Mark W
Yep, I really don't really care that much I guess.
No matter how well prepared you are stuff is still gonna happen if you spend much time out off the beaten path.
I spent a day trying to extract my rig from a quicksand pit high up on a ridge once. I was not alone but the mini-truck with me did not have the mass to snatch me out. Winching just pulled me forward deeper into the muck (with a broken birfield that kept the tire from even trying to climb up). We finally had to give up and make a 40 mile run out to the road and a 100 mile run back to town to rounbd up some help to return in a couple of days to get the rig out.
A better equipped (and heavier) partner rig might have gotten me out. Might not have.... when we returned one of the guys managed to get his rig in thr quicksand as he rushed ahead without heeding my warning... took us hours to get him out with all the help we could use.
On another trip I snapped a tcase shaft over 80 miles in from the road. We had to select our load carefully as we put 4 people and a dog in a '40 with enough gear to hike out if that rig did not make it through the tough spots by itself.
(BTW, suggestions to "stay dry" are meaningless when you have multiple rivers to wade or swim across to get out. and "Staying put" only works if you have people who will come looking or if you are on commonly traveled trails. I always go in prepared to hike out.)
Stuff happens. You can't carry all the gear or have all the resources to know that you will always be able to solve any problem. Alone or in a group.
You just have to be reasonable with your prep and your gear... be knowledgeable and be smart. Gain some experie4nce in the shallow end before you dive into the deep... and accept that life is risk. Don't panic, deal with it.
Mark...
I spent a day trying to extract my rig from a quicksand pit high up on a ridge once. I was not alone but the mini-truck with me did not have the mass to snatch me out. Winching just pulled me forward deeper into the muck (with a broken birfield that kept the tire from even trying to climb up). We finally had to give up and make a 40 mile run out to the road and a 100 mile run back to town to rounbd up some help to return in a couple of days to get the rig out.
A better equipped (and heavier) partner rig might have gotten me out. Might not have.... when we returned one of the guys managed to get his rig in thr quicksand as he rushed ahead without heeding my warning... took us hours to get him out with all the help we could use.
On another trip I snapped a tcase shaft over 80 miles in from the road. We had to select our load carefully as we put 4 people and a dog in a '40 with enough gear to hike out if that rig did not make it through the tough spots by itself.
(BTW, suggestions to "stay dry" are meaningless when you have multiple rivers to wade or swim across to get out. and "Staying put" only works if you have people who will come looking or if you are on commonly traveled trails. I always go in prepared to hike out.)
Stuff happens. You can't carry all the gear or have all the resources to know that you will always be able to solve any problem. Alone or in a group.
You just have to be reasonable with your prep and your gear... be knowledgeable and be smart. Gain some experie4nce in the shallow end before you dive into the deep... and accept that life is risk. Don't panic, deal with it.
Mark...
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