
ORC's Woodland Adventure will take place at both Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area (Coal Township, PA) and Tremont PA's Rausch Creek Off Road Park, as well as the area in between which includes Weiser State Forest. Event participants will receive a packet with rules, GPS coordinates, paper maps and a Woodland Adventure Passport.
Using the maps and GPS to locate pre-determined stops, 'players' can log each stop into their passport to create points. Some points may be stamps or stickers, while some may require a picture at a specific location. All details will be in the packet and will explain exactly what 'players' need to do.
"The best part is you get to layout your own route using the GPS and paper maps," Buchter said. "Clues will be provided that you can use to your advantage, but you will need to plan your route using legal trails and roads to get to the items."
Whichever team collects the most points, as well as the team with the fastest time and most logged stops, wins prizes donated by various sponsors including Quadratec and JT Brooks.
The event begins Saturday, October 29th at 8 AM and continues through 5 PM Sunday, October 30th. ORC also has a kickoff check-in event planned Friday, October 28.
Teams can register at www.offroad-consulting.com. Cost for a two vehicle/two driver team is $350 - which includes the 2-day entrance fee for both off road parks as well as all maps/GPS. Additional passengers are welcome to join respective teams for an extra cost of $20 per person.
Requirements:
You must be in a team of two vehicles.
You need to understand how to use GPS or a paper map to find and locate stops.
Event is for 4X4 vehicles with adequate seat belts for all passengers.
This event is stock 4x4 friendly.
All teams must create a unique team name - example Team El Dorado.
Teams must pre-register.
Registration for a team of two vehicles/two drivers for this two day event is $350.00 which includes one day each at Rausch Creek and Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area.
Passengers are welcome to join the teams for an extra cost of $20.00 each.
All participants need to fill out waivers for Off Road Consulting, Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area, and Rausch Creek Off Road Park.
All off road park/state forest road rules and laws apply at all times during this event. Any rule breaking will result in the respective team's disqualification and ejection from the Off Road Consulting Woodland Adventure with no refund. Rules broken on or off road are subject to appropriate disciplinary action via Off Road Park Officers or Law Enforcement.