RESURECTIONJK
Hooked
After taking a few days to reflect on the events from last weekend, I decided to fully share the story of how I ended up axle deep in western Utah muck, why I decided to call on the WAYALIFE community and ultimately, how I got back out and the end result.
I made a few errors, some bigger than others, but all in all it was a learning experience I won't soon forget. It goes to show that despite nearly 15 of years of 4wheeling experience, I found myself in a world I'd never been in and one I don't want to soon visit again.
Gorgeous Sunday afternoon. I decided to get the wife, our daughter and our two dogs out on an easy stroll from Utahs west desert and head towards Wendover Nevada on the old Pony Express Rout.
An old pet cemetery out in the middle of nowhere. There is some history about this site but forgive me for not knowing the full scoop.
Stopping off at Simpson springs to stretch our legs and give the dogs a chance to run around.
So far so good.
There isn't much out here and that's why we were enjoying it so much. Taking note of how bad it would suck to be stranded out here... little did we know...
About 77 miles in from where we started, or a full 140 miles from home, an extremely frail and old man with a nasty limp waved us down, about 5 miles past The Fish Springs Refuge station. Explaining that he was stranded with a friend about 1/4 mile down a side trail without food and water, he asked for our help. We carefully made our way to their 2wd Ford ranger and soon discovered they had been there for a few days.
After pulling them out, I attempted to turn the jeep around and instantly got stuck.
trying everything we had on board, floor mats, shovels, even some old wooden pallets that had been left out here, we tried to free ourselves. Quickly getting deeper and deeper into the nasty mud. The old men tried to get into position to free us but instantly got stuck as well.
Sun was getting low and we knew we were in for a long night. After seeing some headlights in the distance, one of the older gentlemen went back out to the main road to get help.
It wasn't until about 9:30 that a Juab County Sheriff showed up and attempted to help, quickly finding himself stuck as well. Albeit not as bad, after about 4 hours of work, we had him free and back on firm ground.
He took my wife, our daughter, our two dogs and I back to Nephi where we could call a family member to pick us up. The two older gentlemen had refused the Sheriffs help and chose to stay behind. We left some food and water behind for them.
Two days later...
After resting up on Monday, I woke to a phone call on Tuesday from the Sheriff to inform me that he had sent a deputy to check on the older men left behind, who, in fact got stuck, badly. And in turn radioed for help. His backup got stuck as well and ultimately the County Road Service was called and with the help of a dozer and tractor, pulled all 4 vehicles out.
He informed me that I would be able to go out and get it but urged I do it quickly to avoid any vandalism being that it was now pulled out to the side of the trail.
Back on the road and on my way home. After clearing as much mud as I could (death wobble at 10mph is just so much fun) I was able to get moving pretty good and despite a filthy vehicle inside and out, all was well... at least until I got news Wednesday that one of the two old men didn't make it and passed late Tuesday night from complications due to dehydration and cardiac arrest.
It's been a tough week. Lots went wrong. Some went right, and although we ended up home safe and with our beloved JK. I never should have taken the risk, especially with my family on board. Folks knew we were out there, and we had plenty of blankets, food water and fuel. But it was a risk that just didn't justify its reward. I could have easily gone back to a town to call for help. But at that instant I didn't think that far ahead.
I received a lot of great advice and help from fiends and family and mostly, members of this forum. A few even offered to drive out from Texas and even as far away as Florida. I will never forget the support I received from all of you. And it's a call, that in the future I will answer for any of you. I thank you all for providing such a great community for me and I'm grateful to be apart of it.
My wife took a bunch more pictures than I was able, I will try and get them uploaded as an update a bit later.
I made a few errors, some bigger than others, but all in all it was a learning experience I won't soon forget. It goes to show that despite nearly 15 of years of 4wheeling experience, I found myself in a world I'd never been in and one I don't want to soon visit again.
Gorgeous Sunday afternoon. I decided to get the wife, our daughter and our two dogs out on an easy stroll from Utahs west desert and head towards Wendover Nevada on the old Pony Express Rout. An old pet cemetery out in the middle of nowhere. There is some history about this site but forgive me for not knowing the full scoop. Stopping off at Simpson springs to stretch our legs and give the dogs a chance to run around. So far so good.
There isn't much out here and that's why we were enjoying it so much. Taking note of how bad it would suck to be stranded out here... little did we know... About 77 miles in from where we started, or a full 140 miles from home, an extremely frail and old man with a nasty limp waved us down, about 5 miles past The Fish Springs Refuge station. Explaining that he was stranded with a friend about 1/4 mile down a side trail without food and water, he asked for our help. We carefully made our way to their 2wd Ford ranger and soon discovered they had been there for a few days. After pulling them out, I attempted to turn the jeep around and instantly got stuck.
trying everything we had on board, floor mats, shovels, even some old wooden pallets that had been left out here, we tried to free ourselves. Quickly getting deeper and deeper into the nasty mud. The old men tried to get into position to free us but instantly got stuck as well. Sun was getting low and we knew we were in for a long night. After seeing some headlights in the distance, one of the older gentlemen went back out to the main road to get help.
It wasn't until about 9:30 that a Juab County Sheriff showed up and attempted to help, quickly finding himself stuck as well. Albeit not as bad, after about 4 hours of work, we had him free and back on firm ground.
He took my wife, our daughter, our two dogs and I back to Nephi where we could call a family member to pick us up. The two older gentlemen had refused the Sheriffs help and chose to stay behind. We left some food and water behind for them.
Two days later...After resting up on Monday, I woke to a phone call on Tuesday from the Sheriff to inform me that he had sent a deputy to check on the older men left behind, who, in fact got stuck, badly. And in turn radioed for help. His backup got stuck as well and ultimately the County Road Service was called and with the help of a dozer and tractor, pulled all 4 vehicles out.
He informed me that I would be able to go out and get it but urged I do it quickly to avoid any vandalism being that it was now pulled out to the side of the trail.
Back on the road and on my way home. After clearing as much mud as I could (death wobble at 10mph is just so much fun) I was able to get moving pretty good and despite a filthy vehicle inside and out, all was well... at least until I got news Wednesday that one of the two old men didn't make it and passed late Tuesday night from complications due to dehydration and cardiac arrest. It's been a tough week. Lots went wrong. Some went right, and although we ended up home safe and with our beloved JK. I never should have taken the risk, especially with my family on board. Folks knew we were out there, and we had plenty of blankets, food water and fuel. But it was a risk that just didn't justify its reward. I could have easily gone back to a town to call for help. But at that instant I didn't think that far ahead.
I received a lot of great advice and help from fiends and family and mostly, members of this forum. A few even offered to drive out from Texas and even as far away as Florida. I will never forget the support I received from all of you. And it's a call, that in the future I will answer for any of you. I thank you all for providing such a great community for me and I'm grateful to be apart of it.
My wife took a bunch more pictures than I was able, I will try and get them uploaded as an update a bit later.
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