Fall – the perfect time of year for a pilgrimage to Indian Creek, the Mecca of crack climbing, in southeast Utah. Recently I found Brittany Griffith, a well-known climber, talking about taking her Sprinter camper van, the “Gypsy Van” as she calls it, into some pretty intrepid territory at Indian Creek with Zoe Hart:
“We started down the rough 4×4 road that led to the Bridger Jacks. There was a sweet campsite leading up to the towers, and I wanted it. Problem was, Gypsy Van wasn’t really built for 4×4’ing, but I had faith in her. I rolled her into a particularly steep, rocky section. Zoe clutched her armrest like an “oh-shit” bar, her eyes focused on the track ahead.
“Are you sure?” she whispered, attempting to conceal her doubt of Gypsy’s prowess.
“Yeah, maybe you should get out for this one, and make sure I don’t rip the propane tank off the bottom.” She jumped at the chance to get out and was quickly posted uphill to guide me through the gnarly section of rocks and sand that were the road.
“Okay!” she yelled and hesitantly waved me on. I confidently tapped the Tiptronic shifter down to “1” and feathered the accelerator. “Wa wa wa wa wa wa wa,” the diesel engine purred. Gypsy was game, and I wasn’t stopping her. Like a champion mare, she steadily yet powerfully maneuvered through the adverse terrain. Midway through the crux section I noticed that Zoe’s expression had changed from concern to, “Oh yeah, this is badass”. When the road flattened and smoothed, I coolly engaged the emergency brake and Zoe (with her eloquent Jersey accent) screamed, “That was so fuckin’ cool!”
“Don’t tell Jonathan about that part,” I said.”
More about Zoe and Brittany’s trip here and here.
Roads like this are exactly why we don’t have an underbody propane tank on our Sprinter conversion…
ASKING YOUR FEEDBACK: What are some of the roughest roads you’ve taken your Sprinter on?
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