Everbody’s Scalin’ For the Weekend – Trail Appeal

My club held our annual pre-Thanksgiving trail run a few weeks ago and despite the temperature being in the low 20s we still had over 30 people show up. Doing three miles of frozen mountain terrain was tough on both driver and vehicle but it was a freakin’ blast! As you check out the pics of our latest adventure below, let me explain to the non-indoctrinated what exactly a scale trail run is and why scalers across the world enjoy them so much.

Trailing is the lifeblood of almost any 4×4 club. While in our case its 1:10 scale, it’s still the same old adage of man and his machine taking on the elements. The premise is simple; pick a location (mountain bike trails work great), meet up with your buddies and set off. Depending on how long you intend to wheel, you will want to bring a backpack with spare parts, batteries and food/water. A run can be anything from a jaunt in the backyard creek to an all-day affair encompassing many miles.

We normally run the designated path until someone finds a cool spot to hit. It can be anything; a mud hole, rocky cliff, steep hill, etc. It’s all about seeing what your rig can handle and one-upping your buddies. Someone will see something that looks very difficult or impossible and everyone has a go. Broken parts and nuked electronics are worn like badges of honor.

I would recommend any r/c’er to give scale trailing a go at least once, regardless of whether you are a hardcore racer or are picking up a transmitter for the first time. It can be a relaxing way to explore your local parks and make friends, or an intense experience as you tackle terrain so extreme that the penalty for failure is most likely the destruction of your vehicle. That’s the beauty of scaling; it’s whatever you want it to be.

Before we go, quick shout out to the RC Car Cast podcast. They had me on as a guest this past week (episode 6) discussing scale r/c, how I hooked up with Big Squid RC and the time I got behind the wheel of a monster truck. Look the show up on YouTube or iTunes.