Jeep Jamboree continues run of successful events

MULLAN — For two decades the Silver Valley Jeep Jamboree has been a highlight of the summer for trail riding enthusiasts and this year’s 20th anniversary didn’t disappoint.

More than 100 Jeeps made their way to Mullan for the multi-day event and Mullan mayor and one of the organizers of the event Don Kotschevar was quite pleased with how everything went.

As per the usual, the three-day event kicked off on Thursday morning with a tour of Shoshone County that allowed Jamboree newcomers to get a feel for the various locations for the trails that they would be riding, but the real meat of the event began on Friday with multiple trail rides throughout the day and continued into Saturday before the final dinner of the event.

Riders spent time in the hills around the Silver Valley, from Mullan all the way to Kingston.

Jeepers from as far away as Florida, Texas and Illinois made their way into Shoshone County where they enjoyed the camaraderie of being around other folks who share in their passion.

With fire danger at an all time high, some of the fan favorite trail riding spots were inaccessible, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of any of those who were involved.

“This was a permitted event with rides across BLM (Bureau of Land Management), Panhandle National Forest and privately owned lands,” Kotschevar said. “Due to the fire danger, areas like the Roller Coaster were closed, but all of our trail guides carried fire suppression equipment and were especially cognizant of the danger. We were prepared to handle a fire situation.”

Speaking of the trail guides, the event featured 30 trail crew members — many of whom were on site a week prior to the beginning of the Jamboree to make sure that all of the trails were groomed and brushed and safe for riders.

“The trail guides were great,” Kotschevar said. “They were out there cleaning up, doing all of those things to make sure the event went smoothly, but then they are also out there changing tires for folks when they need it or even showing some people things on their Jeeps that they didn’t know they could do.”

Kotschevar also discussed the financial implications of the event and has said in the past that each Jeep that gets registered in the event spends roughly $1,000 throughout the weekend — be it lodging, restaurants, and other shopping opportunities during the long weekend.

The Mullan School District Athletics raised $3,000 washing cars during the event and $5,000 was raised for the Jeep Jamboree Scholarship — which is given to a senior at Mullan High School each year.

The event did attract some dissent, but Kotschevar really doesn’t have time for anything that tries to undo anything positive that comes from an event like this one.

“Social media tried to beat us up a bit over having the Jamboree,” Kotschevar said. “But this event fills up hotels, restaurants and provides outside money to our schools. These people love to come here and spend money in our community. We should be happy to have them here.”