My Stuck Storie

Last week I got stuck. I had taken a day off, and decided to head out to an area that had recently burned. I wanted to check it out, as I had never been close to a forest fire.

When we got to the burned area, we found that the only access was via a private road. This was disappointing, as we had just driven over half an hour to get there. We were able to see very little of the 400+ acre burn from the road. Not wanting the trip to be a total loss, I decide to check out a power line trail.

The trail was well packed, and my Jeep easily navigated it. There was the occasional high spot, causing my transfer case skid plate to scrape. I’ve gotten used to scraping my transfer case skid, the factory tires on my Jeep leave much to be desired. A couple hundred yards down the trail we found an area that had been really chewed up, with one hole a couple of feet deep. These weren’t mud holes; they were open holes in hard packed dirt. Knowing I couldn’t navigate further down the trail, I drove off to the side to make a u-turn. Of course, this violates the rules of “Tread Lightly.”

So, I drove on one side of the trail, to a manageable crossing point, and then I drove across the trail to the other side. There was an island of brush that was between the trail and me, so I made an attempt to go around. The grass that I was aiming towards looked stable, and had tracks on it from a previous trail rig. About the time I settled into the tracks, my driver’s side sunk.

I knew right away I had sunk to the frame. My wheels were just spinning, and not throwing any dirt (largely thanks to those previously mentioned factory tires that don’t clean until highway speeds). It didn’t take long for me to survey the area from the driver’s seat, and see there was nothing anywhere near close enough to winch to.

A couple hours of digging, and trying to bury a log to winch off of, lead to a phone call to my fiancé’s mom. None of the truck owners I knew were in town, and none of the tow companies would come get me out.

The next morning I called the guys over at Trail Toyz. The owner is a really nice young guy, and he was pretty disappointed that his rig was out of service. He wanted to come and bail me out. He’s got a Suburban on swampers that would have easily done the job, if not for the missing rear driveline.

I managed to get a pull pal, and the guys at Trail Toyz swear by it. It’s basically a shovel attached to a bar at a 90-degree angle. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but it doesn’t look like much either. When my Pull Pal got out to the trail I sunk the shovel into the ground, hooked up my winch, and pulled myself right out. Everyone with a winch should have one of these things.

My biggest regret is not bringing a camera with me. I buried my Jeep, and don’t have a single picture. Next time, I’ll be sure to have a camera.

Brandon