Lessons Learned

[cowcatcher]

It is a standard rainy Memorial Day weekend in dry Eastern Washington. A little mowing and cleanup done on Saturday and more planned for Sunday and Monday but then the showers turned to downpours. I had been wanting to do some "back roading" in the Libby and I had been thinking of a place I had not been in perhaps 40 years, Skyline Drive. I threw in a few bottles of water, some extra shoes and a camera and off I go.

My memory is fading after 40 years and although I knew the general location of the entrance to Skyline Drive/McCrosky State Park on the west side I was relying mostly on intuition. About 5 miles from Farmington I see a side road marked Skyline Drive (it was not as I remembered it) and took it. It started up into the high country but not really into the trees. I broke over a ridge and then started down into Idaho farm country. Definately the wrong spot so I turned around and took that less traveled road at the top of the ridge with the sign marked "NO RV ACCESS". About a mile down that road I decided to stop and get a great picture of the Palouse hills but when I hit the brakes the ABS went wild. A peek in the rear view mirror showed two deep ruts in the mud following me up the steep hill. Well, I decided to drive a little further before stopping and look for solid ground.

A little perspective is probably due here. The butte sticking out of the Palouse Hills is Steptoe and it is about 3600' with the average terrain at about 2200'. I am probably at about 3500' here. By the time I got to the top I was at 4000'. When I got to here and parked on hard rock in a nice wide spot I am thinking, "Do I turn around and go back in my street CRD or forge ahead?" Well forge ahead of course since I still was not in the trees and going back down that greasy slope was scary!

The next 15 minutes or so I did not touch my camera and breathed only intermitantly. Mainly I prayed (it was Sunday and I sort of recalled how to do that from childhood), hung on to the steering wheel tightly and wondered why I had every thought I should do this. I don't recall if it was before or after I nearly went over the bank and a 3/4 mile roll down hill that I considered parking the Libby and walking out to retrieve it on a dry day.

That tumble I nearly took was on a corner. The Libby was having a terrible time in the mud with the stock tires but also with a stupid driver. It did not want to go down the road straight, but kept crabbing. Why? Well my guess is SelecTrac. Just before going over the bank my three remaining brain cells got together and suggested that "part time" or low range might be a better way to go. "Part time" was the quickest and it did the trick. As soon as I got nestled up against the inside of the bank I got into low range and creeped the rest of the way, doing much better on staying where I needed to be. I think the rear wheel bias in the "full time" was my major problem in the mud and the reason for the "crabbing".

It was another 10 minutes after the possible roll before I got back on some gravel and on the road I had intended to take. A roll through the mountain roads less traveled (and less dangerous) and a change of underware helped take the edge off the day.

This mud shot was well after repeated downpours and puddles that helped wash a lot of the earlier mud away. It was a great day once I regained my wits!

Oh, the lessons learned. 1) Better tires. 2) Low Range not "SelectTrac". 3) Perhaps a passenger to stand outside on the road and call the air ambulance if you don't make it.

 

[JeepJeepster]

Haha funny story! Sounds like you have fun and yes tires do help alot in mud. Take it easy and dont go over any hills!

 

[Dave]

Excellent adventure and a beautiful place. It's really fun isn't it?

Regarding selec-trac i have found that 4-full time is really good on pavement if it's pouring rain or if I'm towing. I don't use it off-road.

I always use 4-part time on trails and if it is muddy or difficult i switch to 4-low BEFORE i hit the bad part. I am mostly stock so i go carefully (more mods coming). I have been in some hairy places and sunk in the mud but 4-low really helps as it puts you in max torque range. I am still running the crummy stock tires also but i know that just changing them to a good a/t will make all the difference in the world.

It is best to have another vehicle wheeling with you in case someone gets stuck and needs to be pulled out. When I'm alone I'm very careful.

Dave

 

[2003KJ]

Very nice pics!

Yeah wheelin alone is DEFINATELY not a smart thing to do...I almost learned that the hardway myself last year.

 

[grogiefrog]

Dave, thanks for the report and photos! Still it looked like a good time, and good advice!
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So are you going to be looking for better tires? Where you live you should! I'm going to put on REVOS on my KJ later this year (before winter for sure). I'm very happy with them on my TJ.

 

[cowcatcher]

Thanks for all the comments and yes I did enjoy myself once my wit (note sigular here) returned.

I probably will mostly be wheeling alone and really did not expect the bind I got myself into. I will be more careful in the future.

I need to get more rubber worn off the AT's but yes new tires wil be a must before winter. Revos sound good but I am also considering Toyos. There is a really great tire chain out here that has stores everywhere that sell everything but stock Toyo. They have a great road hazard warranty too so if something goes bad they just throw on a new one no questions asked. They can sell me the Revos but if there were a problem I would have to wait for a new tire. I guess that isn't an issue with a full size spare.

The other issue is that I would like to put on a little larger tire and a lift. Unless I go to a Daystar I may need to wait a little to do both tires and lift but I may not be able to do the larger tires until after the lift. Circle of life huh!