story and photos by Allen Merritt

We drove past mile after mile of cropland alternating between bright green corn, purplish green pasture and golden wheat to Shields Kansas. At Shields, which is about 60 miles northeast of Garden City on Highway 4, we were unable to visualize any off-road adventures in the rolling prairie. However, at a sign just past an oil well, we turned onto a two-track trail toward the backside of Cat House Recreation Area. The trail led to Heartland Off-Road Association’s Kansas Krunch rendezvous camp. The camp overlooked one of Kansas’s great secrets — a valley stretching north toward the Smoky Hill River. It looked like the Dakota Bad Lands.

View of Cat House Recreation Area from Kansas Krunch Camp. Note the amber waves of grain on the horizon.

Kansas Krunch offers rare rock crawling opportunities in western Kansas.

Looking down on the staging area and beginning of the King of the Canyon competition.

The Cat House Recreation Area contains more than 1500 acres of private property. Groups and individuals buy memberships to use the property. The property includes an 18-hole golf course with clubhouse, several small lakes, shooting ranges, hunting, fishing, a convenience store, and miles of mild-to-wild OHV trails.

Members from Heartland Off-Road Association developed several 4x4 obstacle courses and challenging trails. They use the property year round, but for events like Kansas Krunch, they charge nonmembers a fee. From the fee, the club pays $10 per visitor-per day to the owner. They pay event expenses like meals, trophies, and raffle prizes and they raise money for the Southwest Four Wheel Drive Association’s Land Action Fund.

Friday morning we parked our camper among the tents and RVs that accompanied the 65 registered 4x4s from five states. Then we joined one of several trail-riding groups and were surprised to find that besides the boulders the club hauled in to make a small rock crawling course, there was a natural rock ledge to climb in west Kansas. In fact, the ledge extends on down the valley along the side of the lakes until it becomes a 35-foot-high bluff for cliff-diving at the swimming hole.

Tim Powell’s coil-spring rock buggy with 38” Swampers won 2nd Place.

Since there are few rocks in the area, body and tire damage is rare at Kansas Krunch. Just push the Jeep back over and ‘wheel on.

Ken Seirer’s green and purple CJ-7 with 36” Swampers, winner of the One or No Locker Class.

Dale Watts’ stretched CJ-5 with upside down Warn winch earned the title, King of the Canyon.

Brian Shirley’s tube-chassis, Wagoner, sports a 360 V8, reverse shackled spring-over suspension with 38” Swampers took 4th Place.

Inexperienced 4-wheelers enjoyed competing in the Novice Class with an experienced off-road driver giving instructions and encouragement.

Mike McClure’s stretched CJ with red Speedliner bedliner with 39.5” Swampers took 3rd Place.

Kansas Krunch is a family event. There are mini-ramps for battery-powered kid’s Jeeps. Several kids had child-sized dirt bikes — this boy’s dad built training-wheels for his dirt bike.

After we tired of trying to climb the ledges with muddy tires because of the previous night’s rain, we skirted the valley to Rollover Trail, which dropped steeply into a saw-edged ravine. Rollover Trail laid several rigs on their sides. Because of recent rain, even rigs with gnarly tires, lots of suspension articulation, and lockers frequently had to winch through one section of mud. A Pull-Pal winch anchor is a handy option where trees are rare.

After lunch, we pre-ran Saturday’s Canyon King competition course. Parallel rows of red flags and yellow flags about 10 feet apart dropped into an arroyo where they traversed 50 yards of the most frame-twisting course we have ever seen. From the ravine, the flags lead up a challenging hill to a finish back in camp. Several rigs slipped onto their sides, a u-joint snapped, and a clutch linkage separated, but since there were few rocks, we didn’t damage any tires or paint. By the time, we worked through the course it was suppertime.

In camp, Michelle and Brock Thomas, invited us to share their grilled burgers. During the afternoon, they broke a pinion shaft in their Jeep, so they went to one of the lakes. She fished while he pulled the kids on a tube with their speedboat. After dinner, fathers and boyfriends acted as spotters for inexperienced off-roaders on the Novice Run. The novice course bypasses the mud pit and the log hill. Vehicles without lockers also detour around a frame-twisting wash. The kids really enjoy getting to drive Dad’s 4x4. After dark, we visited around a campfire while others went on an evening run. During the night, a strong wind came up and we worried that the tent campers would fly away to the land of Oz.

Saturday morning, the wind died down, and the club served coffee and breakfast burritos before the Canyon King Competition. Spectators positioned their lawn chairs on the ridge at the finish line or behind the starting position, while competitors discussed the standard rock crawling rules. Penalty points are given for backing up, driving outside the marker flags, or winching. The night wind had dried the mud, and some drivers completed the course in less than three minutes.

Ken Seirer in his green and purple CJ-7 with 36” Swampers won the One or No Locker Class. In the Two Locker Class, Brian Shirley in his red tube-chassis Wagoner with reverse shackled spring-over suspension and 38” Swampers took 4th Place. Mike McClure in his beautiful stretched CJ with red Speedliner coating and 39.5” Swampers on Trail Ready Beadlocks took 3rd Place. Tim Powell in his camo-colored, coil-spring rock crawler with 38” Swampers took 2nd Place. And Dale Watts in a gray and yellow stretched CJ-5 earned the title King of the Canyon.

After the competition, tickets for a Warn M8000 winch sold briskly. That evening, the club served BBQ beside the lake before awarding door prizes and trophies. Sunday, everyone was free to 4-wheel or just enjoy Cathouse Recreation Area.