There are some things in life that you just have to see first-hand to understand, and mud bogging is one of them. I checked out the activities down at Mountain Mania Mudsports in Valley, Washington back in May and June, and now I’m hooked.
Unfortunately, in an interview with owner Rhonda Erickson, I learned that the event originally scheduled for October 12–14 this year has been cancelled. So, if that was on your schedule, please make a note of that. “The fire danger is too high,” Rhonda said, explaining that on the trails there are opportunities for sparks in the bone-dry forest. That, along with the lack of water, and insurance rates skyrocketing, and it seems the Ericksons are going to call it quits for good this time.
The mudding at the Ericksons began over nine years ago when two of their five children went to a mudding event and came home proclaiming, “Wow! Let’s dig a hole and put water in it — we can do this!” With 350 acres, there certainly was plenty of room for it. The Ericksons decided to give it a try — for fun, to try to get some income, but mostly for the community. And they were right — thousands of people came to town for their events; you could see mudders spending their dollars in Zip’s, Safeway, and especially NAPA. It was great for the local economy.
Another way the Ericksons helped the community was by allowing the Boy Scouts to…
