Some of us drive around in an ancient Chevy Tahoe without knowing our B-pillar from our purge valve, but that is not Hannah Pennington.  

And what Pennington doesn’t know about her 2021 Toyota Tacoma, she plans to learn by the end of the 11th Rebelle Rally, an eight-day, all-woman off-road competition that runs Oct. 7-17.  

She’ll be driving from Columbia Falls to Las Vegas — by way of Salt Lake City, where she’ll pick up teammate Veronica Kelly — and then, via the kind of terrain that you can find off either side of Highway 93 but not on it, somewhere in Southern California.  

It’s part of a larger journey that began when Pennington, who moved to the Flathead Valley in 2018, took a job with Flated.  

That Missoula-based outdoor company makes, among other things, toppers like the one on the aforementioned Tacoma.  

“I’ve been going to automotive events for the last five years,” Pennington said. “When I walk in as a woman to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, and I’m not fully understanding what I’m seeing, what different suspensions are, it’s intimidating.”  

Off-road events are now pretty routine: she met Kelly at an event at what’s called XOVERLAND Ranch in Three Forks.  

“When I first got my job at Flated, my husband and I drove from Canada to Baja for four months,” Pennington said. “And that’s what really got my excited about the automotive space.” 

That’s 120 nights under a topper. “I’d recommend it for any couple,” said Pennington, who like her husband Rob Merriott likes to fly-fish. “How can you argue next to a river?” 

Long story short, that Tacoma has 90,000 miles on it, and not all of it on asphalt. .  

“Just learning how to take my stock Tacoma out on a sand dune is pretty other worldly,” she said of a trip to the Glamis (Calif.) Dunes. “It kind of feels like skiing.” 

That pretty much catches us up, other than Pennington and Kelly are calling their team “The Taco Belles,” and have created a gofundme to defray expenses. The Tacoma has lost its built-in navigation; in its place is an aftermarket accessory: a rally computer. 

“No communication, no phones,” Pennington said of the Rebelle Rally. “In the morning you get specific maps and a list of coordinates, and we go out with our compass and maps and we head to check points.” 

It’s pretty old-school. 

“It’s kind of a lost art,” she said. “It’s been really fun to learn that. I feel like I have a little bit of an advantage. Living in Montana, since I’ve been driving back roads.” 

Those interested can follow along with the competition at rebellerally.com. You can presumably use your smart phone; Pennington won’t have hers. 

Sports Editor Fritz Neighbor can be reached at 406-758-4463 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.