Getting Unstuck in the Desert
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Lurching over rutted roads* to desolate dominions and creeping across scoured washes to remote trailheads may seem like peculiar pursuits to people who program the thermostats in their bedrooms. We desert rats know that what happens after the truck stops certainly transcends any pleasure to be found upon the TV couches of America. However, the journey to such destinations is fraught with both hazard and mischief, including deep sand, fresh mud, unexpected snow, multiple tire punctures, looming obstacles, and a variety of ominous metallic grinding noises…all of which, sooner or later, will befall anybody who goes “out there.” Unprepared people can be subjected to frustrations, bona fide misery, and (rarely) involuntary departures from the realm of the living.
I’ve learned from experience, and better yet from the wisdom of grizzled veterans (that’s you, Grumps), how to prepare for these contingencies. Here is my list for a GUNK (Get Unstuck Now Kit) which can easily be carried in the bed of a truck, along with your toys and Salamandre wine. I’m assuming you have all the short term cooking, camping, and sleeping gear already loaded.
Naturally, it would be ideal to use these implements in the role of Good Samaritan…helping some hapless but grateful victim in the wilderness…rather than self-rescue after an episode of questionable judgment.
* Categorically, friends, stay on the roads. Primitive is OK, but the American wilderness does not need any new tire tracks…anywhere.
Wells Shoemaker MD, Winemaker
July, 2009
I’ve learned from experience, and better yet from the wisdom of grizzled veterans (that’s you, Grumps), how to prepare for these contingencies. Here is my list for a GUNK (Get Unstuck Now Kit) which can easily be carried in the bed of a truck, along with your toys and Salamandre wine. I’m assuming you have all the short term cooking, camping, and sleeping gear already loaded.
Naturally, it would be ideal to use these implements in the role of Good Samaritan…helping some hapless but grateful victim in the wilderness…rather than self-rescue after an episode of questionable judgment.
- Tow chain with shackles for attachment to objects of various forms.
- Floor jack (2 – 3 ton) and a second hydraulic piston jack (sometimes it takes two to tango)
- Wood blocks (3 - 4 ) 2x6x12” to support jacks on soft ground
- “Come-Along,” 2 – 3 ton with at least 20' of cable. Do not buy cheap !
- 2 rolls of 18” chicken wire for traction when your tires are in a low friction hole. Plastic folding traction devices might be adequate for a smaller vehicle
- D-handle shovel in good repair— don't skimp on a flimsy one
- 1 gal fresh gasoline
- 1 gal antifreeze
- 1 quart motor oil
- Siphon tube
- Empty container (0.5 to 1 liter) to move liquids around (use # 26 if necessary)
- Tool box with standard gear (all guys know the list), plus a lug wrench with long breaker bar handle. Buy good steel and verify socket fit for your nuts before you leave.
- Quick charge battery (700 Amp) for jump starting a dead vehicle (could be yours). Some come with embedded tire pump compressor, lights, and spare 12 V jacks—cost only $60 – 70. World class bargain.
- Heavy duty jumper cables (for the other guy….)
- Tire repair kit and compressor that runs off dashboard plug. Practice using it—it's surprisingly easy, but hard to learn in the rain or a sandstorm
- Second spare tire (cheap insurance, trust me)
- 2 tarps—a small one to lie down upon in yucky conditions while working under your truck, a bigger one to shade the sun in blistering weather, keep stuff dry in nasty weather, make a jury rigged sail after the apocalyptic flood
- Rope—1/4” tough braided nylon for rigging shelters and keeping things together in the wind
- Rope—1/2 or 5/8” trucker's rope for more demanding applications. This can be doubled or tripled to move stubborn obstacles
- (2 or 3) 2x4's length of pickup bed—for sunshades, wind shelter, traction, ramp, leverage, fuel your fire in a pinch
- Bow saw capable of cutting 6” deep (transect a 12” log, potentially)
- Powerful Light that plugs into dash socket
- Headlamp to help you underneath your truck
- Knife—not a dinky pocket knife, but a sturdy, sharp 4 – 6” shaft with a serrated portion of the blade
- 10 gal potable water
- 1 bottle young red wine
* Categorically, friends, stay on the roads. Primitive is OK, but the American wilderness does not need any new tire tracks…anywhere.
Wells Shoemaker MD, Winemaker
July, 2009