2007 High Lifter ATV Mud Nationals
The 2007 High Lifter ATV Mud Nationals was once again held at Mud Creek Off-Road Park in Jacksonville, Texas, and the 5th Annual event attracted a record crowd of over 13,000 people, which was up from 9,000 in 2006 as the event continues to gain in popularity.
The gates opened on Wednesday and there was a steady stream of trucks and trailers loaded with ATVs flowing into the 3,500 acre facility as the hillsides became speckled with camp sites and thousands of ATVs roaring in all directions.
It was distinctively obvious that this was a mud event as almost every ATV was a utility with monster tires, lift kits, snorkels, and exhaust systems, but there were still a handful of sport ATVs blitzing around the fields as well, and it quickly became obvious that this was not just a single event, but a lifestyle for many of these ATV riders as it appeared more like a family reunion with all the intermingling among the riders.
With such a huge crowd of ATV enthusiast, it was no surprise to the see the ATV manufacturers embracing the event with Arctic Cat, Can-Am, Kawasaki, Polaris, and Yamaha semi-rigs setup at the event along with numerous aftermarket retailers including Gorilla Axles on vendors row.
Not only does the event offer thousands of acres to free ride with trails and mud holes that bringing a whole new meaning to “getting dirty”, there are also numerous competitions through out the four day event with thousands of dollars in prize money up for grabs. These include; Dynojet Bad 2 Da’Bone, Poker Run, Team Gorilla Run, Maxxis Mud-a-Cross, Moose Mud Chic Shootout, Youth Mud Bog, SuperTrapp Mud Bog as well as including a freestyle show performed by Akraix.
The enormousness of the event can’t be realized without seeing it first hand, and arriving without some form off-road transportation is unthinkable with event spread over thousands of acres. Fortunately, Arctic Cat generously lent us a Prowler UTV and Diesel TRV 700 ATV, which allowed us to hit the trails and find out really what the Mud Nationals is all about.
After an open day of riding on Wednesday, the festivities and events kicked off Thursday with the Dynojet Bad 2 Da’Bone Show-N-Shine Competition held along vendors’ row. The Bad 2 Da’ Bone competition featured some of the most extremely modified ATVs with some appearing to be strictly for show with airbrushed paint jobs and chrome while others were ready for the deepest mud pits, and few looked like they just left the mud pit. These ATVs and UTVs were lifted and pimped out with some of the finest bolt on parts along with many custom fabricated parts as well.
Immediately following the Bad 2 Da’Bone Competition, hundreds of people poured in with their ATVs for the start of the Thursday evening’s Poker Run with 2 of the 30 keys up for grabs and the possibility of winning a brand new Can-Am Outlander ATV. The 30 Keys for the Outlander were awarded through out the weekend, but only one key would start the Outlander at the end of the weekend. The Poker Run participants had just five hours to complete the course as they collected cards at five different stations and the participants with the high hand and low hand were awarded one of the 30 keys.
On Friday, the event really started to heat up with several competition on the schedule with the Team Gorilla Endurance Race kicking off the competitions in the Power line mud pits with teams of riders trying to make their way through the nearly mile long mud course in the quickest amount of time with the top three teams awarded prizes. There were thousands of people lining the banks of the mud pit watching the action as pairs of riders did their best to complete the course with many left broke down before even making it to the finish line, but they surely were having a blast regardless.
Next on the schedule was the Akraix Freestyle Team Exhibition, which attracted another enormous crowd of spectators as the Akraix crew busted out some insane tricks with Ben Bettis, Caleb Moore, and Steve Weissinger flying high above the crowd with Derek Guetter at the microphone. Derek would have been performing himself, but he was recovering from a collarbone injury, which had him sidelined for the weekend. As an added bonus, Akraix was also filming the show for the “Fallout III”, and in the spirit of the event, Ben Bettis pulled off a double grab for the first time in his career with no better place to do it than in front of a few thousand ATV addicts. Also, Caleb and Ben trained each other over the ramp swinging their boots together in mid flight, which had the crowd going wild. The show was a huge success and a great break from all the mud.
The Maxxis Mudda-Cross Competition wrapped up Friday’s competition under the lights with extreme mud machines battling around oval shaped course filled with water that had varying depths along the bottom. The depth of the water varied from just about 1 foot to nearly 4 feet deep, which swallowed up the ATVs and UTVs as they raced around the oval track. These machines were far from stock with monster tires, lift kits, and snorkels, but despite all the modification many still were taking on water and stopping in their tracks.
Saturday Marked the final day for competition with the highly anticipated SuperTrapp Mud bog running through out the day with five riders per heat drag racing across a mud pit approximately one yards long with the first one to the other end moving on to the next round. It was a start forward drag race as the deep water was littered with obstacles to challenge the racers as they crossed to the other side, so line choice and experience was critical to making it to the finish line first with several thousand dollar purse up for grabs.
The few days at the event felt like a week with all the different festivities, and I left the event making plans for my return in 2008 because it was a blast to experience. The only thing that was missing from the event was the lack of helmets as many of the riders feel that helmets are not necessary equipment, but one false move with a 500+ pound machine could spell disaster at any speed, so hopefully High Lifter will consider enforcing helmets at future events like they do for competitions. Regardless, if you don’t mind getting dirty, this is must attend event for any ATV enthusiast.
Once again, riders from across the US and Canada came together for the weeklong extravaganza known as The High Lifter ATV Mud Nationals. For the sixth straight year, riders came to spend a week in the mud at Mud Creek Off-Road Park, near Jacksonville, Texas. ATV enthusiasts made the 2008 High Lifter ATV Mud Nationals presented by Wulf Outdoor Sports the largest Mud Nationals to date, with over 14,000 in attendance.
