FJ Summit 2018 + Rebelle U

Details: By Kathy Locke

I purchased my 2008 FJ Cruiser in April 2017. It has been an amazing vehicle and I honestly don’t know how I've lived this long without one. I first heard about the FJ Summit right after I bought my FJ, and because it was April, the Summit had been sold out for a few weeks. I was fascinated and eager to learn about this event in Ouray, Colorado, filled with Toyota enthusiasts from across the country and off-road trails traversing through some of Colorado’s most majestic mountain ranges.

My main goal for this event though, was attending Rebelle U.My main goal for this event though, was attending Rebelle U.

On our way

Our trip starts on Wednesday morning of the FJ Summit with my daughter, Grace, and I packing up the FJ Cruiser to meet up with Toyota Cruisers & TrucksAssociate Editor, Daniel Markofsky, and his girlfriend, Anna Kowalska, near Morrison, Colorado. Daniel and Anna arrive in Daniel’s 1993 FZJ80 Land Cruiser, “with 305,000 miles,” Daniel proudly exclaims, to work our way toward Ouray, Colorado.

After a stop in Grand Junction, Colorado, Daniel asks if we would be interested in a quick visit to see one of his friends, Jeremiah Proffitt, to check out some of Jeremiah's Land Cruisers and FJ40s at his place, Proffitt's Resurrection Land Cruisers in Austin, Colorado. In my 30+ years living in Colorado, I had neverheard of Austin, but I tell him we’re game for anything, so off we go.

We reach Proffitt's Resurrection Land Cruisers and meet Jeremiah and his wife, Chandra, who is busily ordering parts for vehicles undergoing restoration in their shop. There are so many gorgeous vehicles in this shop, I can’t stop taking photos. I learn from Jeremiah the different types of restorations and the approximate cost for some of the vehicles in his shop. Even though I know how much a classic vehicle restoration can be (as muchas $200,000 or more), it still floors me when I hear the numbers.

We say our goodbye’s and head to the local grocery store so Daniel can stock up on ice cream—that's right, ice cream. Daniel is testing out the new Dometic CFX-75 cooler (read about his review on page xx), and he wants to hand out ice cream to participants on the trails he will be leading during the FJ Summit. If the scenery wasn’t enough during the trail runs, I’m pretty sure the ice cream will be the cherry on top.

FJ Summit

We start our final trek down Highway 550 into Ouray and as we enter town, I can hardly contain my excitement. I’m thrilled to look around at the beautiful, historic buildings, the mountains surrounding Ouray, and... SO MANY FJs! Daniel leads us to Main Street and 3rdAvenue in downtown Ouray to Twin Peaks Lodge & Hot Springs, or for the next few days, FJ Summit Headquarters.

[Side bar:Known as the “Switzerland of America”, Ouray (pronounced Yer-ray) was founded in 1876 as a gold and silver mining town and is also filledwith numerous hot springs. Named after Chief Ouray of the Ute Native American tribe, Ouray is a small, quaint town of just over 1,000 people, and during one week in July, it’s filled with more than 300 Toyota vehicles and over 600 attendees.]

Daniel introduces me to many people at the event—some are friends, some are vendors, most are both. One person I run into is Tiffany Walker along with her husband, Tom. I’m beyond ecstatic to see Tiffany—a wonderful friendship has formed between us since I wrote the story about her and her Rebelle Rally partner, Rori Lewis [make a link to story] from Team #154 Roads Less Traveled. She reminds me about the Rebelle U class that begins the next day. I am excited to learn navigation and off-road driving skills from two of the most amazing, off-road rally women in the industry.

The Women of Rebelle U

Emily Miller has trained over 4,000 people for off-road driving. She is the founder of the Rebelle Rally, the first women’s off-road navigation rally raid in the United States,and she will be teaching the two-day Rebelle U course. She was trained by none other than Rod Hall, raced on his team, and had multiple podium finishes, most notably in the Baja 1000 and the Rallye Aïcha des Gazellesin Morocco, where she placed 2nddriving a stock vehicle and was the first American to podium. She is calm and confident when she speaks and presents, making you quickly aware of the knowledge she possesses. She knows a lot. You listen.

Nicole Pitell-Vaughan is the co-owner of Total Chaos Fabrication and sponsors the Rebelle U and the Rebelle Rally. She is equally happy on two or four wheels. She, too, has raced in numerous off-road events, landing on the podium at many of them. Nicole has raced in the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles twice, placing 2ndin 2016 with another famous off-road driver, Chrissie Beavis, driving the Total Chaos Tacoma, Morocco Taco. They were the first American team ever to podium finish at the Gazelles, which began in 1990. I would say Nicole probably knows a little bit about off-roading as well.

While Emily is calm, cool, and collected, Nicole is a hurricane of energy, laughter and passion—the wild child. That energy quickly rubs off on you. You can tell she loves what she does, and she loves sharing that passion and knowledge with everyone else, and she wants to make sure everyone finds their passion, too. Together, they create a balance of each other and encompass everything I need and love about women-led instruction—learning, support and empowerment, trust, and in the end, laughter and amazing friendships formed.

To say I am starstruck is an understatement. For the next two days, I feel like I’m in a dream world surrounded by off-road rally royalty.

Rebelle U

On day one of Rebelle U, I finally get to meet Rori Lewis, the other half of Team Roads Less Traveled. Rori is just as sweet and kind in person as she was when I interviewed her last year. She is helpful and supportive and full of navigation tips and tricks—she is a navigating phenomenon and I look to her during our next two days for help, a lot.

We learn about map and compass navigation, understanding the most important part of a map is being able to locate yourself by geographic landmarks and formations, first and foremost. We triangulate, plot, find and create checkpoints, and learn latitude and longitude. I quickly learn calculating longitude is my navigation nemesis—it's kicking my butt and it’s frustrating.

Day two is geared towardour vehicles—learning about them, the different four-wheel drive systems in each ofour vehicles, suspension, and vehicle dynamics. I learn how far I can truly see in front of my vehicle, and where my tires actually are in relation to where I am in the driver's seat which, coincidentally, becomes invaluable on Saturday when I do the Alpine Loop.

We take off for some on-trail training in four-wheel drive. I learn all I really need to air down my tires is a pebble, along with a countdown, which I find incredibly entertaining. We are taught to left-foot brake, and we drive a certain sectionof the trail without braking but using our gears, and more importantly, planning, to help while we do all of this. Emily was in my vehicle during this lesson. I felt like I was 16-years old again taking the driving test with the driving teacher—it was nerve-racking for a little while.

At the end of the training Friday evening, we gather for a happy hour celebration to acknowledge our successes over the last two days. We congratulate and encourage one another—especially for those who plan to race in this year’s Rebelle Rally, and give supportive suggestions on things we can practice and improve on, like my longitude calculations mostly, but also trusting my own driving skills and judgement. I get a moment with Nicole during the ruckus and laughter to thank her for her time and for sponsoring such a great class. We talk a little about our lives and she begins to tell me a little more about her personal life—successes as well as her struggles. This just makes me appreciate her more. I realize that even though I think she’s tough-as-nails andan off-roading badass, she’s vulnerable too, just like the rest of us. Among teary eyes between us, I hug her and tell her she’s amazing.

I tell the bartender he is surrounded by off-road racing royalty. Nicole says at the end of the day, she “ties her shoes just like everyone else.” I smile and agree, but I let her know that along with Emily, Tiffany, and Rori, she represents for other women, courage, confidence, and empowerment to let us know we can all do this. We can all be great off-road drivers as well as navigate our own path—whether on a paper map or in our day-to-day life. We can do anything.

Alpine Loop

Saturday, I meet up with Daniel again who will be the trail leader for the Alpine Loop trail where I’ve decided to put my new driving techniques to the test. The beginning of Engineer Pass proves a little more tippy than I like, and I need a spotter through a small section, mostly because I panic and lose my line, feeling like I’m holding up the rest of the group even though there are only two other people behind me. I manage and make it through the rest of the rocky section, but I keep having to tell myself it’s OK; I’m not in a race. Be calm. Be accurate. Feeling panicked and rushed in situations is something I am still working through.

Our group arrives to the top of Engineer Pass to beautiful views. We make our way to Lake City for lunch and then head back out to Cinnamon Pass to Animas Forks. One section of this trail is where my true Rebelle U class training comes into play. Coming in the opposite direction is a Nissan truck who pulls over, as much as he can, leaving us to drive by his passenger side with a steep shelf on our driver’s side. I’ve been off-roading for more than a year now, but I am definitely a newbie with passing on shelf roads.This has been a big fear of mine for some time.

One by one, each vehicle works their way slowly past the truck. When my turn comes, I take some deep breaths, check where my tires are and roll down my window so I can see how close I am to the edge. I realize I am definitely closer than I want. My daughter watches out her passenger window to let me know how close I am to hitting the truck. I take it slow and steady and little by little, we work our way through. I’m pretty sure I want to jump out of the car and kiss the ground, but there are still a few vehicles behind me, so I can’t. Unfortunately, the new 4Runner behind me isn’t so lucky and hits the truck as he goes by, scraping his rear passenger fender. It is that close and that scary.

We make our way to Animas Forks ghost town and check out the beautiful abandoned buildings and take photos of the majestic mountains surrounding us. Unfortunately, Daniel doesn't get a chance to refill the Dometic cooler with ice cream for this trail, so he brews some of his delicious Turkish coffee for the group instead.

Heading Home

Back in Ouray, my daughter and I enjoy our last night at the FJ Summit and meet up briefly with Daniel and Anna. We’ve had a blast at the Summit but we are thoroughly exhausted. My daughter andI eat some dinner and head back to our hotel. We want to be up bright and early the next morning for the annual FJ Summit group photo and for our trip home.

After the group photo in the morning, we have breakfast with Daniel and Anna in town and meet up later at their camp site as we begin making our way back to Denver. We take McClure Pass while the engine from Daniel’s Land Cruiser cooks up Rueben sandwiches, and we find a secluded rest area by the Colorado River just off the highway to enjoy them. Aftera few more hours on the road, we all make it home, tired, but safe and sound.

It was so incredible to be a part of this event and to meet so many great people and see such amazing scenery. The training and camaraderie from the Rebelle U class and the wonderful women I met is something I won’t soon forget. Much luck to those from the class that are racing in the Rebelle Rally this year—Team Roads Less Traveled and Team Locos Mocos. Hopefully, I can attend the FJ Summit again next year, but until then, I will be patiently waiting for the 2019 FJ Summit registration announcement just like everyone else.

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