Camp Jeep 2007 - Jeeping Man '07

Put 10,000 Jeepers and 3,000 rigs on a couple hundred acres of Virginia countryside, and what do you get? One heckuva bad case of Backcountry Gridlock, normally. But Camp Jeep is no normal event, and the 2007 version provided a cornucopia of laid-back country pleasures in the kind of family-friendly environment the event is so well known for-with plenty of good wheelin' fun too.

Held over three hot-'n'-humid summer days in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Lynchburg, Virginia, the 13th anniversary Jeepfest extraordinaire featured the usual trail rides galore; tech seminars and wrenching demos; scores of dirt piles, mud pits, rock pits; and consumer demand aplenty. According to the folks at Chrysler, all 3,000 tickets were sold out two weeks prior to the event, so if you showed up unannounced on opening day, well ... wait 'til next year.

Camp Jeep is one event that we can genuinely say has something for everyone. Check out the photos in this story for some examples, but suffice to say, this is the ultimate wheeling week for everyone in your family, regardless of their age or degree of interest. As of press time, the location for Camp Jeep 2008 had yet to be determined, but if you're a Jeeper, we think it's well worth the trip-no matter where it's based-and you'll definitely wanna reserve your space in advance. For future information, log onto www.jeep.com/jeep_life.

Among the attractions at Camp Jeep '07 was the 4x4 Build-Off between rivals Skyjacker and Superlift, in which pro wrenches from both suspensionmakers engaged in a little friendly competition to build a bone-stock TJ from mild to wild over the course of three days. Here, the boys from Superlift perform a little sway-bar adjustment as Superlift Off-Road Adventure host Trent McGee takes in the action.	It's never too early to give the kids a lifelong case of the Jeepin' bug, and the Fisher-Price Mini-Course was a hit with youngsters throughout the week. Also at Camp Kids were hands-on exhibits in beadworking, braiding and leatherwork, a karaoke booth, and a treasure hunt, as well as a workshop in tattooing. (Don't worry, Ma, they wash off.)	Camp Jeep '07 offered 17 discrete trail rides, ranging from beginner to advanced and traversing over 100 combined miles carved into the densely wooded Blue Ridge backcountry. Heavy rainfall from the previous week left plenty of wet stuff behind in streams and creekbeds for participants to play in.
Snow in July? At Camp Jeep, all things are possible, and for CJ '07, a cadre of pro snowboarders and freestylers put on displays of their skills during the week on an artificial slope covered with real snow, while youngsters got a chance to take a powdery ride down their own slalom course in innertubes.	For those who own stockers, or who'd rather stay closer to civilization, Camp Jeep offered a variety of less hard-core, manmade obstacles to wheel, including rock and mud courses. We were surprised at the consistency of this Virginia goo-it reminded us of the sticky clay stuff we see in the Southwest during the rainy season.	A big hit at this year's Camp Jeep was Tony Hawk's Grand Jam, a shredsleddin' skatefest on a custom half-tube featuring Hawk himself, as well as Olympic snowboarder Shaun White and a big supporting cast of boarders and bikers. Not terribly gnar, but entertaining nonetheless.
Camp Jeep is also a showcase for all manner of project rigs, and this '06 TJ from Dan McKeag and his inspired minds at Burnsville Off Road was a favorite of ours. Sporting a 500hp 8.3L Viper V-10 under the hood, the Jeep utilizes a Superlift 6-inch long-arm kit to locate a pair of Currie Iron Jock 60s stuffed with 5.38:1s and locked by Detroit in front and ARB in the rear. The 39.5-inch IROKs wrapped around 20x8.5 American Racing rims, which were custom machined to accommodate the F-450 hubs, provide rolling stock.	Another cool thing about attending Camp Jeep is, you never know what else might be nearby. In our case, we played hooky for a couple of hours one afternoon and took in the sites of the historic Blue Ridge country, the jewel of which is Monticello, home to the guy on the two-dollar bill who happened to be our first Secretary of State, our third President, the Louisiana Purchaser, and a self-taught architect who designed his own estate. Oh, and he wrote the Declaration of Independence on one of his days off, too.	Any time there's free food around, journalists are sure to be in the vicinity, so naturally we spent some time at the Weber Grill-Your-Own-Pizza tent watching participants cook up their own lunch in 90-degree weather. Once you'd had your fill, you could mosey on down the Liberty Lifestyle Path to the BMX course, the Dirt Bike course, the Skate Park, the Fishing Pond, and the Sirius Concert Stage, where Tim McGraw and the B-52s performed during the week.