- Joined
- Mar 19, 2005
- Location
- Raleigh
Channel Islands 4x4 Club, a bunch of friendly folks from the west coast, posted up this rescue effort for a member stuck while wheeling alone back in July. I asked permission from John Saffelo (Bulldawg on the CI4x4 forum) to post the story. While a lot of folks won't encounter conditions like these, it is always a good reminder to not wheel alone and of how a group of people can come together to pull off something pretty spectacular. This is John's basically unedited play-by-play of 'The Incident':
Day One
Saturday, 07-17-10, Approximately 3:30 PM
I received a call from a member of CI4X4 stating he "broke rule #1" (was wheeling alone) and is now stuck and seeking help. This member described the situation as being against a rail with a flat tire at Drinkwater Flats and just needed to be winched off.
07-17-10 @ 4:30 PM
I arrived to meet the member at the L.A. County/CA Dept of Corrections Fire Camp where he and his 3 passengers were awaiting my arrival. At this point, I observed the member's red Jeep perched on a hill outside of Drinkwater Flats, hanging by it's rear axle at about a 20° angle and at risk of rollover. I then Drove the member and one of his passengers back to the entry point of Drinkwater and through the OHV area to the point of entry onto the trail where he ended up.
07-17-10 @ 5:30 PM
Upon arrival to the end of the Jeep Trail, we come to two concrete barricades. You now have two choices; Left or Right. When our member looked left, he observed a wide open steel fire gate leading to a wide trail with no signage prohibiting access. The member states he went left and we began the trek down the trail which became progressively narrow, down hill and off camber. As I become uncomfortable with the loss of traction and bad angle, I look at the member and tell him; I'm not liking this. He states his jeep is just around the corner. When I reach a point to where I have visual of his rig I tell him there is no safe way to winch him back and there are no safe anchor points in the area. I then advise him to retrieve his Hi-Lift and direct him to brace the jack between the erosion guard he is straddling with his axle and the right rear wheel.
After jacking his Jeep further onto the trail and correcting it's severe angle; I proceeded to attempt to reverse my jeep out of the area at which point my Left Rear wheel slid off the trail and my Right Rear came off the ground. At this point I directed the other people on the trail to place load on my right side and I was able to move the jeep forward and back onto 4 wheels.
07-17-10 @ 6:30 PM
I contacted Hatch and advised him I was in over my head and needed someone with experience to assist in spotting me as I backed out up the 3/4 mile trek. Hatch in turn contacted John and were in route to my location. I also received a call from Mike who was checking on me and he headed out when he heard of my situation. I then received a call from Dave who said he was on the way but I called him back and canceled as it looked like we had enough people and I didn't want him to make the long trip for nothing.
07-17-10 @ 7:30 PM
Hatch and John Arrive and begin the trip down the trail to about my half way point when the soil under Hatch's Left Rear gives way and the wheel drops into a hole. At this point, John starts to pull Hatch back when he looses traction and His Left Rear falls in putting him right next to Hatch. We now start with attempting to Hi-Lift John's Jeep back onto the trail and had no success. At this point it's getting dark and it's time to wrap it up as things could get dangerous. Mike is already driving through the OHV area and out of cell phone or CB range so we can't stop him. So, I begin the hike down the mountain with the member and his passengers while Hatch and John hike up the hill to intercept Mike.
07-17-10 @ 10:00 PM
We reach the bottom and end up on San Francisquito Canyon Rd. at which point the 4 people from the Red Jeep call for a ride and we stand by in front of the Inmate Fire Camp.
07-17-10 @ 11:30 PM
The red Jeep crew is picked up and I stood by for Hatch or Mike to pick me up once they make it out.
07-17-10 @ 12:30 AM
Hatch and Kevin arrive at the Camp and we head to Hatch's home in SC where we spent some time debriefing and went to sleep about 3 AM.
------------------------------------------------------------
Day Two
07-18-10 @ 6:30 AM
Coffee at Hatch's thanks to Maral and we set up to head out and meet team 2 at a parking lot in SC.
07-18-10 @ 9:00 AM
A group of 9 Jeeps and a couple of full sizers head out to Drinkwater Flats where we found Mike & Rich already there picking and digging to place the vehicles at better angles.
07-18-10 @ 10:00 AM
Rigging and winching operations are underway with a triangulated pull across a ridge line including over 700 ft of line in one direction and 100' or more in the other with multiple rigs involved as anchors.
07-18-10 @ 3:00 PM
Hatch and John's Jeeps are out of the hazard zone and can now be slowly backed out to the main trail. Efforts are now being made to recover my Jeep when people start to take ill and suffer the effects of the 110° Heat and physical exhaustion. It's now time to call-it and get everyone off the mountain. Everyone wraps up their gear and begins the shortest routes possible out of the area.
07-18-10 @ 4:00 PM
I arrive at the bottom of the mountain at the camp where I learned that the Chief for the USFS has issued a citation to the member who initially placed the call for help and advised him of the restrictions associated with a recovery of this nature.
Initially: No Dozers, No Vehicles, No Mechanized Devices. Further that he would be charged for any damage to the Forest and anything associated to it. My Jeep is still perched on the edge of the hill and the measured distance down is 753 Ft. I have contacted several Helicopter Companies as has Dave's wife Karen and the bids to lift the Jeep are between $10-23,000.00 depending on load, terrain, air temp, elevation and more.
The Chief did ultimately approve a dozer, providing it enter from the top, be larger than a D-4 and not cause damage to the trails. Closest estimates for the dozer I can find so far are about $6,000.00
Plans are in place to attempt another method and have been approved by the USFS but will still be very labor intensive and require multiple resources.
If you look carefully at the first picture, you can see where the Jeeps are sitting on the left. More photos on the CI4x4 site.
Day One
Saturday, 07-17-10, Approximately 3:30 PM
I received a call from a member of CI4X4 stating he "broke rule #1" (was wheeling alone) and is now stuck and seeking help. This member described the situation as being against a rail with a flat tire at Drinkwater Flats and just needed to be winched off.
07-17-10 @ 4:30 PM
I arrived to meet the member at the L.A. County/CA Dept of Corrections Fire Camp where he and his 3 passengers were awaiting my arrival. At this point, I observed the member's red Jeep perched on a hill outside of Drinkwater Flats, hanging by it's rear axle at about a 20° angle and at risk of rollover. I then Drove the member and one of his passengers back to the entry point of Drinkwater and through the OHV area to the point of entry onto the trail where he ended up.
07-17-10 @ 5:30 PM
Upon arrival to the end of the Jeep Trail, we come to two concrete barricades. You now have two choices; Left or Right. When our member looked left, he observed a wide open steel fire gate leading to a wide trail with no signage prohibiting access. The member states he went left and we began the trek down the trail which became progressively narrow, down hill and off camber. As I become uncomfortable with the loss of traction and bad angle, I look at the member and tell him; I'm not liking this. He states his jeep is just around the corner. When I reach a point to where I have visual of his rig I tell him there is no safe way to winch him back and there are no safe anchor points in the area. I then advise him to retrieve his Hi-Lift and direct him to brace the jack between the erosion guard he is straddling with his axle and the right rear wheel.
After jacking his Jeep further onto the trail and correcting it's severe angle; I proceeded to attempt to reverse my jeep out of the area at which point my Left Rear wheel slid off the trail and my Right Rear came off the ground. At this point I directed the other people on the trail to place load on my right side and I was able to move the jeep forward and back onto 4 wheels.
07-17-10 @ 6:30 PM
I contacted Hatch and advised him I was in over my head and needed someone with experience to assist in spotting me as I backed out up the 3/4 mile trek. Hatch in turn contacted John and were in route to my location. I also received a call from Mike who was checking on me and he headed out when he heard of my situation. I then received a call from Dave who said he was on the way but I called him back and canceled as it looked like we had enough people and I didn't want him to make the long trip for nothing.
07-17-10 @ 7:30 PM
Hatch and John Arrive and begin the trip down the trail to about my half way point when the soil under Hatch's Left Rear gives way and the wheel drops into a hole. At this point, John starts to pull Hatch back when he looses traction and His Left Rear falls in putting him right next to Hatch. We now start with attempting to Hi-Lift John's Jeep back onto the trail and had no success. At this point it's getting dark and it's time to wrap it up as things could get dangerous. Mike is already driving through the OHV area and out of cell phone or CB range so we can't stop him. So, I begin the hike down the mountain with the member and his passengers while Hatch and John hike up the hill to intercept Mike.
07-17-10 @ 10:00 PM
We reach the bottom and end up on San Francisquito Canyon Rd. at which point the 4 people from the Red Jeep call for a ride and we stand by in front of the Inmate Fire Camp.
07-17-10 @ 11:30 PM
The red Jeep crew is picked up and I stood by for Hatch or Mike to pick me up once they make it out.
07-17-10 @ 12:30 AM
Hatch and Kevin arrive at the Camp and we head to Hatch's home in SC where we spent some time debriefing and went to sleep about 3 AM.
------------------------------------------------------------
Day Two
07-18-10 @ 6:30 AM
Coffee at Hatch's thanks to Maral and we set up to head out and meet team 2 at a parking lot in SC.
07-18-10 @ 9:00 AM
A group of 9 Jeeps and a couple of full sizers head out to Drinkwater Flats where we found Mike & Rich already there picking and digging to place the vehicles at better angles.
07-18-10 @ 10:00 AM
Rigging and winching operations are underway with a triangulated pull across a ridge line including over 700 ft of line in one direction and 100' or more in the other with multiple rigs involved as anchors.
07-18-10 @ 3:00 PM
Hatch and John's Jeeps are out of the hazard zone and can now be slowly backed out to the main trail. Efforts are now being made to recover my Jeep when people start to take ill and suffer the effects of the 110° Heat and physical exhaustion. It's now time to call-it and get everyone off the mountain. Everyone wraps up their gear and begins the shortest routes possible out of the area.
07-18-10 @ 4:00 PM
I arrive at the bottom of the mountain at the camp where I learned that the Chief for the USFS has issued a citation to the member who initially placed the call for help and advised him of the restrictions associated with a recovery of this nature.
Initially: No Dozers, No Vehicles, No Mechanized Devices. Further that he would be charged for any damage to the Forest and anything associated to it. My Jeep is still perched on the edge of the hill and the measured distance down is 753 Ft. I have contacted several Helicopter Companies as has Dave's wife Karen and the bids to lift the Jeep are between $10-23,000.00 depending on load, terrain, air temp, elevation and more.
The Chief did ultimately approve a dozer, providing it enter from the top, be larger than a D-4 and not cause damage to the trails. Closest estimates for the dozer I can find so far are about $6,000.00
Plans are in place to attempt another method and have been approved by the USFS but will still be very labor intensive and require multiple resources.
If you look carefully at the first picture, you can see where the Jeeps are sitting on the left. More photos on the CI4x4 site.
