Well, the plan was to head up to the Beta Site in the side by side this weekend and change the camera batteries, add more cameras, and set up the game feeders. That was the plan.What happened was a cavalcade of fail. Lessons to be learned, yeah. But I’d really rather not have the fail.
So, starting at the top……
First thing was to rent a trailer to haul the side by side to a starting point for the journey. Okay, lets get that taken care of.
That part seemed to work okay. Gassed the thing up, loaded my gear into the truck, loaded the side by side on the trailer, and hit the highway. That part seemed to go okay. Got to my exit, pulled off, and onto the dirt road leading to the Beta Site.
Now, the road to the Beta Site covers a distance of between ten and twenty miles. (Obviously I need to be a tad vague. You understand.) Getting off the interstate, I had no idea of the road conditions ahead. Coulda been solid and dry. Coulda been muddy and rutted. Since I didnt want to go out there with a rented trailer and have a bad experience, I figured I’d just drop the truck and trailer at the exit and continue on with the side by side (now abbreviated to SxS). So it gets unloaded, gear is transfered into it from the truck, and we’re off. The road starts out as dry but rutted, and as altitude gains it becomes wet, muddy, and rutted. So far the SxS handles it like a champ. Im pleased. On the way up, we pass, of all things, this poor bastard:
Its a dead baby moose. Don’t ask me, I have no idea. I wasn’t about to stop and play Quincy M.E. on it. It hadn’t been picked apart by predators yet, but it was also clearly soaked through which makes me wonder if it had just been revealed under melting snow. Regardless, moving on.
So as elevation increases, there’s more snow. I made it to the switchback that has foiled my last several attempts to get up there and made it through just fine. At this point, though, while the switchback would have been doable in my truck the rest of the road definitely would not have worked out. But…the SxS continued on.
Finally, I get to the ‘driveway’ from the ‘main road’ that goes onto the property. It is, of course, under snow and has no signs of activity.
And this is when things become…frustrating. The SxS did a marvelous job on the rutted snowy roads. Shouldnt have a problem with this, right?
Well, not so much. And here’s where the whole adventure flew off the rails. See, the carrying capacity of the SxS is smaller than that of my truck, As a result, I left a few things behind…like my Hi-Lift jack and full size shovel. I still had my tow straps, rope, shackles, pulleys, and everything I’d need to whip up a z-rig to try to pull things out but it was high centered on the snow. Didnt have a shovel, but did have a Glock e-tool. Guess that’ll have to do. But it didn’t. Spent about three hours trying all sorts of machinations but the simple fact was the tires were not even touching the ground. It was high centered.
Now, there was a winch on the front of the SxS but the direction that was needed was backwards, not forwards. But, perhaps I could pull forward and then dig out the space behind me. Here’s where SuperMegaFail #1 comes into play. There is, indeed, a winch on the front of the SxS. The cabled remote for it is in the glovebox. Had I ever used it before? Nope. Did I even know if it worked? Nope. And most importantly, did I know where the heck the frakkin’ socket for the remote was? Nope.
So without a winch to offer assistance, it was shovel, throw branches under the wheels, hook up pulleys and try pulling, etc. This went on for about three hours. I was starting to think spending the night out there might be in order. I had gear for that, but wasnt looking forward to it. And, by the way, no cell phone out there.
As I was sweating to death and getting soaked in snow trying to dig out the SxS, my brain started turning. I had examined the winch closely and saw no socket for the remote, therefore the remote had to be somewhere in the SxS. Looking everywhere, found nothing. But…the socket would be somewhere close to the driver since if one person was using it, they’d want to be near the steeering controls as they use the winch, right? So I really got into the details and, surprise, found the socket tucked into the side of one of the console compartments on the dashboard. Hard to find, indeed.
So, would it work? Turns out, yes. Now we were getting somewhere. Put a tow strap around a tree about thrity feet in front of the SxS hooked the cable to the winch and started pulling. The SxS heaved forward and up, clearing the spot it had previously been in. Having given my self some room, I could do a little back-n-forth until the thing was back on the tracks it had made coming in.
By the way, the distance from where I was stuck and the cleared ‘main road’? Maybe fifty yards.
So,, now that Im unstuck things are great, right? Nope. It’s now mid afternoon and all my time is gone. I had no time left to do anything and I was way annoyed. I was going to salvage at least one thing outta this trip and that was changing out the battery in the game cam. SuperMegaFail#2 came into play at this point. I had been so busy getting all my gear together, and so excited to go up to the Beta Site, that I forgot to change my shoes. So, there I am, post-holing though snow that, at time, was up to my crotch and I’m doing it in tennis shoes. My level of irritation was off the charts at this point.
So, I get the battery changed and head back to the SxS. The trip down and back to the trailer was uneventful but I was furious with myself for the failure that could have been completely avoided with better planning. The SxS did well, although by the end of the adventure there was mud and dirt everywhere.
Got back to town, dropped the SxS at the storage unit, returned the trailer, unloaded the truck, got something to eat, and then passed out from exhaustion. Today I am sore and achy from all that exertion.
When I returned the trailer I told them Id need it again next weekend. Having Learned My Lesson, I fully intend on making next weekend what this weekend should have been. And I will be doing a lot of things differently….which will be the subject of the next post. Sort of a ‘lessons learned’ thing.
Everyone laughs at all the ‘junk’ in my truck and my jeep. Two jacks each – one tall one short (high-lift or ‘adapted’ bumper jack to lift body, hydraulic or screw jack to lift wheels.) Wood blocks (sometimes a pain to find around here.) One 3/4 length D-handle full sized shovel. Axe and one of those folding landscape saws. Straps/chains/whatever the latest fad is. Hand tools (sockets/pliers/fence pliers/hammer/etc.) Five gallons of non-potable water. At least five gallons of stabilized fuel. Jumper cables. Wire, cord, fuses, etc. Another lesson learned – I like most my stuff earth tones. This recovery gear is bright unnatural colors – replacing a high-lift is expensive these days.
No one laughs when I stop and help them.
No one laughs when I get myself out of issues or a minimum amount of support. Heck I threw a universal joint on the interstate 2400 miles from home while pulling a big Uhaul. One hour to limp into town, replace it, and get back on the road (4wd is not just for the hills – IYKYK.)
Take the penalty – I now live in suburbia and still carry it all, all the time. Sorry for your adventure – sorry no one came by to help, but I guess that is why you got the land you did! Congrats on that part – very jealous.
I’ve had people opine that I too carry too much junk in my vehicle.
Had a co-worker get her personal belongings stuck in a cabinet at work and the cabinet could not be opened. The only way to get the covers open was to pry them off with a serious prying tool. Since we are a healthcare facility, serious prying tools are not just lying around.
i said no problem and went to my vehicle where I had a set of married irons (Halligan/Axe) under the back seat, Walked back into building with them. She (who is also a firefighter) saw them and asked where I got them. I said I carry them in my vehicle in case of emergency. She said that was crazy and she never met anyone who did such a thing.
Turned around and put them back in my truck and suggested she wait until maint came in during day shift and ask them to bust open the cabinet. Have a nice night.
Don’t bite the hand that feeds you; or busts open locked cabinets for you.
The good news is that you made it home safely and didn’t have to spend the night. Have been pondering a winch for the F150 but really don’t anticipate ever going off road much. One of the options was to put a receiver hitch on the front then mount the winch on a plate that could be used on the front or back of the vehicle, depending on how it was stuck. The feed wire would be an issue, takes a big copper wire (#2 gauge) harness to power the winch.
Plan B: Also have a 3-ton come along (was marked down to $350!) that would probably get me out of a small hole since it would hopefully be rolling weight only, but the thing is so big and heavy it’s awkward to carry around but OTOH it’s way better than being stuck.
This might be better for a SxS, or even the 1.5 ton size.
https://www.zoro.com/dayton-lever-chain-hoist-3-000-lb-load-capacity-15-ft-hoist-lift-1-764-in-hook-opening-48me56/i/G4595949/
There are small winches that slide into the trailer hitch and therefore can be used on either end of the vehicle and that is definitely in the future. Additionally, the poratable hitch-mounted winch can be used elsewhere…like taking a tow strap around a tree and using that as the anchor point for the winch to haul logs and the like.
Speaking of trees, it’s smart to bring along a chainsaw (plus gas and bar oil) to deal with fallen ones in your path. Don’t forget chaps and safety gear if you have no cell coverage or fast access to medical care.
It can be understandably frustrating when things don’t go to plan, but nothing is a failure when you learn from it. And in addition to now knowing what you want to make sure to bring next time, you learned alot of valuable information on this trip: 1. there’s moose in the area; 2. the SxS performs well and can handle the roads (up to a certain level of snow); 3. the “driveway” is still under deep snow and impassable by wheeled vehicles this time of year (whether that’s your vehicles or “outsiders'” vehicles), not to mention basic foot traffic; 4. the SxS winch definitely works… just to name a few. Did you accomplish the full to-do list you had planned? No (and being a list oriented and task oriented person myself, I know it’s frustrating to not accomplish what you had in mind to accomplish). But you did accomplish things that weren’t on your list, and those are definite successes, and you’re now in a better position because of them. I would even say you’re in a better position now than you would have been had everything gone right and your “planned” to-do list got completed. In my experience, getting these painful learning curves out of the way early on can be frustrating, but they set you up much better for greater successes down the road.
+1 on a saw of some kind. I keep an electric one and a spare battery in the truck. Less hassle than gas, and the batteries will cut a few trees. I cut three trees going in a month ago to get to where I parked. And you really want one if the trees fall while you are in there and you need to saw your way out.
Then snowshoes. Kind of essential equipment up there when there is snow. Suppose the snowmobile/SxS breaks down? Probably on sale about now, too!
The Milwaukee 18v chainsaw gets good reviews and is battery compatible with the other tools on the truck. The sawzall with a pruning blade cuts very well.
Interestingly, I already have the Sawzall and was gonna pick up ithe 18v chainsaw specifically for keeping int he vehicle ‘just in case’.
We use the Milwaukee M18 chainsaws at work. They’re legit.
Yeah, local biz here in town is having Milwaukee sale first week of april. Already have a pile of M18 stuff so it might behoove me to avail myself of their saw.
Yep seconded and they have a variety of sizes for different applications…
Judging from the pic #2 after the moose, it’s just as well you turned around. 4×4 is just a good way to get really stuck. Just from here, I see too many places for a sideways oops! “Oh, shit!” is not an uncommon last words.
Hove you considered getting or building an ultralight aircraft? It would be more conspicuous, but would avoid some of the issues you are seeing with site access.
What is known as “ultralight” in U.S. have zero payload, range, or speed.
What Europeans call “ultralight” is known in the U.S. as an LSA. Those 600 kg class airplanes can carry a little more, but still not very much. They can be used as an observation platform at best.
Commander, been there, Went down a two lane that turned into a single on the side of a hill. Wife couldn’t even get out her side of the rig without falling down the clif.
My winch has a rope protector about 6ft long at the begining that you can move along the rope, why, run the rope under the SxS attach to something (have 100ft 3/8 rope behind my seat) then winch your rig backwards (don’t forget to put it in neutral. worked for me.
hope you get to make it out there next weekend CZ…looks like you might get more snow…
https://www.tropicaltidbits.com/analysis/models/
Pioneer tools for every 4×4. Axe, Estwing pick, full size shovel and at least a bow saw if not carrying a chain saw. If you can only winch yourself foreword to get unstuck, clear a vehicles length ahead before doing so, then you’ll have a good path to back up without getting high centered all over again
1. Find out if there’s a volunteer off-road recovery organization in your area and how to contact them. I’ve been recovered once by our northern Nevada team. I’m now a member and have done a dozen or more recoveries since last fall.
2. If your winch has a steel cable, seriously consider swapping it for a synthetic cable, and get a spare synthetic. Swap the steel roller fairlead for a synthetic-compatible fairlead. The spare synthetic cable can be used in a pinch as an extension for the winch cable. Synthetic cables may wear but don’t whip and become lethal weapons if they break. They also don’t get broken wires that poke holes in your hand.
3. Get tree straps, flat straps, a synthetic-compatible snatch block, several soft shackles for your recovery kit.
4. Without a lift kit and more aggressive tires, snow will be your enemy. Been there, done that. Same for mud and ruts.
5. Extra food and water, especially energy-dense food like pemmican. You may already be on that.
SxS are fun but basic ones have limits. You’re learning about your vehicle, just be safe.
Deep snow deep mud deep water no vehicles that I know of can get through if it’s too deep even our Unimog has it’s limits with its MB factory PTO winch
You learned a lot today
Best regards
Oh I think this rig would go about anywhere…
https://sherpglobal.com/en/
i feel you dude its alwaxs something but like you said lesson learned and you are ready for next time, soon more snow will melt so your “driveway” will be a bit more passable.
good luck and thanks for the great content.
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“Turned around and put them back in my truck and suggested she wait until maint came in during day shift and ask them to bust open the cabinet. Have a nice night.” – I like that – isn’t it nice when people clearly show you that they’re idiots, without you having to wonder if they are?
My level of wilderness experience is almost non-existent, but that picture of your “driveway” ?? To my untrained eye, it looks barely wide enough for a bicycle! With the right equipment, couldn’t ya carve off some more of the hill on the left side of the driveway to give yourself and your vehicles some more space?
Its wide enough to accommodate my small pickup truck without difficulty, but I underestimate the depth of the snow and got high centered. Next weekend my plan is to get up to the entry point, park, and walk in with a sled full of gear. Probably a 1/4 mile walk to where I want to be.
Look into a track system for your size by side, spendy @4-6K but worth it in snow. They replace all four wheels and provide traction in snow and mud. Unlike a snow machine they can be run on a dirt road. Conditions in the spring will get anything stuck.
Traction boards are also helpful
These will be here tomorrowL: https://amzn.to/3NVCAxR
While I understand the frustration with how it went (and I would have been frustrated too), consider this.
You got to experience all of this on the timeframe of your choosing. You learned a ton. The next time you are bugging out to the beta site, perhaps in a hurry at night, you’ll know what to expect and can handle it quickly and efficiently.
Sometimes the best lessons can be learned in “failure”. Maybe a failure in outcome, but a huge win in lessons learned. A win-win in my book.
As we age, access to and from vital services become even more important when living remotely. How would you handle a medical emergency if you or others couldn’t get in or out for help?
Given the circumstances under which I would imagine relocating to the Beta Site, staying where I am now would offer just as few of those services. Or, in other words, when its the apocalypse you’re not getting those services whether you live in the middle of nowhere or the middle of Manhattan.
I doubt the “Apocalypse” as you envision will ever happen in our lifetime. Again, lets say you’re up at the Beta site and get snowed in. You go out to cut some wood and suffer a life-threatening cut from a chainsaw or axe. You can’t get out for help and they can’t get to you because of weather. This situation is very common and is something to ponder over when living in good times remotely.
Probably needs to carry a PLB just in case the unexpected happens…
A PLB won’t clear the roads or stop a blizzard, but it will help locate a body.
Another non-apocalyptic situation to consider is an injury sustained while building whatever structures you’ll be erecting there. Accidents with power tools or falling from a roof or ladder, etc.
Commander, my T-mobile program offers Satellite service, perhaps others do also.
Just a thought
Stupidest one I ever did was get high-centered in a ’76 Ramcharger halfway through a 100-yard snow field.
I had a hockey stick to dig with.
Behold, the mighty and cheap flip flop winch.
https://blog.woodland-ways.co.uk/others/the-mighty-flip-flop-winch/
I live about 1000 ft higher in elevation than your beta site and work in the power sports industry (snowmobiles and SxS’s). Your main problem regarding access is going to be early spring and late fall, when you’re essentially in between ideal conditions for running either snowmobiles or SxS’s, like right now when you had dry ground at the bottom of the road and 3 or more ft of snow in your driveway. And the biggest problem you face is that as the thaw season progresses, the snow line changes and moves back and forth for about a month (at your elevation) until it finally starts to recede permanently. (With the opposite issue happening in late fall). So, even if you have a storage shed on the road, the distance between that shed and the snow line might be too great. Or, if you trailer the snowmobile in, you may not always be able to access a spot to park the truck and/or unload the snowmobile..
So one thing you may want to look into is a snowplow for the front of your truck. People where I live use them to plow longer driveways and subdivision roads that the town plowers don’t service. A quick internet search shows they range from $400 to $8000. I can’t imagine you’d need the $8000 one, but there are several in the $1500 to $2000 range that might work for your needs. You’ll also want to research the specs of both your truck and the plow to make sure it’s all doable, but they make snowplows that work with lawnmowers and SxS’s, so I’m thinking you can find something that works for your truck and price range.
With one of those, you’ll be able to clear your own driveway and possibly the road or parts of it as needed.
I’ve found that a wildland firefighting tool, a Pulaski, is very handy.
Also a come-along is easier to use for winching than a high-lift.
And as someone that’s been out looking for good people who got caught by misfortune, leave word with someone reliable about where you’re going and when you’ll be back, and what to do if you’re not. It’s a hell of a lot easier to find you in the light than dark.
That heavy wet snow will get a lot of things stuck! Yeah, the important thing is you made it back out safe & sound. Cold, wet , tired, and frustrated… what’s life without some adventues eh?
It’s the bane of my life to be the boy scout “be prepared mindset” Disclaimer, I joined and never showed up for first meeting as Baa Baa Blacksheep played on that night. Regardless I always try to be prepared for everything. Usually can get out of or fix most situations via that preparedness.
The downside is dealing with everyone else every moment of my life in all the moments when nothing is going wrong for being a packrat or you should clean all this shit up. Or you should throw most of this stuff away. Being prepared on a space budget because you cant afford a large shop or garage, just a few sheds does look like a packrat.
2% the hero that saved the day and 98% that weird guy that has piles of stuff in the back of the truck or van.
I have so many friends that if they can’t call a tow truck they would die on the side of the road, or depend on the kindness of strangers if there were strangers at all. I visit their homes and any lengthy power outage they would have no power, no water, no food, no heat, no way to go to the bathroom other than digging a cat hole in the yard and most don’t even have a shovel.
On the other hand I can heat my house with wood or coal, I have 100 gallons of water in 5 gallon containers, and 6000 gallons in an above ground pool. I can use that water to drink, cook, flush toilets etc.. I have composting heads that I can have ready to go in an hour or two. if water is off longer. I have manual pump that can be retrofitted to well if needed. I have food for, well a long time. I have generators, and propane and enough gas to fill the car tanks with maybe 11 full tanks. Both ethanol and 30 gallons of ethanol free for small engines. I have enough solar to run fridge and freezer and lights and other minimal loads. I have spent 30 years planting fruit trees and various fruiting bushes and vines. I have stuff.. lots of stuff…
I look at it as insurance that will allow my family to live comfortably in a bad situation and in a horrible one up the odds of simply living at all. Other people and family just think im weird.
I’m older now and a failing I see is that I know how to use all that stuff but am gradually losing the physicality to do so and trying to get wife and kids to actually learn how to is not going well as they are part of the other people. They vaguely agree on being prepared up until the time and effort and volume of stuff that is needed to cover all the 1001 things that we take for granted. They live on a 10 minute drive to the grocery store, hardware store, tool store etc..
I remember wanting to rip my hair out one day when my wife started going through our bedding and wanted to give away a bunch of blankets and stuff that we rarely used so that we would be down to just what was on the beds. I remember asking her what happens when something happens to the one on the bed. We wont have anything to replace it until we can get a new one. What happens if we have guests or family over and they are camping on the floor or couch or we put up the tent in the yard. She likes camping and I was like, so don’t you use some of those when we go camping, It’s not like your going to take the nice down comforter off the bed and take it.
It is a curse to think ahead in a world of people that live in the moment.