mudderx

I had to write a paper for my english class about cultures, so of course I wrote about the Jeep culture. Im bored so I thought I would share it with y'all (besides I spent like for hours writing it and figure it might as well be used more than once).


It is 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday morning, the Jeep is packed full of food, tools, spare clothes, dry firewood, sleds and inner tubes. It is my favorite time of the morning. It is the time when my imagination can see things in the vague shadows and mist that are not there, when everything seems almost magical. The time when we find out just how prepared we really are, the time when the journey begins. We are heading up to “the mountain” to play in the snow today. My wife and kids are glaring at me from the darkness, wondering why I had to drag everyone out of the house before the sun is up, while most of the city is still dark and the usual fog lays along Interstate 5 turning the glow of street lights into dim floating yellow halos in the darkness. I probably insist on early departures because I made similar journeys when I was younger back in California near Mt. Shasta, with my parents, in the back of a built ‘56 ****** Wagon (and because I want the maximum amount of daylight to play in). We still have about an hour drive before we get to Eatonville where we will meet up with my father-in-law and uncles and maybe a cousin or two who will show us around the mountain. After that it is another half an hour we finally reach the end of the road, well the paved road anyway, and it is time to stop and air down the tires (for maximum traction) and head up the pot-hole lined Forest Road 70 into the snow and the sunrise.
Being involved in any culture is more than just having a hobby; it is a way of life. Off-roading is a family tradition in many Pacific Northwest households and participant ages often range from 8 to 80 years old (my son was only 8 months old the first time he went wheeling). The off road culture is no different; it is a culture that requires a strong sense of community, communication, civic service, social interaction, environmental awareness and responsibility. Four wheel drive clubs both nationally and globally sponsor many activities such as food/toy drives and litter pick up days such as Operation Shore Patrol where “The Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association has worked with Washington State Parks and the Department of Ecology since 1971 to coordinate the removal of unsightly litter and debris while focusing attention to the environmental impacts to citizen's health, safety and welfare. The event occurs on the third weekend in September each year. Volunteers meet at three locations (Ocean Shores, Twin Harbors, and Cape Disappointment), where PNW4WDA members assign them to a section of beach to be cleaned up” (Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association). In addition, some off-roaders are members of local Search and Rescue teams involved in retrieving injured/lost outdoor enthusiasts from remote locations where air rescue is unsafe or impossible. Other groups such as the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC) offer workshops, rider trainings, and university courses in Recreation Management Programs where “Students and professional land managers learn current best practices about the sport; planning, design, construction, and management of OHV trails and facilities. The Marshall University Recreation and Park Resources program, in cooperation with the Nick J. Rahall, II Appalachian Transportation Institute (RTI) and the National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council (NOHVCC), has developed a series of four off-highway vehicle courses. The objective of these courses is to provide both university students and professional employees of planning and land management agencies with state-of-the-art courses dealing with the general aspects of OHV recreation and the planning, construction, operation and management of OHV trails and facilities. The Recreation and Park Resources program at Marshall University offers a bachelor of science degree with an emphasis in parks and conservation” (National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council).
Unfortunately, there is a common misconception is that four wheelers are a bunch of drunk, inbred, toothless, ignorant rednecks that drive monster trucks through forests destroying wildlife and their natural ecosystems while leaking all sorts of toxic substances on or into the air, ground, and local watersheds. Nothing could be further from the truth, I have been participating in this sport for most of my life, and most serious wheelers are normal working class men or women and educated professionals (off-roading is an expensive hobby/addiction). In addition, most off-road clubs maintain a trail system or ORV/OHV Park in conjunction with Local, State, and Federal land management offices (DNR, USFS, and BLM to name a few). Four wheel drive clubs have had to fight for the ability to use public lands and do not take it lightly when people damage or destroy natural resources and endanger the clubs ability to use public land
Globally, one club (established over 30 years ago), United Four Wheel Drive Associations (UFWDA) has membership that spans four continents with over 100,000 members in Australia, Canada, England, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States. The United Four Wheel Drive Association has contributed to the organization of four wheel drive clubs around the world, offering assistance with organizing, education, and in creating Land Management policies. On the local level the Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association, incorporated in 1960, has been influential in lobbying for public land use rights and in creating a developed trail system in Washington for motorized and non-motorized use. Interested parties in Washington, Oregon and Idaho may contact the Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association (PNW4WDA) to find more information, to become a member, or join an off road club in their area.
Please remember this the next time you are driving down the road and there is a big muddy truck or SUV in front of you, and you are thinking to yourself that the person who drives that thing must be an inbred, toothless, ignorant redneck. They might just be your Doctor, Lawyer, Accountant, or Principal. We are people too, and we most certainly do care about the environment that we all live and play in. Because without it where would our culture be?




Works Cited
National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation Council. Home Page. 2011. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.
Pacific Northwest Four Wheel Drive Association. Home Page. 2006. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.
United Four Wheel Drive Associations. Home Page. 2010. Web. 27 Oct. 2011.