Got Stranded

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,342
328
Near Mt. Misery
I have a full size bronco with mud tires and I rarely get stuck. Actually I never got stuck in this truck till this past monday. I went out early to do some kayaking/fishing. The water levels were too low and the bugs were bad so I turned for home. I decided to take a detour down a usually water logged road and after many successful mud hole crossings I finally got stuck.

I figured it would have to happen sooner or later with this truck. I never let air out of my tires. Anyway, no big deal, I went to get the hand winch, as I have many times in the past with my jeep, and pull it out.

I recently replaced my worn out hand winch with a newer 4-ton hand winch. Figureing the Bronco was much heavier than my Jeep. I had never used it before. IT MALFUNCTIONED!!

this bothered me but I had a cheap back up along also, just in case. IT Was Not STrong Enough. So I got out my 6-ton jack and tried lifting it and putting logs under it. NO GOOD, the mud was too wet I couldn't keep the jack from sinking no matter how much wood I put under it.

I lost my Cell phone a week ago. Not that it would have gotten reception anyway. I tried and tried but could not get out. I'm so stranger to this situation either. My water supply diminished and was gone. Eventually I stopped sweating and I realized I was going to have to walk out right then because I was dehydrating. This was not an easy decision because it meant leaving my expensive kayak and all my fishing equipment in a situation where they could be easily stolen. I was in one of the most remote spots in Wharton State forest. It was Monday. No one was comming. So I started walking.

I later figured it was between 7 and 8 miles of walking. I was very dehydrated, and I had stopped producing salivia. I knew that as a last resort I was going to drink from Nescogue creek but only as a last resort. I made it to 206, hitch hiked to Walmart in Hammonton. Drank alot of water. bought a cheap 2-ton come along and hitch hiked back. I was lucky to have been picked up by a real good guy who drove me most of the 7 miles back into the woods. He had to stop at a certain point because of mud and ruts. I walked another mile or so to the bronco that still had my stuff in it!!!!!!

I finally worked it out slowly but surely. It took a while. I was about 90% out when the son and friend of the guy who gave me a ride showed up in a jeep. pulled me out the remainder of the way and gave me some drinks. God Bless those guys!! They drove all the way from Pemberton, and wouldn't take any $. There are still good people in the world. Anyway, I got stuck at 10:30 am. I got unstuck at 7:30pm.

I have looked back on the situation and have thought how it could have been avoided...what to have learned. Interestingly. I was prepared with two winches. The problem was, neither was tested ahead of time. So lesson one, Buy High Quality and test ahead of time. I had water, but not enough for an emergency. So, lesson two, have too much water, so what if it goes warm.

All in all, I think it was a situation that was not so easily avoided. I thought I was prepared, but in light of unforseen difficulties, I was forced into a bad situation. I never felt like my life was in danger, but I did come close to drinking unboiled/unpurified water. I forgot to bring my camera, would have documented the adventure. Oh well. I'm going to get me the biggest badest hand winch in the world. No electricity (just another opportunity for it not to work).

So what did you guys do on Monday. At least I had a good excuse for missing work.:)

Jeff
 

Frolickin

Explorer
Apr 21, 2003
149
0
Millville, NJ
rdowens.net
Wow! What an ordeal. I have been pulled out a few times. The kindness of others (strangers) is one of the things that has most impressed me about my exploring.

It is good to hear all worked out in the end.
 

MuckSavage

Explorer
Apr 1, 2005
617
239
56
Turnersville
Perhaps our members could put together an "emergency contact list". Sure, you didn't have a cell phone, but when you made it to WalMart, contact would've been made from there. With my daily driver being a 4wd F150 & having a built CJ7 (w/winch, hi-lift, etc) sitting at home, I'd be happy to volunteer to help out.
 
Jul 12, 2006
1,354
342
Gloucester City, NJ
That really sucks Jeff, but I'm glad to hear you're OK. What happened to you is one of my biggest fears when wheeling. Usually, it's just the wife and I. Many times, I've thought about the issues surrounding getting stuck or breaking-down. Fortunately, we usually have enough water with us to fill a lake, but that's about it. I keep telling myself I need to get hand-winch, but you've just proven that even being prepared is no guarantee.
 

long-a-coming

Explorer
Mar 28, 2005
778
14
51
Berlin Twp
I'm really glad to hear your kayak gear etc. was still in intact. And the guys who helped you refused to take any money man that is truly a modern day Good Samaritan.
 

Boyd

Administrator
Staff member
Site Administrator
Jul 31, 2004
9,828
3,009
Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
Wow, that really was a nightmare - glad everything worked out in the end for you. Since I only have a car, I try to be very careful where I go. Have gotten very close to being stuck, but not quite. A few months ago I sunk into some muddy sand but was able to dig out with some old boards I found nearby. That scared me enough to avoid any questionable spots afterwards!

Years ago my car broke down in Lebanon forest - engine died after going through a big puddle and wouldn't start after much tinkering. Had to hike a few miles until someone gave me a lift to the park office where I called a tow truck (this was back "in the day" when we didn't have cell phones). That guy was not happy about going down the sandy road (which he called a "lane"), but he towed my car to a shop in Medford. Funny thing was, the next morning the shop couldn't find anything wrong. I guess the ignition system just got wet and needed time to dry.

A couple years ago we drove past a big van full of people from some nature center in NYC that had broken down somewhere around Carranza. I gave a couple of them a lift to a place out on 206 where they were able to arrange for a tow truck. I like to be a good samaritan when possible, but as discussed in other threads, sometimes you don't feel quite right about the people or the situation.

I remember when I moved here I drove out Carranza road for the first time and just past the Juvenile Detention place there were several teenage boys in the road who flagged me down. They had a story about a broken down car, but there wasn't any car in sight. It just didn't seem right and they looked like they had come from the center, so I bailed out of there down Carranza Road which was when I "discovered" that it wasn't paved past the tracks :) I didn't want to turn around and go past those guys again, so I had my first unpaved road experience in the pines, and when I finally came out on 563 I had no idea where I was!
 

LARGO

Piney
Sep 7, 2005
1,553
134
54
Pestletown
MuckSavage said:
Perhaps our members could put together an "emergency contact list". I'd be happy to volunteer to help out.

Good idea given so many parties on this site.
Jeff,
I feel really bad as you got bumbled right in my stomping grounds and I live five minutes drive to the 206 entrance from there. I got a dune buggy pretty stuck back there about seven years ago. It can get nasty. I have made that walk to 206. Sucks! Slept on the ground all night and when my Cell grabbed a signal I called a neighbor who met me at 206. He brought a bottled water and a Banana, it was like heaven after my night. Most of that road until you hit the sand is traversable by even a car, give or take a puddle or two. You probably could have found someone in Paradise lakes or called from the Red Barn or closer yet a family right up Chew road across 206 from where you were. You might have been out in little over an hour. Funny how you can feel miles from anywhere in Wharton and still be near people.
I only have for the woods an old S-10 but beats walkin out if Someone could be reached. I wouldn't speak for him but REDNEKF350 is right around the corner from me with 2 healthy trucks. Heck, a call to me even if I was at work I would have gotten my wife to meet you at least for a ride or man, just to have fluids and a place close by to chill out.
Oh well, better luck with your new gear and if it counts I would have been happy to help you out.

G.
 

wis bang

Explorer
Jun 24, 2004
235
2
East Windsor
Testing your gear is one of the first rules of surrvival. It's the only way to make sure it really works. Stash a couple of MRE's too they are good to have for suituations like the one you experienced.
 

RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
5,057
3,328
Pestletown, N.J.
LARGO said:
I wouldn't speak for him but REDNEKF350 is right around the corner from me with 2 healthy trucks.

I would have gladly helped.
A weekday would have bewen tough though.
I have two 4WD F-350's with a 30' 30,000 lb strap and lots of chains and shackles.
A list of volunteer rescue vehicles wouldn't be a bad idea.
Scott
 

LongIslandPiney

Explorer
Jan 11, 2006
484
0
Well I have never been in that situation, but my hikes, especially in the warmer weather, sometimes seem to get the better of me.
Last Friday I took a 5 mile or so walk through the Red Creek Preserve, near Flanders, on Rt.24. Unlike the NJ Pines, there are buses, that's how I went.
So even though I had a bottle of gatorade I drank just before I hit the trail, by the time I was done 3 hours or so later I was dying of thirst, and was producing no more saliva. But the bus was due soon, or so I thought. I was stuck waiting in the hot sun at that bus stop for over 70 minutes! I thought I was going to die! And unlike in the NJ Pines, no one here gives rides. After 40 minutes of waiting I started trying to hitchhike, but no one stopped. Even pointing to my throat, wouldn't get them to stop. Even the volunteer FD car wouldn't stop.
Of course if I knew the bus was gonna be 70 minutes late, I would have walked that extra mile to a strip mall down the road to get a drink. In hindsight, that's probably what I should have done.
When the bus finally came it was packed with day laborers, and I had to stand near the front. Wasn't easy to stand after being out there for 70 minutes and dying of thirst. The bus was late from traffic and the loading of course, that's what happens when you have to make a zillion stops. It's really a miracle that I can get out there without a car as it is. There's various personal reasons why I am unable to drive I'd rather not mention here.
Anyway, the dehydration thing is really something you've got to plan for. Even I under-estimate it sometimes. Part of the reason I don't like walking in the warmer weather. But if you're taking your vehicle with you, you aren't limited by how much you can carry. I'd carry a cooler with plenty of water and gatorade, it's good to have a plan just in case you get stuck.
Anyway, when I got off the bus in Riverhead, I drank an 1/2 gal container of gatorade! :guinness:
 

dragoncjo

Piney
Aug 12, 2005
1,575
300
43
camden county
One thing you could carry along with gatorade is one of those inserts in backpacks that you can fill up with water. My buddy had one when we went biking on monday. It simply is a backpack that his a 3 liter insert that fills up with water. It has a tube that you can suck on to get the water out while you are walking. Dehydration is def a problem with this kind of intense heat. I have such a high metabolism and my saliva glands are partially non functioning from radiation therapy, therefore I bring out a ton of water while hiking, but it never seems to be enough.
 

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,342
328
Near Mt. Misery
dragoncjo said:
One thing you could carry along with gatorade is one of those inserts in backpacks that you can fill up with water. My buddy had one when we went biking on monday. It simply is a backpack that his a 3 liter insert that fills up with water. It has a tube that you can suck on to get the water out while you are walking. Dehydration is def a problem with this kind of intense heat. I have such a high metabolism and my saliva glands are partially non functioning from radiation therapy, therefore I bring out a ton of water while hiking, but it never seems to be enough.

I have one of those. I take it on the motorcycle and hiking. It is great!!!
 

woodjin

Piney
Nov 8, 2004
4,342
328
Near Mt. Misery
LongIslandPiney said:
And unlike in the NJ Pines, no one here gives rides. After 40 minutes of waiting I started trying to hitchhike, but no one stopped. Even pointing to my throat, wouldn't get them to stop. Even the volunteer FD car wouldn't stop.

I was surprised that, in this case, two people stopped to give me a ride and I didn't have to walk much more than a mile once I was road side. I was surprised because I was absolutely covered in mud. I figured, they are either going to think I am in trouble or a complete lunatic. Lucky for me they thought the former!!!

Jeff
 

piker56

Explorer
Jan 13, 2006
641
53
68
Winslow
woodjin said:
God Bless those guys!! They drove all the way from Pemberton, and wouldn't take any $. There are still good people in the world.

Jeff

Having been pulled out of sugar sand myself by a guy who wouldn't take anything, it is a good feeling to encounter someone like that. My car was so buried, I joked to my brother that we should kick some sand on the roof and leave it for some future generation to find. Our "good samaritan" hooked up a chain and had us out in a few minutes. His pay? He told me to help someone else if I had the chance. It's advice I've tried to follow.
 
Jul 12, 2006
1,354
342
Gloucester City, NJ
Last Saturday we were out at Atsion. I don't recall the road we were on, but there was a rather large body of water that had to be cleared in order to finish the run. As I approached it, I saw a jeep sitting on the other side, 20 or 30 yards past the water. I was starting to get a bit nervous. He continued to sit there and there was no easy way for me to turn around. I noticed a bypass running along side of the body of water, so I took that. As I approached the Jeep I hollered over asking if everything was OK. He responded that he was just waiting to make sure that I got thru the water, if I had decided to attempt it. That made me feel really good and I thanked him for that.
 

BigRedEye

Scout
Mar 28, 2006
33
0
jersey shore
stalling during/after a puddle

In response to Boyd's post, if a vehicle stalls after going through a puddle, sometimes you can get it going again by removing the distributor cap, if it has a distributor, and spraying inside the cap with WD-40, then reinstalling it.
 
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