Ok I'll bite... Some pretty gnarly stories on here. Mine is lacking the risk of death by explosive dismemberment or freezing to death, but stressful in the moment I guess.
Couple weeks ago I wanted to rip out to Anza to see the flowers but also wanted to avoid all crowds if possible so I loaded the rig up with beer and one night's provisions and the dog and I took the F150 with FWC to do some exploring. I have regularly taken the Oriflame/Chariot Canyon road through BLM land from Banner as a fun way to get into the south side of the park. It scenic, a fun drive with few hazards and mostly granite stone roads.
There is one small creek crossing on the way out that usually is a trickle, but this year it was a steady flow. As I approached the creek and a steep uphill beyond it, I noticed an obvious deep rut on the left side which I knew I wanted to avoid. Problem was, there was a sizable willow hanging over the right side of the road with baseball bat sized branches that would have done some body/paint damage so I tried to thread the needle between the two but like a magnet, the camber of the road sucked me right into the rut and my rear hitch, rear axle and diff, and left side running gear thunked against the high ground. The angle of the truck also prevented me from opening my drivers side door as it was wedged against the reeds to my left.
I climbed over the center console and surveyed the situation over a cold beer. My two left tires were spinning aimlessly despite "a-trac's" attempt to use traction control to fake a locking diff. Both left tires were litereally burried to the top of the fender arches in black silty mud. Reversing was my only chance out w/o a winch.
My recovery gear was limited, but even what I had was fairly useless on my own. I had a come-along and two tow straps, but there were no trees behind me within reach, and even had there been I couldn't exactly put her in neutral and pull her backwards down the hill towards me. I busted out the shorty shovel and resigned myself to getting dirty. Took about an hour to bring the wheels and tire into the daylight again, but the silt under the wheels was so soft any attempt to back out was feeble.
No one had been by in the hour 1/2 I had been sitting there and it was getting dark on a Tuesday night so I began thinking about settling in for the night, but my camper was so tilted, sleeping inside would have been tough. Not to mention I was covered in mud. Just then I remembered watching a youtube video of a simple recovery method and figured I would give it a try as a last resort:
I didn't have a 2x4, but I did have some firewood and an ax and I threw together a bush fix and ratchet strapped a thin log to each of the slipping wheels and climbed into the driver's seat for one last go. My dog watched in amazement as the logs bit just enough of the silty soil and the sides of the rut to back me out of the hole!
Now all that had to be done was using the hand saw I had with me to remove as much of the hanging willow as I can to make damn sure I didn't slide over again. Got around it without a problem! Just had some minor door damage, but was happy to be out of there.
I had a quick outdoor shower to celebrate and made my way into the park uneventfully. It was a fun solo adventure and the views at sunrise the next morning were more than worth it!
