This happened this afternoon. I was trying to get to Pinto Hot Springs at the northwest edge of the east arm of the Black Rock Desert.
Pinto Hot Springs (via Google Maps)
I've been there before, so I knew that the tiny-but-deep-silty-muddy Battle Creek might make it difficult. One time we built a bridge with a couple of huge planks and another time it was dry enough.
This time it was cold, and it looked like it was frozen solid. It wasn't.
I tried for an hour to get unstuck -- wallowing in the mixture of mud, ice, and freezing-cold water with my jack, shovel, lumber, and crowbar (for breaking up the ice-frozen ground) -- but wasn't making much progress. Note the thick slabs of ice that my truck broke through. The driver-rear tire looks like it would just drive out, but it was spinning on ice.
I gave up and decided to walk back to the nearest ranch -- Battle Creek Ranch. It was within sight, but still was a 6-mile walk by road. The ranch was busy with shipping out hay, and the rancher/owner was a little peaved that yet another stupid tourist got himself stuck and is asking for help. Apparently, this isn't a rare occurence. But he mellowed and agreed to help me. He even went in the house and came out with a big bottle of water "if you're thirsty from your walk". I was thirsty and grateful and we drove in his pickup to the scene of carnage.
It was an easy extraction. After thanking him several times, I told him "Don't worry -- you won't see me again", and he said, "I don't mind seeing you, just don't get stuck again."
It's a deal!
Some people have a winch or modified power train, etc to get out of or avoid getting stuck...but this is the first time that I've gotten stuck in 115,000 miles of exploring with this truck, so I'm not going to over-react and buy expensive add-ons based on one incident.
If I had stopped and scouted the ford I would have seen a better spot 5 feet to the side...but noooooo -- I had to be an IDIOT! It feels good to admit I make mistakes!
BTW: I'm still out-and-about here in NW NV will head north to the Alvord country tomorrow, and I'll post a trip report when I'm done.
More about my Incident later in this thread.
Pinto Hot Springs (via Google Maps)
I've been there before, so I knew that the tiny-but-deep-silty-muddy Battle Creek might make it difficult. One time we built a bridge with a couple of huge planks and another time it was dry enough.
This time it was cold, and it looked like it was frozen solid. It wasn't.
I tried for an hour to get unstuck -- wallowing in the mixture of mud, ice, and freezing-cold water with my jack, shovel, lumber, and crowbar (for breaking up the ice-frozen ground) -- but wasn't making much progress. Note the thick slabs of ice that my truck broke through. The driver-rear tire looks like it would just drive out, but it was spinning on ice.
I gave up and decided to walk back to the nearest ranch -- Battle Creek Ranch. It was within sight, but still was a 6-mile walk by road. The ranch was busy with shipping out hay, and the rancher/owner was a little peaved that yet another stupid tourist got himself stuck and is asking for help. Apparently, this isn't a rare occurence. But he mellowed and agreed to help me. He even went in the house and came out with a big bottle of water "if you're thirsty from your walk". I was thirsty and grateful and we drove in his pickup to the scene of carnage.
It was an easy extraction. After thanking him several times, I told him "Don't worry -- you won't see me again", and he said, "I don't mind seeing you, just don't get stuck again."
It's a deal!
Some people have a winch or modified power train, etc to get out of or avoid getting stuck...but this is the first time that I've gotten stuck in 115,000 miles of exploring with this truck, so I'm not going to over-react and buy expensive add-ons based on one incident.
If I had stopped and scouted the ford I would have seen a better spot 5 feet to the side...but noooooo -- I had to be an IDIOT! It feels good to admit I make mistakes!
BTW: I'm still out-and-about here in NW NV will head north to the Alvord country tomorrow, and I'll post a trip report when I'm done.
More about my Incident later in this thread.