Comments on: Stuck

By: AlexWetmore

AlexWetmore — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 16:21:54 +0000

Ah, that is a useful thing to know. We didn”t have sleeping bags, but we had tons of clothing. We also had an almost full tank of gas, so running the car once an hour wasn”t too big of a deal. I always fill up before driving on remote roads.

By: cyclotourist

cyclotourist — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 07:11:00 +0000

I”ve read that if you”re stuck in a snowstorm/freezing conditions, having a single candle lit in the enclosed space of the car provides enough heat to maintain comfort. I can”t remember if that presumed you were in sleeping bags, but I don”t think so.

By: Bryan Willman

Bryan Willman — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:54:57 +0000

This points out the value of things like chains and come-alongs (or other winch like devices) – you didn”t drive into a mine shaft, you just got stuck. Relatively little extra force got your car unstuck.

A good read, and educational, glad you wrote it.

By: Apertome

Apertome — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 02:28:01 +0000

Thanks for sharing this story. It serves as a good reminder to all of us to be a little more prepared. I”m sure this could just as easily have happened to any of us.

By: micah

micah — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:32:04 +0000

No shame in getting stuck. Sharing your story may show people that it’’s OK to pack for the emergencies and not overkill. Looks like an awesome adventure for the campfire years from now.

I”ve sat my truck on it’’s frame many times and have been very fortunate to have someone come along with a hitch or tow hooks to pull me out.

I never leave home without my tow strap and a couple old stinky blankets in the back!

By: samh

samh — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:22:10 +0000

A great read. Having spent a couple years living in Glacier this story hits right home. A former girlfriend and I did exactly what you did on a USFS road up by Eureka and fortunately had a couple friends with big rigs who were able to pull us out. It was a process that went late into the night and I paid them handsomely for their troubles. You both made smart choices and this will turn out to be a story you”ll be happy to tell for a long time to come I”m sure.

By: Michael Slater

Michael Slater — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 03:08:04 +0000

I went to Yaak Montana for a couple days in January 2008. Have never seen such heavy snowfall in my life. One thing I noticed, and was confirmed by locals, was that these Subaru station wagons are the ubiquitous back-country vehicle there. No giant trucks, no monster 4×4, etc. Just a simple Subaru all-wheel drive.

By: Larry Leveen

Larry Leveen — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:23:08 +0000

What does not kill me, makes me stronger.
Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols, 1888
German philosopher (1844 – 1900)

By: AlexWetmore

AlexWetmore — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:06:33 +0000

John — The tires are Bridgestone G009. They are almost brand new, less than a month old and under 1k miles. They aren”t really a heavy duty offroad tire, this car mostly gets highway and around town miles.

Larry — I decided to post because I thought someone might learn from it. I”ve learned a lot of things from this experience.

By: Larry Leveen

Larry Leveen — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:13:26 +0000

Glad you guys are safe. Also glad you overcame your apprehension about posting this because you will undoubtedly help prevent someone from doing the same thing.

Any trip you can walk away from can be a good experience, even if only in what not to do next time. It is a good reminder that even smart experienced people can make simple errors that compound and can become seriously threatening or deadly. You can also get hit and killed by a car in your neighborhood, so I”m not saying we should stay home where it is “safe”.

I posted a Note on Facebook about a bike tour I took in Death Valley December 2008. It was the first time I was in a significantly remote and risky area/situation. I was consciously thinking a lot of the time “don”t make dumb choices that result in you becoming a statistic”. I stopped driving in when it was clear my car was in danger of getting stuck and left a note in a plastic bag on it detailing my itinerary, and contact info. Despite all that, dumb mistakes were made: left too late in the day, didn”t take as much food as we needed, my tour buddy was under-prepared, some gear failed, the conditions were tougher than I anticipated, etc. Fortunately, the few motorists in who we encountered were first-class human beings and really helped us out a lot. Without them, it still probably wouldn”t have been _deadly_ but much more arduous and less enjoyable than it turned out to be. Folks can read about it here: http://tinyurl.com/ye4fl38

BTW, folks should read about Alex’’s “solo dicey adventure” in NZ he mentions above.