Toughest Day on the Trail?

[ovrlndr]

What was your toughest day on the trail? Toughest doesn't have to mean something went wrong, or something broke, or bad weather... It could mean anything that put you to the test.

For me, I think my toughest day on the trail was running "The Trifecta" in Moab (Poison Spider Mesa to Golden Spike to Gold Bar Rim). It was my first time out to Moab, and my first day on the trails there. It was a LONG day of wheeling and getting used to slick rock can be tricky. Couple that with the obstacles those three trails throw at you, and it was a day of learning for me. It was tough, but nothing broke and I made it out the other side a better driver. We did have to recover a guy in an old Ford Bronco that flopped on "The Waterfall" on Gold Bar Rim. He went right for the obstacle without so much as looking for a line, and flopped right over on the driver side. He'd have been totally screwed if we hadn't been there, as there was no one else on the trail that day except mountain bikers.

Now, I want to hear about your toughest day on the trail!

 

[slomatt]

In 2003 three friends and I ran the Rubicon Trail in an XTerra and a Pathfinder that both had only 32" tires and rear lockers. The XTerra had bald all terrains on it. This was before they blew up the Gatekeeper and Little Sluice.

It took us three full days to get all the way from Loon Lake to Lake Tahoe. Whoever wasn't driving at the time was out hiking in the moon dust and spotting, and we had to pull winch quite a few times. It was a fun trip, but man was it hard work.

 

[ovrlndr]

In 2003 three friends and I ran the Rubicon Trail in an XTerra and a Pathfinder that both had only 32" tires and rear lockers. The XTerra had bald all terrains on it. This was before they blew up the Gatekeeper and Little Sluice.

It took us three full days to get all the way from Loon Lake to Lake Tahoe. Whoever wasn't driving at the time was out hiking in the moon dust and spotting, and we had to pull winch quite a few times. It was a fun trip, but man was it hard work.

Awesome!

 

[d2 rover]

My toughest trip was this last may on the Oregon back country discovery route section 6 in my wife's lr3 by myself it was too early in the season and there was 3 foot snow drifts with a quarter inch of ice on top it took 4hours to get 7 miles and I broke my cargo basket off the back and had to pack everything in the back of the car ended up calling it quits and counting my losses before it got worse but still a good learning experience

 

[bawesomfels]

My toughest day was this past January when I was out with a buddy if mine. We were scouting part of a trail that we wanted to incorporate into a three day trip we were planning. He was lead vehicle in his 3rd gen 4runner and I was following in my Frontier, and unbeknownst to me, we had gone off the planned trail and ended up on top of a frozen cow pond covered in leaf litter. Lucky for my navigator, he only skimmed the edge and never had a clue it was there. I, on the other hand, ended up with my passenger side on ice and my driver side on solid ground. Both tires on the slippery side broke through into the mud underneath. The ice was about 3 inches thick and was making it impossible to gain traction or dig down into the mud. Took about 3 hours and various angles of tugging, but we broke her free with only minor frostbite and a lot of lessons learned.

 

[BlueLineOverland]

Sliding off a 40 foot embankment after trying to maneuver through an obstacle. we got out luckily, but definitely not with my pride hahaha. It was 121 with the heat index and was border line heat stroke by the time we got out.

 

[avgjoe624]

Hmm... So one day in TN, I pulled into a junkyard in an 86 k5 Blazer and ran into another guy there and we happen to chat about trucks and exchange numbers and whatnot. and that was that.

Fast forward about 6 months, me and my friend are out exploring and having a blast, no time limit, no where to be, and going nowhere. Out of the blue the "junkyard guy" calls and says he needs some help on a trail not too far away. So off we went to the rescue.

About 5 or 6 miles down a trail from the road I realized that the trail system he was in was like a crazy spider web and he was awful at giving directions, but at this point im committed and theres no going back, so I ask him what kind of tires he has and started tracking him by the tire tracks on the trail.

So low and behold I finally get to him after about 2 hours and hes just stuck like chuck in a bone stock jeep grand Cherokee. So no worries, I strapped the truck to a tree and winched him out no issue.

Then, me being me, and driving a K5 blazer on 39.5" with a built motor and built axles. I say "hey man, watch this" and drive directly into the same hole he was in thinking I would make it through. BOY WAS I WRONG!!!!

About 4 foot more from where he was was what seemed to be a small freakin pond and my truck went in to the doors, soupy red clay mud over the axles and it wouldn't move an inch. so I gave her hell...and nothing.

no worries!!! I have a winch right? so we spool it out and hook it up to the tree saver(which happens to be a sling leg for hoisting vehicles from helicopters) and start pulling.. and pulling.. and SNAP!!

now I know youre all thinking the tree saver or cable snapped...but NO NO NO.. this snap was followed by my ENTIRE FRONT BUMPER being ripped from my frame and hence forth being shot into the ABYSS as ill call it at this point.

so now im upset that my truck is falling apart, but I still gotta get it out. so we commence to work on this for about 6 hours... I wont bore you with all the different methods we tried to get this thing out. but finally broke down and decided to call in the big kids. The "offroad recovery tow truck service" luckily they quoted me $175 before they realized the predicament they had just gotten their selves into.

so about 2 hours later the tow truck shows up, and ofcourse...he gets stuck about 200 feet before he can get to us, and says hes gonna turn around and get the "bigger" truck. so he goes....time passes, and he shows back up with a bigger, beefier, tow truck capable of recovering a semi truck. and after about an hour of winching, and moving, and winching, and moving, he finally pulls me out. I pay the man, he drives off.

we dig out the bumper and toss it in the back and were ready to just go have a drink at this point. so I grab a stick and start getting all the mud out of the important stuff. (tie rods, ujoints, wheels, all the moving pieces) and while doing so I realize that one of my almost $800 chromoly axle shafts is broken..

so we all go our separate ways, and while walking my truck home at about 25mph I turn a curve to find the "bigger tow truck" on the side of the road smoking like a freight train!!