Hello everyone

[squidvicious]

Suggestion: if you buy me an Outback, I will drive it for an extended period of time, visit many trailheads, and then give you my honest, in-depth evaluation. I want you to feel good about your decision.

I parked next to a beautiful shiny red new Outback the other day. It was gorgeous, and I wanted it. So, so bad. See, I'm still talking about it!

[Don Nelsen]

Welcome!

My vehicle for years was a '91 Toyota 2whd pickup, and there were very few places I could not get to with that trusty truck. But then, Don might have a few words about the sanity of where I did take it. I just upgraded to a new Jeep Cherokee. 4whd but not particularly high ground clearance. At any of the trail heads, you will see a high percentage of Subarus. I have also seen a surprising number of Mini Coopers, on roads where I felt like I was pushing it with my truck.

I always carry an ax, a come-along, a couple of chains, and shovel. I recently got stuck (in my new unstoppable Jeep) in a plowed TH parking lot! Fortunately, no one else was around to see my embarrassment! Turns out that as I was parking, I rolled over a little block of ice. I couldn't move forward to get any momentum to back up over it. With out the shovel, I would have had to get cold putting on the tire chains (which I carry year around).

Jeep-oops.jpg

All this is a way of saying that it is not what you drive, but rather using some intelligence about how & where you drive. And being prepared, because you never know 100% what you are going to encounter, and I feel very strongly that every driver has the responsibility to be able to get themselves out of whatever they get into.

Those are wise words, Kelly. Taking along what you may need to get you out of a spot is what separates the stuckees from the rest. I have never, in over 50 years of adventures been so stuck as to need serious help. However, I have been close.(!) I could tell some interesting stories!

I still have the pair of tire chains my father gave me back in the mid sixties and I will never give them up. Cable chains are so wussy!! I have resized those old things for different sized tires many times and they are always ready for the task.

dn