Stuck in ocotillo

What's funny is the chain of events that unfolded.

Bre, Colton, Maya and I watching a show in the living room.
Shane and I texting about sharing some beers.
It's late - me: "alright fam I'm out" - promptly get called a bitch for being the first to bed, so stay up for another episode.
^ That. Fucking @Titus94 calling me out - is what kept me awake for Shay's call. Normally I'd have been sound asleep.

 

nice work boys...

@desertjunkie760 bummer about that tire.. should be patchable... try that flex seal tape lolz

 

I WAS asleep.

 

Good thing @Dessertjunkie858 wasn't

 

Nice job guys! Way to go above and beyond for your friends. You guys are awesome!

 

Let's just take a second and shout out to @whatstcp who drove all of the way from Fontana at 11PM to help out a couple members who he had never even met. He by far put in more milage than the rest just to lend a hand. Ended up working out because we used his truck as an anchor to @eccracer104 while he winched in the soft silt and allowed my truck to get the best angle we could find for lighting with the @Baja Designs Squadron Pros I just put on a few weeks ago. Was pretty happy with them.

Also, to @Prayn4surf for starting the thread and keeping up on communications despite not actually being able to drive out and participate. Helped a ton figuring out locations and coms between each other while Mike and I were behind the wheel.

(He stayed up even when we were out of service. Tim was responding to messages from 10PM-4AM)

 

@whatstcp ... kudos to you for going the extra mile (literally).
@eccracer104 @desertjunkie760 @Prayn4surf great job! You guys rock (you too @whatstcp)!

 

sounds like you need a better solution

 

Good Job!!

This is a proper recovery, I thought I was bad ass pulling F150's and Altimas out of the sand at Fiesta Island but this is on another level.

 

Probably the best thread I read all year. That's a hardcore adventure with an awesome ending. Good job everyone!

 

First off thanks to @eccracer104 @desertjunkie760 @whatstcp @Prayn4surf and @Dessertjunkie858 It's nice to know I have friends I can call at 10PM on the Sunday before Christmas that will come help me out.

I just pulled into Joshua Tree about 20 hours after I intended, the original plan was a pavement trip to the BLM outside the park and explore first thing in the morning. I got bored on the interstate and decided to explore the trails south of Ocotillo Wells. Mortero Wash went no problems. Canyon Sin Nombre had a couple oopsie moments from excessive speed but we'll have to review the footage on those. I turned down Arroyo Seco del Diablo / Mid Caves after full dark about 5ish and 2.4 miles later found this
The mud on the other side was nasty enough for me to take a picture.

At this point a normal person would realize "I'm out here alone with no cell service for miles, I'll just go a couple miles out of my way to the next trail." But I figured I have 2 lockers and a winch, I'll be fine. (Narrator's note: He was not gonna be fine.) The dirt pile was loose and it took two attempts to get up to the narrow path on the right side, there's a 4' drop to a cutout on the left. At the crest I stopped to take a picture of the bank that had crumbled away. That was at 5:24PM, I spent the next 90 minutes trying to get myself out with a short handle shovel, a winch hooked to a mound of dirt, and then a snatch block back to a scrubby tree next to my truck. I succeeded only in plowing about 4 feet forward and I realized I was right and proper fucked. Mind you the whole time I'm trudging through mud above my knees that is the consistency of pudding.
Just before 7PM I packed a bag with some water and a dual channel radio, wrote a note with my info, and left Belle in the back seat with some water and headed towards cell signal. It was 7.8 miles to pavement, and just as I got to the road a truck came up the hill headed in the right direction. I thought it was a Christmas Miracle, nope, nobody is stopping for a random muddy hitchhiker 3 miles north of a Border Patrol checkpoint.

Another 2 miles got me into T-Mobile service range and my first call was to @Prayn4surf at 10PM. I forgot that I'd helped him pull his winch last month and it was back in yet. He reminded me @eccracer104 had a winch and Mike picked up and agreed to help. @desertjunkie760 didn't pick up the first call but called back while I was on the phone with Mike figuring out some specifics. I kept walking towards town because I was bored and it was cold. Saw a few more cars, some even slowed down but none stopped, eventually I realized I wasn't gonna make the last 10 miles to the only thing open and just sat and waited. In total I hiked about 11 miles from the truck.

Got picked up by Mike and Shane and back to the truck about 1:23AM.


Rescued Belle first and then started the slow process of pulling it out. The loose hill forced us to winch from the other side and I didn't want to risk pulling it backwards over the narrow loose section. We pulled it back until it was half on the dry side to the right and then winched forward dragging my driver's side down the poor bush. Once there it took some creative maneuvering and some chopping to get over the sandstone rock is pulled from. On the other side it was dry enough to turn around, but as soon as I pulled forward my truck decided it wanted to be friends with the bush again. We hooked the winch back up and let it do the work to get me passed the bush. Finally the truck got it's own traction but we had to be careful to not climb the driver's side too high or get to close to the soft passenger side. Slow progress and a some good spotting got me through only one scare at the end. Relaxed for a bit and then we headed back to pavement. End time 3:55AM


I continued on and abused a Soapy's Car Wash in Brawley but at least one more is gonna get to enjoy the aftermath. Took a nap in Box Canyon and now here in Joshua Tree.

 

Definitely one of the dumbest things I've done in my truck.

Lessons learned:

1. Don't do dumb shit.
2. If you ignore #1, do dumb shit with friends nearby.
3. When you do dumb shit alone be prepared to walk off your stupidity.
4. Bring snacks for your journey.
5. Make sure you have cultivated friends with both the equipment and willingness to use them to get you out of your dumb shit.
6. Have beer for said friends.

 

I gotta say it again. HOLY CRAP! That’s hard core.

 

When you get a call from a wheelin’ buddy after 10pm on a Sunday you know you’re in for a good time. Even better when it leads with “I have a HUGE ask”

Glad you’re good brother! Was a lot of work but a lot of fun too

Totally worth how tired I am today. 9/10 would recommend to a friend.

 

I napped for a few hours, woke up and worked a couple hours in my pajamas haha

 

Spoken from an expert. I’m going to use this in my sig.

 

That's the money shot right there. @hoarder23 You should make that your profile pic for a while.

@eccracer104 Whatever kind of winch you have, I'm impressed. I know what kind of suction mud like that can create. You guys definitely get the TW gold star award for preparedness. Some people would have gone out there, broke the winch line, tied it back together, burnt up the winch motor, ran the battery dead, and then spent the night out there.

 

Lesson #2 is more applicable in this group hahah

 

You could of gone around the other side of the trail. Was just there yesterday afternoon. Guess I should of stayed longer. Hahaha. I saw that washed out path and though to my self "my wide ass can't fit on that little ledge!". Walked it and saw that mud and there was no way I was going to try going through that! Here's a pic of the other end of that trail.

 

Smittybilt x20 gen 2 10k synthetic line.
Alone it wasn’t enough, but with a snatch block it made progress. Slow progress but progress.
Gotta make sure you’re engine is running, I’d hold idle around 1500, on for 5-10 seconds and then off for 5-10 seconds so it doesn’t over heat.

Hell yes!