Lessons Learned From A Short Off Road Drive

[TonyP]

Never?
I go solo off roading all the time, I'm not dead yet.
You just need to be cognizant, be prepared (tools and knowledge) to recover, and have a plan if you can't.
Going outside of your comfort-zone, safely, is what makes wheeling fun.

 

[4gotalot]

Never is just what we say after. We will do it again with a smile and more knowledge for the next time.

 

[mooneywa]

Never?
I go solo off roading all the time, I'm not dead yet.
You just need to be cognizant, be prepared (tools and knowledge) to recover, and have a plan if you can't.
Going outside of your comfort-zone, safely, is what makes wheeling fun.

This.

In Texas it seems like with all the private land your options are either go with a group to a pretty technical place, or drive to the mountains in which case you're probably alone... or at least in one vehicle.

I just don't bite off more than I can chew... I'd rather be on my way home wishing I had pushed further than the opposite.

 

[ranma21]

Never?
I go solo off roading all the time, I'm not dead yet.
You just need to be cognizant, be prepared (tools and knowledge) to recover, and have a plan if you can't.
Going outside of your comfort-zone, safely, is what makes wheeling fun.

X2 I usually go solo as well, so far ok, just gotta know what you are doing and ready for unforeseen circumstances, there are occasions I wish I have another truck with me because it will be more fun! But certainly agree it is better to have other trucks tagging along.

 

[Markuson]

Never?
I go solo off roading all the time, I'm not dead yet.
You just need to be cognizant, be prepared (tools and knowledge) to recover, and have a plan if you can't.
Going outside of your comfort-zone, safely, is what makes wheeling fun.

OP's safety thoughts are 100% ...but I was thinking the same as TonyP.
Most of my trips over the years have been solo.
That's why I keep soooo much stuff in my drawers--in case I do get stuck without help...
If I never went solo, I'd have been a lot less motivated to do a full build on my LCs.

Groups are safer for sure, but I do far more alone than in groups.

I take some specific items because of the solo thing:
-Garmin Satellite communicator/GPS/Emergency beacon
-5+ day's worth of calories/water & ability to treat/filter more
-Various radios (CB, FRS, HAM, Aviation Bands)

-TONS of other always-in-the-truck items

Drawers are awesome!
-Lets me keep this stuff there 24/7, without ever feeling cluttered.

 

[TonyP]

OP's safety thoughts are 100% ...but I was thinking the same as TonyP.
Most of my trips over the years have been solo.
That's why I keep soooo much stuff in my drawers--in case I do get stuck without help...
If I never went solo, I'd have been a lot less motivated to do a full build on my LCs.

Groups are safer for sure, but I do far more alone than in groups.

I take some specific items because of the solo thing:
-Garmin Satellite communicator/GPS/Emergency beacon
-5+ day's worth of calories/water & ability to treat/filter more
-Various radios (CB, FRS, HAM, Aviation Bands)

-TONS of other always-in-the-truck items

Drawers are awesome!
-Lets me keep this stuff there 24/7, without ever feeling cluttered.

Absolutely. I don't mean to say I don't love having wheeling partners. It's really a great time but I've learned to not depend on others for my good time. That being said, our Moab trip was one of my favorites trip of my entire life. I know it's been overplayed on this forum but it was so much fun. I think that was a fluke having a bunch of really cool guys, band of brothers style, like @Atwalz @kreiten @Canyonero @TexAZ @ethernectar and previously @Markuson and @indycole . In those situations it isn't as much about recovering and making it home (but knowing you will) as much as having a life-experiece to bull**** about it years later. I honestly can't wait to wheel with those guy again. That being said, I can and will wheel solo.

 

[Dan Higgins]

@Angelo1 and @mcgaskins, a drone might have been a good idea but I probably would have crashed it in the trees - lots of trees as we were driving through a forest. That said, I did it. I bought a Mavic. I have it with us on our vacation these 2 weeks in the hopes of doing some “aerial” photography but I have yet to fly thing thing and the wind has been crazy with the weather systems moving through. So we’ll see if I get a chance to use it.

 

[Dan Higgins]

As for wheeling alone, darn right I will do it again. A lot! The reason we got into this was to be able to go, “I wonder where that road goes?” Then we go find out. I don’t have a ton of recovery gear (actually, the primary thing I don’t have is a winch). So I just need to be smart(er) about where I go. But like @Markuson I have a (now Garmin) satellite GPS/communicator. I have extra water and food and a sleeping bag. And I have some simple recovery gear. I don’t have the experience of some of you - but neither am I a noob. I’m just learning what the LC can do compared to my previous LR4. And I happen to want to avoid serious scratches and dents if possible. So, again, I need to be smart about how far I go on a trail and about making certain that I can backtrack without issues (like not going down something you can’t get back up.). But, yeah, I’ll still be going out alone.

That said, going with people is almost always more enjoyable. So I need to get more serious about that this next season.

 

[NMC_EXP]

My biggest takeaway from my short stint in CO, trails are only getting more difficult every year due to the amount of traffic the trails now see and irresponsible, trail-destructive use.

I agree about trails getting worse as years go by.

Probably is more traffic and a lot of it ain't happy unless they are spinning tires and otherwise acting stupid.

Some of it is due to the feds and state not running a dozer down the trail every few years. Take your pick as to why: (1) They simply do not want vehicles anywhere but the big name 4WD "destinations" or (2) They spend a big chunk of their budgets doing various studies demanded by environmental orgs and fighting lawsuits under the ESA and CWA.

 

[Markuson]

Absolutely. I don't mean to say I don't love having wheeling partners. It's really a great time but I've learned to not depend on others for my good time. That being said, our Moab trip was one of my favorites trip of my entire life. I know it's been overplayed on this forum but it was so much fun. I think that was a fluke having a bunch of really cool guys, band of brothers style, like @Atwalz @kreiten @Canyonero @TexAZ @ethernectar and previously @Markuson and @indycole . In those situations it isn't as much about recovering and making it home (but knowing you will) as much as having a life-experiece to bull**** about it years later. I honestly can't wait to wheel with those guy again. That being said, I can and will wheel solo.

Solo is its own kind of adventure. Never safest, but unique. I’ve backpacked alone quite a bit in years past, and it just means everything you do and every choice you make becomes a little more important.

I like it, and will never give it up. That said...there are trails that just don’t make sense alone...where a winching partner is non negotiable.

We all have our own threshold for acceptable risk. Sometimes risk bites you in the butt...but the rest of the time? -It’s a lot of the reason there aren’t hoards of people at those destinations—part of what makes it awesome.

Like free solo rock climbers. It’s always safer with ropes...but there’s something rewarding about climbing without them.

 

[Canyonero]

All good points re: wheeling alone or in groups. Also, as @TonyP said, we caught lightning in a bottle with our incredible group and the Moab adventure.

More often than not, I wheel alone or just with my family.

I've been stuck. A lot. I've learned all sorts of self-recovery techniques that I never would have developed if someone was there to just pull me out. I'm a big believer in self-sufficiency and figuring things out on my own.

That said, you've gotta have the right gear if you wheel alone. Knowing when to fold 'em is also important.

The number one piece of equipment in my opinion is a winch. Whether I'm high centered in the snow or pulling up the waterfall on Gold Bar Rim in Moab, without a winch it doesn't happen.

 

[4gotalot]

I will continue to break Rule #1 myself and go wheeling alone. Its the time when you have to reevaluate the situation were Rule #2 comes in. I went out again by myself tonight (and the dogs) I left the house in the dark and came home in the dark.

What I noticed in almost all of the responses about wheeling alone is the good memories of getting out alone or in a group. I even went back and read all of the posts again because of all of the personal experiences voiced from each. We learn as we go and pass along the memories.