REBELLE REBEL
Without roads , wits and willpower win the race .
BY TOM KERTSCHER
LATE INTO THE 2019 REBELLE RALLY — an eight-day , women ’ s off-road competition across the Nevada and California deserts — driver Emme Hall ’ 94 had started to take it easy .
Mind you , this rally isn ’ t about going fast down a set course . It ’ s about traversing more than 1,000 miles of wilderness to find hidden checkpoints using only maps and a compass — no cell phones , computers or GPS .
Hall and her navigator-partner , Rebecca Donaghe , had thought they were far enough ahead to win . “ Then Rebecca sees a checkpoint and says ,
‘ We have a minute , let ’ s go for it !’” Hall recalls . “ So we go speeding off across the desert , and the massive amount of power pushed us back against our seats and even raised the front end a bit . Rebecca hit the buzzer the second before it closed — one second !”
First place in the crossover class that year went to Hall and Donaghe , together known as “ Team Jeeves ,” a playful nod to the fanciness of the Rolls-Royce Cullinan all-terrain vehicle they drove . Hall and Donaghe have competed in a different vehicle every year since the Rebelle Rally started in 2016 .
Hall has been a car enthusiast her whole life . In college she drove a prized 1974 Volkswagen Thing and worked extra hours at the Rathskeller to afford parking fees . In her career , she turned a part-time gig writing auto reviews into her current role as reviews editor for CNET . com ’ s Roadshow . In fact , the Rolls she entered last year was a loaner for review . But as you might imagine , the Rebelle Rally is far from a luxury ride .
“ Not only are you trying to find checkpoints , you ’ re also contending with nature . There ’ s no one to throw a red flag if someone puts a napkin out on the track — because there is no track ,” says Hall . “ You ’ re out there battling the terrain and the weather . We ’ re covering at least 200 Emme Hall ’ 94 miles a day — so , at least eight hours , but probably more like nine or 10 . It ’ s very much an endurance thing .”
UC San Diego helped prepare Hall for the Rebelle . A linguistics major , she says her study abroad experience in England during her junior year helped broaden her horizons .
“ That gave me not only a love of travel , but a love of putting myself outside of my comfort zone ,” she says . With the first Rebelle Rally , “ I was stepping into the dark , and because I was able to experience that when I was in college , it has just led to a whole life of embracing my non-comfort zone , becoming OK with new challenges and then moving on from there .”
And with 1,000 miles of desert to contend with each year , Hall is sure to keep heading toward that broad horizon .
OFF ROAD Auto enthusiast Emme Hall ' 94 drives a Rolls-Royce allterrain vehicle in the annual Rebelle Rally .
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