The Rebelle Rally is a grueling, seven-day, off-road rally via the California and Nevada desert. You aren’t allowed to make use of GPS, cell telephones, or any form of trendy tech. All you get are some rulers, topographical maps and a compass. Oh, and the off-road car of your selection.I’ve competed within the Rebelle Rally thrice now, and eventually — lastly! — I received. Both my teammate and I practiced and ready more durable than we now have earlier than, however a whole lot of the credit score goes to my trusty steed, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.Girls’ week outThe Rebelle Rally is only for the women. I acknowledge there’s some controversy right here, however founder Emily Miller wished to create a spot the place girls may get useful off-road time with out the implied pressures of competing in opposition to males.

The motorsports world actually would not discriminate in opposition to girls. I race off-road with the boys within the desert on a regular basis. But all it takes is one stroll down a pit lane with scantily clad photo-op ladies to know motorsports would not at all times deal with girls with equality. The Rebelle Rally goals to provide girls the arrogance to compete with out individuals mechanically making use of a “he vs. she” angle to the occasion.

Furthermore, the Rebelle Rally is under no circumstances pinkwashed. You’re up at 5:00 a.m. every single day. You do not get cell telephones or chase automobiles. For seven days straight, you tackle the hardest terrain America’s western desert has to supply, from the open vistas of northern Nevada, to the rocky trails of Johnson Valley, California, to the ocean of 300-foot-tall sand dunes in Glamis close to the Mexican border.My navigator Rebecca Donaghe and I at first of the Rebelle Rally. We’re so clear!
Nicole Dreon
Each morning, my teammate Rebecca Donaghe would plot the day’s checkpoints on a map, and we might work out the easiest way to get to all of them. Some checkpoints are simple to search out, marked by a inexperienced flag on an simply traversed route. Others are tougher, marked by a small blue flag or stake within the floor. These are sometimes positioned on the high of a steep climb or hidden out of sight in a ditch. The unmarked clean checkpoints are probably the most tough, with navigators counting on triangulation and exact map studying to search out the precise level. Tracker indicators are despatched again to the rally headquarters when checkpoints are discovered, and factors are awarded accordingly. She who finishes with probably the most factors, wins.The finest software for the jobJeep has been synonymous with off-roading since World War II, and this brand-new JL-generation Wrangler is arguably the most effective go-anywhere SUV but. Available in two- or four-door physique kinds, and in Sport, Sport S, Sahara or Rubicon trims, all Wranglers include four-wheel drive and a two-speed switch case. A 3.6-liter V6 engine is normal, however a brand new 2.0-liter, turbocharged I4 with a mild-hybrid system is on the market. A six-speed handbook transmission is normal with the V6, and an eight-speed computerized is non-compulsory.My steed for the Rebelle Rally is a four-door Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, with the 3.6-liter engine. This mill produces a good 285 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, and my tester has the non-compulsory 8-speed computerized.The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon make brief work of the rocky trails in Johnson Valley, California.
Nicole Dreon
Taking a Jeep to the Rebelle Rally nearly appears like dishonest — it is simply that succesful. The top-of-the-line Rubicon mannequin has all of the off-road goodies I may need right here: Front and rear locking differentials, full skid plate safety, rock rails and a 4:1 low-range gear ratio. The transmission’s last crawl ratio is 77.2:1, permitting for gobs of torque at low speeds to rise up, over or via any impediment.

But that does not imply the Rebelle Rally is a stroll within the park. On the fourth day, I drove the Jeep straight into the knee-deep thick mud of a flooded desert lakebed, and the Wrangler was immediately caught. Rebecca and I hopped out, instantly coated within the super-thick muck. It crammed our sneakers, in addition to the tread of the Jeep’s 33-inch BF Goodrich KO2 tires. Good as these tires are within the sand, the tread is not made for thick mud. And with no exterior assist accessible, it was as much as Rebecca and me to get the Jeep out. We had no winch, simply Maxtrax restoration boards, two shovels and a complete lot of religion.After 20 minutes of scooping mud away from the tires to get the Maxtrax boards beneath them, pushing mud out of the tread for any hope of traction, I hopped within the driver’s seat whereas Rebecca stayed again to push. I shifted into low gear and locked every part as much as distribute torque equally to all 4 wheels. Even with mild throttle, the tires simply spun. Airing down the tires was the one resolution, spreading the tire tread sufficient to hook up on the Maxtrax and get us out of that pit.When it’s important to dig out of mud, you find yourself sporting mud. 
Nicole Dreon
Rebecca and I by no means discovered ourselves caught within the mud for the remainder of the rally, fortunately. In truth, apart from that one occasion, we by no means needed to lock each differentials at some other level on the rally, even on the powerful trails of Johnson Valley. Of course, none of this could come as a shock to people who know the Jeep Wrangler. It is, with out query, probably the most succesful SUV you should buy at this time, full cease. And though it is not the quickest factor with four-wheel drive, I used to be in a position to outrun a modified Toyota Tundra in a sand wash. In truth, my common pace was about the identical as after I did this similar rally final yr, within the desert-running Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 with its fancy-pants off-road shocks.After seven days of competitors, Rebecca and I tied for first place within the general rally (the opposite workforce additionally drove a Wrangler, however with a lot greater tires and a raise). In addition, we received the Bone Stock class, because the workforce with probably the most factors to compete in an off-the-showroom-floor car.Trophies are the most effective.
Nicole Dreon
All the appropriate stuffEven if you happen to by no means take the Wrangler off highway, you will discover it to be a properly geared up SUV. The Rebelle Rally would not enable for any high-tech gadgetry, so the 8.4-inch Uconnect touchscreen was sealed up and by no means used. Happily, with normal Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, in addition to a Wi-Fi hotspot, two USB ports, two 12-volt accent ports and a 115-volt, three-prong AC outlet, you will be a lot linked to the world round you while you get again to civilization.Given the selection, I would not have picked the soft-top configuration of this Wrangler. Not solely does it let in a ton of mud, it makes for loud motoring. My solely different criticism is an general lack of smaller storage cubbies contained in the Wrangler, however then once more, most patrons will not be bringing pencils, rulers, calculators, compasses, timers or magnifying glasses on their each day drives. In truth, for my cash, I might go for a Rubicon. But I might spec the two-door Wrangler, just because its shorter wheelbase provides it a greater breakover angle. I might additionally go for the two.0-liter turbo engine as a way to get higher gasoline economic system — the EPA charges this mannequin at 24 miles per gallon mixed. For occasions after I’m driving on pavement, a $1,690 bundle will get me adaptive cruise management and blind-spot monitoring. And lastly, a metal bumper and LED lighting bundle units me again an extra $2,290.All in, my excellent two-door Jeep prices $50,300, in comparison with the $53,095 of my Rebelle Rally rig. That’s not an enormous financial savings, thoughts you. But then once more, I may spend that extra cash on higher tires — or a winch.