King of the Hammers 2016: Backdoor by Night
The King of the Hammers is more than just a race, especially if you ask anyone who attends. It’s a celebration of off-roading that you don’t get anywhere else in the world. Where else do you find drivers who are racing earlier that day, or even the next day, out on the same trails as you are — just having fun in the very same rigs they are driving in their big races?
At this year’s KOH, I decided to check out one of those great spots, the infamous Backdoor and its challenging waterfall.
It’s almost a religious experience. Not only are you baptized by the rocks flung up by these drivers, but you get a view that you don’t get while the race is going on. You also get an atmosphere that is unlike any event I have ever been to. It was a party, for sure, but also a challenge of the driver’s skill to navigate the rig’s capability. I’ve been to other off road races, but I’ve never been to Backdoor during the King of the Hammers. Now, I know what I have been missing out on.
It was amazing listening to people cheer on drivers, boo them, and cheer them on again, all in the span of a few seconds. Each chant would change depending on how close that driver got to ascending the waterfall. What never changed was the cheer that roared out for every driver that did make it and came back around to do it again. Words simply fail to describe the moments. And if a driver broke something, they backed down, fixed the issue, and tried again with an even more amped-up crowd.
If you’ve never seen this, never been to the trails during the nights of the King of the Hammers, do it. You won’t regret it.
