Posted: 9/4/15
Skeeno's AXIALFEST 2015 REPORT PART 3/3 Words and Photos by Matt 'Skeeno' Soileau with a few photos from Rivas Concepts sprinkled in here and there. July 16-18, 2015 Cisco Grove Campground, Cisco Grove, California This is the third and final installment of Skeeno's AXIALFEST2015 Report. In this blog I will be covering what everyone came to AXIALFEST2015 for the RECON G6 Challenge. After the RECON TerraX and Rhythm Drags on Friday morning and afternoon, there was a small break before the RECON G6 Driver's Meeting. I took this time to visit some of the old sponsors attending AXIALFEST2015. 
First stop was the Wertymade Products camp. He was camped out with ScalerFab. 
I tried to say hello to Ty from Tekin, but he was out helping out some AXIALFESTers that needed some assistance with their ESCs. Ty wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to run the RECON G6 that night. 
Up at G Central, Tree and Josh Harris were making some last minute adjustments to the water feature. 
By the time I made my loop of the campground, people were starting to gather for the RECON G6 Driver's Meeting. 
I started to notice some interesting hats in the crowd. 
The aluminum foil hats were to pay tribute to AXIAL's 10th Anniversary. Since 10 years is the silver anniversary and silver is a little difficult and expensive to work with, Parker went with aluminum foil as the medium in which to design the head wear with. 
I also think it was partially to entertain him. He just wanted to see how many people he could get to wear tin foil hats. Art Bell would have been proud. 
Decorated socks were also part of the 10th Anniversary Attire. Prizes were awarded for the best hat and socks. 
The crowd just got bigger... 
And bigger... 
...until, Holy Moly! That is a lot of G6ers! That right there is 646 registered drivers and their support crews all staged and ready for the AXIALFEST2015 RECON G6 Challenge. I'm sure this is the largest RC event of individual participants ever. It was quite an impressive site. 
After Parker gave the official instructions to those that missed all the PreAXIALFEST2015 blogs, it was time to get G6in'. Skeeno Jr. headed off with one of the trail groups. You can see the King of Scale trying to keep up with her. 
Skeeno Jr and Big Yeti from CKRC got a little distracted by all the people driving at once. If you've never seen over 600 G6ers all driving at once, you should. 
Josh Harris got to see his handy work in action over at the water feature. The water and slick rocks were a challenging combination. 
Skeeno Jr. kept on driving into the dark. Luckily, Alien GeeSix's SCX10 G6 Edition Jeep is equipped with a light bar. It made navigating in the dark much easier. 
I followed Skeeno Jr. down to what used to be the creek. This year it was mostly puddles in the rocks, but Parker made sure you still got your wheels wet. 
Even thought there was a little back up on some of the initial trail markers, Mr. Fokai was in good spirits as his family and friends waited their turns. 
The wait gave some of the mommas and kiddos a chance to rest. 
Uh oh, trouble on the first few trail markers of the AXIALFEST2015 RECON G6? Hope you remembered your parts and tools. 
After the rocks in the creek, things became a little sandy. 
The terrain varied greatly. So, it wasn't uncommon to go from slick rocks to sand to rough granite to mud to silt to packed dirt all within a few trail markers. 
Down by the river, the rocks were extremely slick. 
Most rigs needed assistance up these slick climbs. Luckily, tow straps were in abundance and fellow G6ers were eager and happy to lend assistance. 
I met Mark Weir at the Novak/Cannondale campground on the way back to camp for the night. Mark is a mountain biking legend who is also into RC. I was a little starstruck and accidentally called him Mike. 
On Saturday morning, I set out to see how things were going out on the G6 trails. Most people finished two sections Friday night and the other four on Saturday. It was up to each driver to decide when to take breaks when they felt it was needed, so there were lots of AXIALFESTERs out all day running at their own pace. 
The first RECON G6ers I came upon were up on the hill. It kinda looked Rubiconish up here. 
Almost exactly like my first trip into the Rubicon in my buddy's first generation Ford Bronco. If only this Deadbolt was black, it would be an exact match. 
Down the trail in the trees, I saw this little guy navigating for his dad by pointing out the next trail markers. 
There were lots of these culvert tunnels all around AXIALFEST2015. Parker made sure you drove through each one. 
The Culvert Crouch was a popular pose. 
Lights made it easier to see your rigs as they drove into the darkness. 
Down by the river, drivers formed queue lines as they waited their turns 
Here, Mr. Chino wished he had front dig to pull his FJ around. 
You don't see many Volvos out wheelin'. This grocery getter was gettin' it! 
Fokai Jr. took a break after walking down the long Hell's Highway toward the river. 
This youngster helped his dad up this ledge. 
This future G6er was part of the support crew. Her job was to walk slowly and look cute. She did it with flair. 
Posing by the trail heads was a popular photo opportunity. 
Slick rocks ahead. Get your tow straps ready. 
Lending a tow strap is always the courteous thing to do. 
Sometimes a bump to push the driver in front of you over an obstacle is needed. 
Dohoney Brothers Racing in the house! 
Dropping in the sandy driveway to the creek. 
These guys were working the rocks over by the front of camp. 
Another culvert? 
Yup, Skeeno Jr. found them as well. 
Over on the other side of the camp, things were more silty than rocky. 
The silt got dug out easily and made using the towstraps mandatory on some obstacles. 
This is my tent trailer brother taking a break with his crew. It was good to meet you and discuss our love of camping. 
Big rocks and loose dirt makes for a challenging trail. 
A couple that G6es together stays together. Get your significant other an SCX10 today and save your relationship. 
No shame in taking a break. Sometimes your feet need it. 
I found Skeeno Jr over on this side. She was trying to finish her fifth trail. Luckily, she had help up some of the more dug out sections. 
The bamboo bridge looked innocent, but I saw some tires slide in between the slats. 
She finally made it out of the woods and over to the water. 
She was happy to cool off over at the Float Your Rig Challenge. SS WMRBB (aka WalMart Root Beer Bottles) made a fine but unglamorous watercraft. 
This barge had an awesome plaque. 
Wheel powered! 
Fan Powered! 
So many different takes on the Float Your Rig Challenge. 
Large Marge was not only huge, but had some awesome detail. It won the award for best boat at the Concourse on Friday night. 
Pack you kids up tightly, so they don't fall in the water. 
Things were so relaxed on Saturday afternoon that even the G Crew got out to drive. Here, Mr. Tree gets some wheel time before the awards ceremony. 
Team KNK happily paused for food and maintenance to make sure they would finish. Remember, finishing a RECON G6 is winning a RECON G6. 
Down by the river, I spotted these brave souls trying out some Ultra lines. 
Down these slick rocks was a scary fall. 
You had to trust your tires to attempt these lines. 
I was afraid to watch, so I went to find Skeeno Jr. I knew she was getting close to finishing. 
During my search for Skeeno Jr. I saw this guy searching for the next trail marker. 
I found Skeeno Jr. just as she completed the last trail marker on her last section. She did it, 600 trail markers and no mechanical issues in her mostly stock Axial SCX10 RECON G6 Edition Jeep. She was feeling proud of her accomplishment. It was her first AXIALFEST finish in three attempts. 
We arrived at the awards ceremony a little late after eating dinner. The crowd was already large and the pavilion was packed to the gills to watch the awards presentation. Winners received their awards and took photos with the official AXIALFEST2015 photographer. You can see pics of the winners here: https://www.facebook.com/axialinc/posts/10153388157700873 After awards was the raffle. Everyone watched in amazement as winner after winner and thousands of dollars of awesome swag came up to grab their prizes. Some lucky winner took home a Magnaflow exhaust, another won a set of Method Racing Wheels (for full size cars, not RC!) as well as dozens of Axial kits and RTRs. If you were lucky, you took home a limited edition Judd Rummage RTR! 
Sunday morning we had to pack up and return to the real world. It was a truly memorable, record setting weekend filled with memories. I had to say goodbye to my new and old G Crew members as they traveled back to Reno, Arkansas, and Austria. I can't wait to see them again next year. If you haven't started making plans to attend AXIALFEST2016, I suggest you stop procrastinating. The date is set (July 15-17) and the Cisco Grove Campground is already filling up. You don't want to be left out of the greatest RC show on earth. Get your AXIALFEST2016 info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1623366397951597/
