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There’s apparently more to the story than was shared…
TLDR
Spoiler
The 110 belongs to another fellow who I met through Facebook. He's in the Puget Sound area also. An Irish chap on his 6th Land Rover. Great bloke and a real LR enthusiast. He also has an old Defender. After our (largely my) failed efforts at extricating myself with the tow strap and Trax we were well and truly in a bind. It seemed it might tip over if we released the tension. I dug out the front left allowing it to settle some. (Not much but it seemed to make the difference.)
While I was digging he hiked back the track about 2 miles to where a bunch were target shooting. Asked them to call the Sherrif or whoever they thought best. (Turned out they did bugger all to help).
After he came back in the torrential rain, the digging was done and my car could now be released from under tension. Then another bloke came by on a dirt bike. He did call the sherif when he returned to a point with a signal. He also called my wife to let her know our anniversary plans would need tweaking.
We cooked up some food and cracked a beer or two. My kids had some Cokes and snacks. Rained on and off. Sheltering in his lovely horizontal truck.
Then the Tundra and Jeep arrived and a plan was set in motion. Can't believe how well it all went from then.
Such a great bunch of guys and gals. I may have hugged one or two. (Only the blokes, as I was dirty as an Irishman in a potato farm at that stage)
Hopefully I can pay their generosity forward one day.
Got stuck in a little snow. Thought little of it and reversed out. Before I knew it, it slid sideways into the ditch.
Tried to self recover with a tow strap and max trax after some digging. Just made it worse. Repeated again. Worse again.
Lesson is, when your in the ****, learn to know when to stop digging. I'll be much more wary of snow on these tracks in the future.
There is a roaring forest river in wait.
(Edit. No body damage to the Defender. I'm a beaten up a bit)
Haha, reminds me of when my son also engaged idiot mode in his brand new defender couple weeks after buying early March. Him and his buddies decided to go snowboarding to
Colorado (we live in Michigan) I told him to be careful in the forest roads since he basically has minivan tires, sure enough after coming down late in the evening from a hiking trail head, they leaned to much towards the ditch and almost leaned the brand new defender into a bunch of trees, they could not get it unstuck, they were resigned to spend the night in the defender since they were no where close to civilization, luckily a even later group of hikers drove by and they went to get their Arbnb host that came back with a Wrangler and a Range Rover, which then the stuck even further into the ditch! took them about 4 hrs to recover one vehicle in the front another one in the back. Mind you, my wife and I could barely sleep that noght back home since we hadn't heard from him that evening (no cell phone reception), we new something was not right, lucikly about 2:00 AM Michigan time a text from him came through that they were well, just tired, what a relief it was for us!
My son broke a few golden rules that day, first one is always to make sure you have plenty of time in the day to reach your destination, make sure you have sufficient water, food, fuel and warm clothing/blankets in case you need to spend the night unexpectedly in the wilderness
Haha, .....
My son broke a few golden rules that day, first one is always to make sure you have plenty of time in the day to reach your destination, make sure you have sufficient water, food, fuel and warm clothing/blankets in case you need to spend the night unexpectedly in the wilderness
Your young lad sounds like my kind of fellow.
I always carry a blanket or two, extra clothes, lights, water, and food when we're out and about. I'm in the mountains a lot. Almost every week. Had the two kids with me and we cooked up some food by the river. This time we even had a bunch of firewood and camp-chairs. Getting all that weight out of the trunk at that angle was a challenge. Figured the less weight in the back the better.
Two things I'll take from this.
A sat phone is essential. Not putting the wife through that again.
I'll not be so cavalier with snow. Particular this time of year when it's a muddy, snowy, slushy, unpredictable mess.
Probably a lot cheaper than a sat phone but does the basics of communication: Garmin InReach (Link). This model is getting a lot more popular since the days I got my first version of one of these. Mine had what my brother called the $20,000 button. You press that and you may get rescued, but it would cost you... It also had 10 preset messages and you could choose which to transmit. I liked it because it had a web-page where people could track your progress. I was a Scout leader and whenever we went back country for a week, I would use it and the parents at home could follow along.
I always carry a blanket or two, extra clothes, lights, water, and food when we're out and about. I'm in the mountains a lot. Almost every week. Had the two kids with me and we cooked up some food by the river. This time we even had a bunch of firewood and camp-chairs. Getting all that weight out of the trunk at that angle was a challenge. Figured the less weight in the back the better.
Two things I'll take from this.
A sat phone is essential. Not putting the wife through that again.
I'll not be so cavalier with snow. Particular this time of year when it's a muddy, snowy, slushy, unpredictable mess.
Oh, I so wish I lived close to the mountains, as opposed to the Michigan flats!
I'd be every weekend out in about exploring.
Yes, I am very careful when it comes to snow and mud, I just hate mud holes.
Last summer in the San Juan Mountains, Colorado:
Probably a lot cheaper than a sat phone but does the basics of communication: Garmin InReach (Link). This model is getting a lot more popular since the days I got my first version of one of these. Mine had what my brother called the $20,000 button. You press that and you may get rescued, but it would cost you... It also had 10 preset messages and you could choose which to transmit. I liked it because it had a web-page where people could track your progress. I was a Scout leader and whenever we went back country for a week, I would use it and the parents at home could follow along.
Yes. I should have said sat communicator rather than phone. The Garmin and Zoleo are the ones I'm looking at.
Probably a lot cheaper than a sat phone but does the basics of communication: Garmin InReach (Link). This model is getting a lot more popular since the days I got my first version of one of these. Mine had what my brother called the $20,000 button. You press that and you may get rescued, but it would cost you... It also had 10 preset messages and you could choose which to transmit. I liked it because it had a web-page where people could track your progress. I was a Scout leader and whenever we went back country for a week, I would use it and the parents at home could follow along.
I just picked up an inreach Mini 2 for my upcoming trip. Years ago I had a SPOT tracker that I carried on a solo motorcycle trip to far northern Quebec in an area that, at least at the time, had no cell service. The tracking was good peace of mind for family and having an emergency button was good for mine. Glad I never had to use it and all money well spent, especially in areas with limited cell service and few people.
Top of the World today. Very technical rock, locals at the top said that the trail is the hardest its ever been. And that is the ‘easy side’ lol. I definitely wouldn’t do any rock more technical in a car I owe money on. Definitely make sure you have sliders and the bash plate, especially if you arent rocking a lift like me. The ledges were legit, and there are few meaningful bypasses
Well done! Even in my Jeep, where nothing is overly concerning, I find the trail tedious. Sure, it’s worth the payoff, but it’s not one I do every time. There’s a whole lot of gratuitous bouncing over small stuff.
For just beautiful, fun off-road driving with few challenges in the area have you done all the network of trails beyond Onion Creek? The creek itself, of course, is spectacular, but after you ascend at the end, where most folks turn around, it opens up on a broad plateau with a lot of trails, one of which actually connects to the Rose Garden Hill trail.
