Trip and Report by Naill

A last minute trip to capitalise on the long weekend, our band of conquerors met under the beating sun, in 45 degree heat with not a patch of shade in sight.
We welcomed Arjun back to the sand after a long summer off, and after a quick catch up and briefing, we were ready to tackle the crossing from Murqquab to Triple Tree.

We set off at a gentle pace, getting warmed up and revisiting some of the familiar sights of basic training lesson 3 – sadly no balloons this time, but that didn’t dampen our spirits. After some long fast side slopes, some tricky climbs in the soft sand and a second try guided by our expert sweeper Adam, we stopped for a quick break to let our engines cool off from the summer heat.

Gearing up again, we swiftly made our way to the start of the famous ‘eggbox’ dunes, shifting into 4L and rolling through the technical terrain with precision. We took a winding path through the bumpy terrain, and a small detour to explore a promising looking dune formation (which sadly was covered in grass) we headed on towards Amir’s hill.

As the eggboxes began to double in size, we had a couple of stucks which were cleared in record time by our sweeper. Finally we cleared the technical section, and were greeted by a glorious sight – the back of Amir’s hill, with not a single track in sight! We took a second short break, then conquered this dune from all angles, making multiple passes across both sides, and ensuring no patch of sand was left unscathed.

Finally we raced towards the exit, enjoying all the long and fast side slopes the desert had left to offer us. We finished up a few minutes early, and luckily so, since no sooner had we started inflating than a sandstorm swept over us. We said our goodbyes and parted ways to enjoy the rest of the long weekend!

Thanks to everyone for joining the trip, great to see Arjun back on the sand, and special thanks to Marc for being second lead, and Adam for sweeping duties and keeping us all safe.