Melissa Clark's 2023 Rebelle Rally Retrospective

Now that I’m back at home and the dust has settled, I thought I would write a few words about the impact this year’s Rebelle Rally has had on me.

Force Majeure Ruled the Rally

This was certainly the most difficult Rebelle Rally yet, based on several factors. One is called force majeure, which in essence, means an act of God or a greater force. Force majeure appeared on the course: Parts of it were heavily damaged or destroyed by the unusual rains that occurred late this summer. The planned course had to be revised and then revised again, as storm after storm pounded the California desert. Driving was certainly interesting, and many of the vehicles sustained damage. At one point there were more than 20 cars in the mechanic bays in Basecamp. Also, we had extreme of temperatures, with a low of 14F and frozen water lines at Basecamp 1, to a high somewhere around 107F at Basecamp 3.

Emily Miller, the creator of the Rebelle Rally, was the second factor in the difficulty. She decided to make the course more challenging with a few fresh strategies. This year, we had fake checkpoints that were just close enough to the real ones to cause wide misses. She created a two-day marathon stage with all the checkpoints provided on the first day. We also had a challenge where our maps were removed and replaced with a poorly rendered map in a 1:60000 scale, a type we’ve never used before. I’ll explain more about these as part of my overall thoughts.

Day One Flat Tire

On the first full day of competition, we got a flat tire on course. We were obviously prepared for this, but it’s still exhausting and stressful. I’m pretty sure the flat happened because I pulled off the road a little too often to let other traffic pass. That was a lesson learned: a 2-ply sidewall on an X-CROSS should not overly yield the trail to a 5- or 6-ply sidewall on a 4x4. We had no more flats after I made that adjustment. The tire change took maybe 20 minutes, but it sure felt longer. We started that morning with an enduro that we got full points for, even though an angry semi-truck driver hauling cattle on the dirt road tried putting us in the ditch. We finished the day in first place, despite our flat and the eclipse that also happened mid-course.

Difficult Maps

Our maps were different this year as well. We have adjusted to competing off of 1:100000 and even 1:200000 maps, but these maps sometimes lacked key data that we could see in the world. Some roads were missing; some topographic features were missing too. We failed to find a blue checkpoint on our way to Goldpoint on Day 2 because there was no road to it on the map. Those who were successful in finding it used topography and just assumed a road would be there. It was.

We also spent quite a bit of time in Johnson Valley, trying to find a black checkpoint (CP). Black CPs have no physical markers like a flag, so they could be anywhere. We clearly had a pile of rocks in that field but no features on the map. We elected to not click for that CP but later found out that the pile of rocks was the black CP.

Goldpoint Area – Days 2 and 3

We moved from our very cold Basecamp 1 down to lower-elevation Goldpoint. This near ghost town with resident mayor, bartender, and friendly host Walt was a great spot to have a “marathon” stage, even if the tarantulas were migrating. It was much warmer, and we had a good night.

The next morning, we set out on a busy course that had us finding checkpoints quickly before we clicked on a fake blue flag (that I’m still having dreams about). Midday found us rock crawling through the most difficult route I’ve ever taken a Bronco Sport on. Jessica spotted and tossed rocks out of the trail for what seemed like hours! Although we didn’t have enough confidence to click on the black, we were the first down to the green and the pavement, and we had just enough time to continue to collect another blue and one final black. That gave us an edge over the other X-CROSS teams who also encountered that ridiculous wash full of rocks. From there, we left on a roadbook for Ridgecrest and Basecamp 2 –– and a very welcomed shower.

Spangler OHV Area Near Ridgecrest

We were first off the line, which kept us first for a very challenging enduro that took us past the burro rescue and over to the Pinnacles. Jessica was very good at keeping us on course in spite of me, and we ended up doing pretty well. There were a few checkpoints in the Pinnacles before we headed back towards Spangler and Wagon Wheel OHV. Again, much of the day we felt very alone, only occasionally running into other teams on course.

A couple of the checkpoints were in and around the railroad tracks. At one point, I elected to drive through a tunnel under the tracks. When we dropped off the other side of the concrete embankment, we got high-centered. Jessica worked to get rocks and traction boards under the tires, but nothing seemed to work. Finally, I took out our ARB jack, which is an amazing device like a Hi-Lift jack, only easier and safer to use. I jacked up the car using the rear recovery point (not recommended), stacked more rocks and traction boards, and drove off the concrete edge with the Jack still in place. It worked!

It was Jessica’s birthday. Team 131 surprised her with a Dr. Pepper, and we found a very rare cup of ice. It probably wasn’t a birthday for the books, but hopefully she felt appreciated.

Two-Day Marathon Stage in Johnson Valley

Our two-day marathon stage into Johnson Valley allowed us to collect checkpoints up until 6:30pm, the latest I’ve ever experienced. We also had four camping areas. Depending on where we finished for the day, we would then move and camp there. Our original plan was to camp in Cougar Buttes (because we like it there), but we ended up on the south end of Melville Dry Lake, as it better positioned us for the next morning.

Jessica and I had seen very few teams into the later afternoon and thought we would likely be camping alone, but were delighted to see Team 145, Kris and Andrea, were already there. Other teams joined us, including Team 150, Shelby and Rori, and we had a beautiful, star-filled evening with a special visit by the Starlink satellites. If you’ve never seen those before, you would swear you’re having a close encounter of the third kind.

Early the next morning, in total darkness, we Jetboiled some hot coffee and started moving toward our first CP. The rules allowed vehicle movement as early as 6am but no CP collection until 6:30am. Driving toward a black CP using headlights was definitely a little spooky. We got positioned where we believed the CP was and waited for a bit more daylight to reveal some features. To our surprise, Team 129, Nena and Teralin, pulled up alongside us. Teralin jokingly announced that we were “sitting” on the CP, so after a bit of verification, we clicked and determined that yes, we found the black in the dark. The X-CROSS class has a different set of checkpoints, so we’re never sure if our CPs are also 4x4 checkpoints or not. Apparently, many in Johnson Valley belonged to everyone, because we saw our other Ford Performance teams most of the morning.

Encountering the Mach-E and Early to a Green

On our way out of Johnson Valley, we came to our green checkpoint and found Bailey and Kaleigh with the Mustang Mach-E Rally waiting there. We were a little concerned and confused, but the two-day marathon with limited charging opportunities had left them with very little range. We had just collected that green CP before we asked them why they were waiting. Apparently, that green had a very narrow opening and closing time, and they were there very early and had to wait for the opening. We had a moment of dread and checked our guides and times, only to discover that we had clicked 40 seconds too early. We weren’t sure what our next steps were, so we pulled out the rules and penalty tables and found out that if you collect between 1 second to 5 minutes early, you receive full points but take a 5-point penalty. Ugh!

Don’t Listen to the Radio

Off to Glamis via Slab City, a very long pavement transit, we took off our helmets and found a radio station that played some 70s and 80s rock. We were singing along when the news came on, and we heard about the issues in Israel. Being completely off-grid, with no phone, no news from the outside world, this was a bit of a shock. We were happy to get back on the dirt and lose the radio with its bad news.

This year, we had optional checkpoints in the dunes south of what we consider Glamis. After getting the whip flag in place, we quickly found a blue checkpoint at a swing set (not THE swing set, but fun, none the less). Jess took a moment to swing on her belly, a photo that only exists hilariously in my mind, before we set off to find another blue.

This dune complex is very remote with very limited trails. We spent a long time trying to find that second blue, finally getting stuck twice. Although we got ourselves out pretty quickly, we were spooked enough to abandon that blue, grab our green, and get to Glamis basecamp.

Day 7 and Glamis Dunes

Although you at home may see how we finish our day compared to others, we do not, and we often wonder how the standings will look. Many days during this rally, the results were posted late, after most were asleep, or early the next morning. On our final day, we discovered we had a pretty good lead. Jessica voted for a conservative approach; I verbally agreed but, once on course, headed in toward a black CP near Oldsmobile hill. We helped Team 216, sitting physically in second place, get unstuck and then headed back to the sand highway after collecting a couple of points for the black. Our day was not the best; we dealt with fuel issues as did many other teams, causing us to abandon several blues in order to get back to Basecamp. Our fuel indicator had no lights left, and it said we were 0 kilometers to empty when we came into camp. Although we didn’t win the day, we had enough of a lead to finish the Rebelle in first place.

We passed our husbands on the way to the finish line, and after formally finishing and turning in our trackers, we went back to celebrate with champagne and cheer for the other finishers as they headed toward Basecamp. It was an amazing end to a very hot day.

My final thoughts are on gratitude to be able to compete, to be sponsored by Ford Performance, and most of all, the fantastic people I have come to know because of the Rebelle Rally and the Ford Bronco Sport. Thanks to all of you who cheered us on; it is humbling to know that you were there following us! And yes, plans include 2024 Rebelle Rally!