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I’m stuck at lake Powell (page Az)

stylett9

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Thanks everyone who also shared their oh crap moments. It’s slightly relieving to think I’m not the only idiot out here making mistakes.

So the last two days have been a bit of an experience for lack of a better term. I was on a camping trip to Lake Powell Utah. About 600 miles one way. We entered a dry lake bed where we planned to camp. Due to my complete lack of experience, I was driving on the lake bed and a section of it transitioned to a darker shade of “sand”. As I’m sure you all predicted, I sank instantly which you’ll see from the first few pictures. What’s not entirely clear from the pics is at certain times of the day, you can actually see the moisture sitting on top of the section I got stuck on. But it was just my luck that when I entered at the peak of the day, that thin top layer evaporates which added to my lack of judgement. After many unsuccessful attempts from my friends 4runner to yank me out with a recovery strap, I was fortunate enough to call a tow company that was about 1.5 hours away (1hr of which is completely off the grid driving). When I explained where I was they knew immediately and said, “yeah we’ve had to rescue a few people there already”. They came out with a 90s looking Ford F-250 and an older jeep Cherokee. They linked up “train” style, and attempted several unsuccessful recoveries, and my jeep would move maybe a an inch or two then sink back. They eventually decided they’d have to come back with heavier vehicles. Hours went by and they finally returned with the f250, and f350, and a Silverado 1500. They linked up “train style again”, flung a ton of mud and were successful in dragging me out. The relief I had at that moment could not be described. For 8 hours in the middle of nowhere I had been dreading worst case scenarios of abandoning my JLUR like a complete idiot and explaining to my insurance and bank what had happened.

I paid the family owned tow company and thanked them profusely, and off they went. As they were leaving I drove my jeep in a “safe” direction to fling mud off my tires and then I got stuck AGAIN. By this point it was dark snd they were maybe a half mile away snd I could not flag them down to come back right away. Fast forward the next morning they came and rescued me again. My friends and I packed up and we drove straight off that lake bed... I’m leaving out a lot of details because even though I’m home and safe now, it still just makes me frustrated to think about it, but that is the summary of what happened. Happy to answer any questions so people can learn from my mistake.
The first two pics are being stuck the first time. The third pic is being stuck the second time.

Jeep Wrangler JL I’m stuck at lake Powell (page Az) 2335007F-AEAD-4055-AA42-EB880E3F5545


Jeep Wrangler JL I’m stuck at lake Powell (page Az) 860EDC0D-994A-4012-B549-ADE65181142E


Jeep Wrangler JL I’m stuck at lake Powell (page Az) B1ABF074-C3A2-4BEE-98DD-D9598D51193B
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am1978

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mwilk012

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Oh that’s not so bad, you need a shovel and some boards.
I see you have the shovel. Clear out the front axle, make sure the recovery vehicle has decent traction.
 

sf5211

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I’ve made this mistake before too. Getting stuck in mud and treating it like your stuck in snow. With snow you’re usually already down to the road and can’t go deeper. With mud if you don’t get out in about 3-4 tries, you have to replan. I’ve been stuck and didn’t dig in with spinning tires and been pulled out with a quad helping it with my Jeep’s power.
 

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fat_head

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I got a guy who will attempt to get you out for a 30 pack. You don't have PM's enabled so I can't discuss details with you.
 

PacNWJLGecko

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I feel like we need an update here... op can't just close the thread without concluding the story!
 

Reinen

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Thanks for the Windsor referral. They said if I’m not out by morning they can come try.



4FE4ECF8-6EB8-4805-AD5D-6AC8C000477B.jpeg
Ouch. That is not going to be fun at all.

Word to the wise everyone. If you see water anywhere in Utah or Arizona, don't drive anywhere near it. The mud is half peanut butter, half glue and a lot deeper than it looks. Often it doesn't even look like mud.
 
 



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