What the hell are you thinking, wheeling by yourself?
So we were at last month’s Jeep club meeting and as we typically do, we had some visitors come in to check out what the club was all about. Of course they were welcomed, stories were exchanged and questions were asked.
One question they asked revealed why they joined us that night… “Is there any problem with wheeling alone?”
Hmmm. So many thoughts and stories come to mind.
You should not wheel alone. I think the answer really is that simple. This applies to folks doing an overnighter on BLM land and to the folks that are heading to the Badlands Off-road Park in Attica. The nature of what we do carries some inherent risk. Going solo greatly increases that risk. Some stories to share
Our club does an Adopt-a-trail outside of Arnold, California. In June we go clear the snow so people do not go off-trail to avoid the snow drifts. This year we got out there and found an abandoned Jeep Cherokee stuck in the snow. The story is that a young couple went out there the day before (alone), tried to tackle the snow bank and got stuck. It is normally an easy trail. It is June. Who would think there would be snow there? The vehicle was left 5+ miles from the nearest road, that was 10+ miles to the nearest town. The couple hiked it out to the road, hitched a ride to town, hired a wrecker the next day to drive out there and pull them out. No one was hurt. All ended well. Some time and money lost. All could have been avoided if they had a second vehicle.
Clearly that couple was not experienced. One would say that an experienced off-roader would not have fallen into that situation. Let me tell you the story about Jay LaFontaine. Jay was a frequent off-roader. Jay lived in Concord, California with his wife and daughter. (not too far from the World Headquarters for California Jeep Authority). Each year Jay would take a solo trip camping week through the Sierras and into Death Valley. Mostly camping, but using his Jeep to take him into the back country. In November 2009, early in his week long trip, Jay got stuck in a ravine. He was alone and not able to free himself. He attempted to hike out. His body was found 3 miles from his Jeep. If he was with someone else, then there is a good chance that the other vehicle could have gotten him un-stuck or taken him for help.
You can say that you are smart. You can say that you are careful. You can say that you are experienced. You can say that you are not going to be “wheeling that hard”. Wheeling solo is not safe. You should have another vehicle with you. Having someone else there is safer and more fun. After all, who will be there to take pictures of your rig?
If you do not know anyone to wheel with, then do as this couple did. Go check out your local off-road club. If you don’t like the first club you meet, go check out another one. Don’t be shy. Before you walk in the door, you already have something in common with these people… an interest in off-roading.
