Getting stuck in the mud in Death Valley

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Dapper Dan

Trad climber
Menlo Park
Topic Author's Original Post - Mar 2, 2015 - 08:57pm PT
Hey folks , thought I'd share a little episode from my trip to Death Valley last week . To be accurate, this happened in the Panamint Valley, which is one valley over from Death Valley , but same general area ...

My dad and I were on a small 4x4 trip around the area, I had previously been up in the Inyo Mtns...


And then the Argus range ...


And finally I was coming out of the small Slate Range...


Down on the valley floor , we needed to cross this narrow wash to reach solid ground on the other side ... looks pretty solid right ?


It was firm under foot , but as soon as I crossed it in my 5,500 lb. 4Runner , I quickly sank into some deep nasty mud...


We didn't have too many options , there were no people and only one lonely dirt road about a mile off, and worse , no natural anchors to winch off. An idea slowly formed , perhaps I could dig a channel , similar to a snow bollard , around one of the many clumps of vegetation growing , this just might work !


I got my shovel out and quickly dug the U-shaped bollard in the soft ground ...





I hoped the dense wet ground , the roots stabilizing the vegetation, and the surface area of the bollard would be enough to winch my truck a mere 15 feet out of the wash ... and it worked ! My truck popped right out ...



All total we were only stuck for about 45 minutes . We got on firmer ground and headed off on the rest of our 4x4 trip in the Panamints. Getting stuck with my dad turned out to be a highlight of the trip , and something we got out of together :)

Jaybro

Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
Mar 2, 2015 - 09:03pm PT
Family teamwork & alpine ingenuity, I love it!!
C4/1971

Trad climber
Depends on the day...
Mar 2, 2015 - 09:04pm PT
ahhh, the old sand bollard.....
Jones in LA

Mountain climber
Tarzana, California
Mar 2, 2015 - 09:08pm PT
Whoa! That's seriously stuck. The Mud Bollard was brilliant. Bravo!

Rich Jones
pvalchev

Social climber
Truckee, CA
Mar 2, 2015 - 09:10pm PT
That's awesome! I've actually used a snow bollard to winch my truck out of a snow drift on an ice climbing trip in the Ghost in Alberta (also no trees around)... good times.
ClimbingOn

Trad climber
NY
Mar 2, 2015 - 09:17pm PT
I'm impressed. Great solution!
Fritz

Trad climber
Choss Creek, ID
Mar 2, 2015 - 09:27pm PT
the old sand bollard

I learned to use the Scottish climbing name for them.

Dead Man.

Outside climbing, I've used them to hold down tents in wind, rafts in high & rising waters, but only once to pull a vehicle out of a mud-hole.

At age 15, (about 1963) I foolishly drove the family 1951 Dodge 4 x 4 Powerwagon into a wet field. I buried it to the doors. The only other Dodge Powerwagon in our small Idaho town couldn't winch it out. (what do you expect from a 15 year old?)


I helped my dad sink metal fence posts into solid ground and that "dead man" worked for the Powerwagon to winch itself out.

Shist! I really do need to buy a winch for my 4-runner.
Lurkingtard

climber
Mar 2, 2015 - 09:30pm PT
And people were giving the gym climbers sh#t for parking next to a boulder. Lol

Psilocyborg

climber
Mar 2, 2015 - 09:42pm PT
Lesson for everyone...don't underestimate desert mud. I once had to acquire 10 drunk strangers to manually lift my Tacoma out of the mud.
Dapper Dan

Trad climber
Menlo Park
Topic Author's Reply - Mar 2, 2015 - 09:42pm PT
cool story Fritz ... no way I would have been there in August , but if it was August that mud would have been baked through ...
Chewybacca

Trad climber
Montana, Whitefish
Mar 2, 2015 - 10:01pm PT
Nice job on the self rescue.

I've buried my spare tire to use as an anchor before.
Juan Maderita

Trad climber
"OBcean" San Diego, CA
Mar 2, 2015 - 11:02pm PT
DD,
You might revive this old thread by posting your mud bollard here:

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/619707/Whats-in-yur-4x-kit-What-fav-4x-trick-for-saving-yur-ass
Dr.Sprock

Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
Mar 3, 2015 - 12:30am PT
good deal, i fried some points going up townes pass and saw a total of 1 car in a 24 hour period, old folks who did not want to pick up a hippie out in manson country,

bent the two arms together that hold the round contact, bent the breaker plate over a bit and limped over the hill, that valley will get ya,
neebee

Social climber
calif/texas
Mar 3, 2015 - 03:08am PT
hey there say, dapper dan... wow, this was really something... glad you got the ' ingenuity' and got out... :)


say, you and your dad, look a lot alike, :)

thanks for the share... great pics, too...

i really liked the panamint area... and death valley...
went through there, so many years, so many years, back...


rottingjohnny

Sport climber
mammoth lakes ca
Mar 3, 2015 - 04:57am PT
TM Herbert has some good stories about getting trucks un-stuck in the Utah deserts...
mouse from merced

Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
Mar 3, 2015 - 05:06am PT
Sweet, Virginia!

Wadin' through the waste stormy winter,
And there's not a friend to help you through.
Tryin' to stop the waves behind your eyeballs,
Drop your reds, drop your greens and blues.

Thank you for your wine, California,
Thank you for your sweet and bitter fruits.
Yes I got the desert in my toenail
And I hid the speed inside my shoe.

I want you to come on, come on down Sweet Virginia,
I want you come on, honey child, I beg of you.
I want you come on, come on down, you got it in you.
--From Exile on Main St.
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Mar 3, 2015 - 06:32am PT
Fun story....creative solution!
skcreidc

Social climber
SD, CA
Mar 3, 2015 - 06:45am PT
Great story! And a great solution; The Mud Bollard is now part of my "tool kit". When useable, looks easier than a sand spike and comealong.
AP

Trad climber
Calgary
Mar 3, 2015 - 06:46am PT
A friend once got stuck on loose boulders in 3 foot deep water crossing the Ghost River. He drilled a bolt into a big boulder on the bank then winched himself out.
Never leave home without a shovel
Norwegian

Trad climber
dancin on the tip of god's middle finger
Mar 3, 2015 - 06:46am PT
the passage of man
leaves an aweful trace.
Messages 1 - 20 of total 70 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
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