Off-roading goes wrong at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve on Medano Pass Primitive Road
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- Опубліковано 8 жов 2024
- Filmed in July 2019. What should have been a few hour off-roading trip in Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve turned into a multiple day ordeal. Turn on captions if you have trouble hearing something in the video.
A freak storm came in and we got stuck and had to rescue the truck the next day.
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We are Matt and Diana and we are young, full-time RVers on a quest to explore ALL the #nationalparks. We love road trips and being outdoors. We believe in living life the #adventurousway.
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Filming dates: July 23-25, 2019
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We visited Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve in July 2019. Right now we are sheltering in place and using this as a time to catch up on video editing. That said, we hope these adventures can provide some much needed distraction and entertainment in such an uncertain time. Stay safe!
If it's hard to hear some portions of the video, turn on the captions (CC button).
Blog post with more details: www.adventurousway.com/blog/medano-pass-road-off-road?
I have to have CC turned on as your lovely accents will sometimes make the audio a little "messy" what with wind noise, and all the other ambient noises going on. Great job however! Safe and happy travels!
What are sheltering in place from?
2019 was a very wet year to begin with. The most snowfall that winter (2018-19) in a very long time. It rained and rained and rained that spring, too. You guys definitely timed that just right!
I live about 20 miles south of the GSDNP. I feel extremely blessed to have all of this; Sangre De Cristo Mountains on one side and San Juan Mountains on the other, to play in all year round! That's why we have all of our own "off-road" toys!
I'm impressed with how you guys handled the situation. And I'm equally impressed at your respect for these mountains. Too many people that are not from Colorado, come in to the back country thinking they can go where they please, how they please, & when they please. Not taking tools, previsions, equipment, or anything to help themselves in turning situations. And unfortunately, it usually tends to end badly for many of them. So as a Colorado resident, I thank you for being assertive and comprehensive! You are the type of visitors we love to have!
Thanks for sharing!! I'm a subscriber now!!!
#mybackyard
#lovemycolorado
#sangredecristos
#greatsanddunesnationalpark
#backcountrycolorado
#mountainrespect
#keeponkeepinon
That's scary just having to push into those huge unknown puddles. Glad it worked out OK.
This is what i would call a good time, i guess we are all raised different.
Haha that's what I was thinking too. The guy in the background sounded worried. I'd be giddy with excitement!
Looks like a blast to me!!! I miss my GMC 2500 HD!! I can't wait until I can buy another 4x4 and go back to off roading.
Right?! Why are they all worried. Looks like a good time. They aren't in danger.
It's inexperience. I've pulled a 30ft camper thru a lot worse and with a lot less stress, but I've been professionally trained to drive humvees and hummers and you get really good at reading terrain. Also, as strange as it sounds applying the brakes as you go over terrain and applying gas to overcompensate the braking makes the vehicle bounce a lot less and makes for a very enjoyable experience. It's a little know secret of off roaders, tho albeit, wears the brakes out a little faster.
@@randibrammeier6701 a GMC or Chevy 2500 with a locking differential is amazingly capable.
The most memorable adventures are the ones that challenge you. Living in Colorado, I have 4 wheeled and rode motorcycles over many passes that at times, I had to scratch my head and wondered what possessed me in being there. Once the trip was over, I knew exactly why.. An old saying that many of us live by; "Live is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away!"
Enjoy the adventure!
Haha, it’s so true!
All-in-all, an epic adventure! Great decision-making, and good for you for being prepared. People don't realize how easy it is to end up in a position where you just might need to spend a night in the woods! Luckily you didn't have to do that.
Thank you!
I liked this very much, because the driver was very calm and cool and knew the limits of his vehicle and didn't let the other passengers get them into trouble. He was prepared with several kinds of radios which came in handy. Good job!
Great Sand Dunes is a wonderful spot. You handled the situation perfectly. Kudos. Glad you were safe.
When its wet the sand is much firmer, in the summer heat, you will want to air down.
You're absolutely correct, of course! We had a compressor so we could have aired down if we needed it, but we had no problems with traction on the dry sand except that small section of deep sand where I used 4x4.
My wife and I went to the CO. Great Sand Dunes NP about 40 years ago. We were there on vacation with 2 of our 3 sons. It is a true wonder of nature. Your video of getting stuck brought back a old memory of getting stuck just south of Wolf Creek pass. It was blue skies and sun shine when we headed out. About 1/2 way in it started raining. We stopped going up the hill and started sliding backwards. The sun was going down and with my wife and 6 year old we started walking out. Some miners gave us a ride out of the mountains and to a gas station. We got a ride back to the campgrounds. The next day I paid for a 4X4 truck to take me back to my Land Crosier, the hill had dried out and I drove the Toyota out. L little like you did. Take care and be safe.
Sliding backwards sounds scary! That reminds us one time we went skiing in Lake Tahoe with our previous car Ford Escape and as we parked the car in the parking lot it slid sideways a little bit. Thankfully it didn't hit anything and we were able to get out fine.
That F-150 did a great job through all that mud & sand. What a great "adventure", scary but you didn't push it at the wash out & didn't get stuck.
Have you ever been off roading Dennis?
Dennis: No, but this is great!
Year later at a party: Dennis have you ever been off roading?
Dennis: A bit, continues to show crowd of Lifted 4X4 on 42’s with 6.5 inch lift and all the bells and whistles!
Glad you had an adventure with plenty of memories... and more importantly, you made it out safe!!! I'm "that guy" that always overly prepares... for situations like this.
You guys made all the right decisions, including bringing the right equipment, good job!
Many years ago my wife and two of your sons visited the sand dunes. We used 4'x4' corrugated cardboard pieces as sleds to go down the dunes. Then to climb it was step up 3' and slide down 2'. Very difficult climbing.
It sounds like you got to see some nice scenery here in Colorado. Enjoy the rest of your journey!
Oh I'm so jealous that is totally awesome I would love to be stranded like that and not in trouble LOL I'll except the getting back to the airport what an awesome adventure I'm glad you recorded it thank you so much
Haha, thank you! Yeah, the impending flight did add an extra dimension to everything!
Enjoyed the vid very much, and the way you handled the situation was admirable.
Strange for me to see a Brit taking other non-US visitors on a 4x4 trip, but I’m a bit of an odd-ball being a 67 year old Brit living in ROMANIA for 20 years. My truck is a 25 year old oil burner (diesel) Land Cruiser 80 Series, which is well capable of almost anything, but even that wouldn’t have crossed your ravine.
It’s a great all-time 4WD truck though with a locking centre diff, and axle lockers rear and front. I’ve off-roaded alone almost every weekend summer & autumn for the last 16 years of owning the vehicle and although I’ve been stuck, I’ve always been able to get free, sometimes with the winch others with a shovel or road building (wood and rocks).
My longest time stuck was 7 hours. It was hard work and I was getting close to exhausted by the time I got free. Where I go on the Carpathian Mountains near our house, there’s nobody to hear the CB and anyway, there’s very few with a vehicle that could get to me.
I always carry enough to spend the night in the truck, no comforts, just some dry clothing, a blanket, water and juice and maybe some snack for energy.
There’s a few good videos presenting survival techniques, - ua-cam.com/video/50OmAMi_qbs/v-deo.html - how to progress from surviving the first 3 minutes, 3 hours, 3 days and 3 weeks, the equipment to carry and the basic tools you need. It makes you think straight when adventuring on your own.
All good stuff, living a full life 👍🏻🇷🇴🇬🇧🤣
Thanks! Yeah, things didn't go quite as planned, and with the benefit of hindsight, obviously we would have done things differently. Fortunately we were carrying everything we needed so that we could have easily and comfortably spent the night (and longer) in the truck if necessary - fortunately it wasn't. Your experience sounds pretty scary though - glad you made it out OK!
Adventurous Way
Actually it wasn’t scary at all, I was safe and the truck was safe, just stuck 🤣
On a track I’m used to, there’s a spring hole full of mud, but quite defined, the rising water spills out and down the grassy slope to soak away naturally. Normally I do a detour if it’s wet, but on the day it had been dry, so I took a chance and crossed it.
Like a fool I went slow, a little quicker and the inertia would have carried me through, but no, my rear driver side wheel went down into the mud hole, right up to the top of my tyre. The axle had buried itself that side, half way up the diff casing.
Easy I thought, there were no trees or bushes to winch off, but I had the high-lift so proceeded to jack the wheel out of the mud hole. Well, with a 6” suspension lift on the truck, you have to go a long way up to free a buried wheel on full droop. There was nothing to build under the wheel, so I had to abandon that idea. I tried winching from some huge ant hills which were all around me, some up to a meter high and about the same girth, but solid though some of them were, they didn’t have enough strength to hold the strap I wrapped around them.
I spent hours digging, hauling chain and rope, lugging the high-lift, all pretty energetic stuff, clambering up and down the steep slope downwards to my right where the ant hill was. I tried to dig a pit for the spare wheel to winch off, but after a lot of effort I hit rock and couldn’t get the spare wheel deep enough.
Eventually, as it was going dark, I dismantled the high-lift so that I just had the riser bar on its own. I then selected a spot at right angles to the winch bumper, and off to the right down the slope. It had been raining a little, drizzly stuff, one of the reasons why the other 3 tyres couldn’t grip the grass enough to pull me free. So with the high-lift riser bar hammered into the ground down-slope and to my right, I set the winch line and then in low 1st, got the diff-locked front wheels slowly turning (to make them slide) as I winched towards the down-slope.
Couldn’t believe it when it worked, the truck pivoted around the rear right wheel, levering the stuck left wheel up and out of the mud hole. You could hear the suction it had on that wheel, it came out with a slurp, as the weight of the front of the truck slid sideways down the wet grass slope.
Yay, free at last 👍🏻🤪
It proves you’ve never got enough kit.
After this I got myself a ground anchor, carried it for ages (and it’s a heavy bugger) but that was about 7 years ago, and I’ve never had to use it 🤣.
I had a shovel, chain lengths, ropes, snatch rope, the high-lift, winch, snatch-blocks (2) and stuff like that, but a pair of waffle boards would have helped no doubt. Didn’t have them...
Live and learn, the important thing is to do it..... carefully... think things through. If you get stuck, make a plan. Then before you start, make a plan B to deal with aspects of plan A not working out. Stop and think, it’s time we’ll spent.
That’s what you did, and you we’re right to do that.
Happy times eh? 🤣🤣🤣
Thank goodness that you were all safe and sound! You used good judgment, Matt, and for being a relative 4X4 newbie, you did very well indeed! Now unlike me, who had a great big Jeep 4X4 Wagoneer (the old larger one, not like the smaller ones of today), I went Christmas tree hunting with my then 4 year old son, and best friend Joe. As luck would have it, the best looking trees were in this gully that showed obvious signs of off road activity. So we drove down this 10% grade for about 75 feet and went on over by some very nice looking Noble Firs. After cutting down the tree we selected (I actually used my 30.06 rifle, as I forgot my chainsaw!), we started heading back as it was starting to get late (around 3 PM in the Mt. Hood Nat'l Forest) and also getting dark. So as we tried to get back up the same small hillock we came in on, we kept back sliding at about the halfway point. After 2 more hours of running up the hill we finally made it to the top, and when I got out, I used my ranging binoculars to see how far, and how steep the "hillock" was, it turned out to be almost 8 of our vehicles lengths and just as steep. Needless to say, I don't do things like that anymore, at least not without a 12,000 pound winch! Stay safe, and happy travels!
What a story! I'm sure your son was very happy to get the Christmas tree AND get home that day.
@@AdventurousWay He was a lot calmer than either Joe, or myself! Thank goodness he doesn't remember all the details like I do. Safe, and happy travels!
Nice truck you have, and good footage. Your truck proved to be pretty capable, more than some people give it credit for.
Thanks 👍 yeah, I was really impressed with how it managed!
I know you said dogs but it sounded like ducks the first time I heard it! lol
Awesome!!
Enjoyed the off roading portion and suspense of the unknown.
Excellent how you guys kept a cool head during this.
So Matt, hopefully you learned a bit on the trip. The video was great and I hope you guys get to come back to Colorado soon.
A couple things you maybe should learn, if this adventure didn't already teach you:
1. Never wheel alone! I can't stress this enough, it is Rule #1 of off-roading on any trail beyond a rating of 1, and especially holds true for off-roading newbies. With more than one vehicle, the options for recovery and assistance opens much wider.
2. Air down your tires. Airing down helps you get through the sand, over the rocks, and through mud as well. 15 PSI or lower. It also makes for a much more pleasant ride.
3. Don't charge through water crossings (or really, mud puddles either). If you are throwing that brown water muck up where I can see it on your camera, you are going too fast. You are causing harm to the flora near the trail (the mud kills the plants, they can't photosynthesize through that layer of muck) and even worse, you are tossing that water right at your engine intake. If your truck swallows a bunch of that, you can hydrolock you motor, bend a connecting rod, valve stem, etc. costing yourselves thousands of dollars in damage repair (which warranty might not cover). At creek crossings (there are seven on Medano) you should consider it like a "no wake" zone in a boat.
4. For heaven's sake man, you drive a TRUCK, not a CAR. Truck guys will just scoff at you for your obvious lack of knowledge. A car is a car, a truck is a truck, and a Jeep is a Jeep (Jeep guys get funny about people calling their Jeeps a car as well). I cringe a bit every time I hear it. So, just trying to help you out a bit there. I know people from the UK like to call them all cars, unless it is a Lorry, but if your fans are mostly US or Canada-based, it is a truck.
5. The reason you never saw the Jeep or the Disco again, was: They beat feet and got out of there before the road washed out. They made a smart choice (better part of valor, you know?). So they made the smarter choice (which you ended up having to make a day later anyway. Choose the shortest distance OFF the trail, not the shortest distance back to your RV next time.
You two are a great couple, you're having fun and seeing some of the most beautiful scenery around. I just hope you stay safe and make smart choices. I used to be a member of Colorado 4x4 Rescue & Recovery, and they fetch people out of many similar situations, often times after they got in over their heads and rolled or broke their vehicle somehow. Often times, wheeling ... alone. Keep their number with you 720-722-1204, if you ever need assistance 24x7, they do not charge for helping.
Stay safe, and keep on exploring and learning. Peace!
Thank you for commenting! Yes, I learned a lot from this experience - including the points you made.
With the benefit of hindsight, of course there are things I'd have done differently! In the heat of the moment, trying to decide what to do, we thought that we would be better off trying to make it the ~6 miles or so back the way we'd come rather than 100+ miles of unfamiliar roads. Obviously, we were wrong!
Ordinarily we try not to off-road alone, but since we travel alone then sometimes it's our only option. The way things ended up, another vehicle wouldn't have helped - nothing short of a bridge would have got us over that ravine! But with another vehicle with us, we'd have made a different decision in the first place and turned around.
In this case, we stopped by the Visitor Center specifically to get the most up-to-date weather forecast and trail conditions, and to give them our details so they knew we'd be out on the trail. As I think I mentioned in the video, the lead ranger said this storm had caused by far the worst damage he'd ever seen in the park, so in that respect I think we were a little unlucky!
Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts. This video certainly did not go as planned, in no small part down to decisions I made, but there's no better teacher than experience!
@@AdventurousWay I think you did an admirable job. It was a reasonable thought to try and go the 6 miles back - you didn't realize how bad the sand would wash out and you didn't know the Eastern section wouldn't. Personally, I thought all those water crossings that I know are there might become impassable. As for going by yourself - as you said, often times your alone Both my Mom and I separate and together have traversed all over the West for 20+ years each generally remote and solo. The key is to be prepared with water, food and maybe shelter and to not panic - as you did. Comms now are great - CB used to be the only thing you could have and frankly it's pretty wortheless unless you're in a pack of trucks. I think you represented the ideals of Overland Bound pretty well. It's a group I support because it recognizes that lots of new people are going to be out there and works to educate and support. Good for you.
I am all about minimum impact but I think the muck would rinse off the edges in that rain.
The air intake draws from the area between the outer and inner fender, so the water splashes weren’t going to be a problem in this case. But I do agree, the best option is “as slow as possible, as fast as necessary.”
Great video! We just did this trail a couple weeks ago and it was in good shape. I'll be putting a video together in a week or so. Crazy to see how it can wash out! Great content! Subscribed!
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Nice video! Beautiful scenery. Good decisions on how you guys handled the off road delima! Great job,thanks for sharing!!!
Thank you!
That was probably a lot more fun to watch than to experience but great video. I too have an F150 but never planned to take it on trails like that. Even if you get through, the narrow spots tend to really eat up the side of your truck not to mention if you're getting in out out of the truck what a mess it makes. Happy to see you were able to get out on your own.
Thank you! We are heading to the Great Sand Dunes next week. while we are not worried about being caught in a flood, we appreciate seeing what the road looks like!
Have fun!
That is my black Land Rover Diese Discovery. I was going slower as I had my wife and two younger children in it. My Wrangler Dura Tracs in 275/55R20s handled it fine. They are not street tires. I went down the other side and hit the rain on paved roads. Saw the flooding the next day when we went back in the park.
I had my GoPro on the whole way, I will have to look for you as I remember you stopping when I was giving my kids a bathroom break on the way up.
Wow! Glad you all made it out OK. Definitely a smart move to have gone out the other way!
@@AdventurousWay it was not very adventurous. The 32" Dura Trac tires on my Rover and locking differentials make it pretty capable.
@@jaacina Well, it would have been pretty adventurous if you'd gone back West
@@TheKPDX Luckily we didn't as I am sure my wife wouldn't let let forget we got stranded.
@@jaacina Ha Ha, I hear that!
WOW !! What an adventure !! Crazy how the situation can change out of nowhere . . . Hmmm - kinda feels like what's going on now ?!? You guys are a great example of being prepared, informed decision-making, and adapting to circumstances.
Thank you!
Wow. Glad you got out okay. What a mess. Loved your brother, especially the “who let the dogs out” bit. Haha.
:) Yes, we are also glad it all turned out ok!
I drove Medano Pass from East to West about 15 years ago. It has quite a fair number of water crossings, I'm surprised they didn't become impassable from the rain. Even in ideal weather, I had to extract a couple vehicles once we hit the National Park because that sand is so soft. Nice job. It's a fun video to illustrate to people how quickly relatively simply weather changes can make huge trail differences.
Thanks! Yeah, it really caught me by surprise how quickly the conditions changed from trivial 2WD to impassable in any vehicle whatsoever! Definitely a learning experience for me!
@@AdventurousWay Honestly, I'm surprised to hear from the people who exited from the East side that the water crossings weren't impassable. There are many of them and I would think the volume of rain which did that damage would swell those creeks to an impassable depth and likely cut out their bottoms as well.
Incredible video.. im glad you captured it all and your viewers have learn alot from your experience. I have have learn also that full up your tank even for a short off road for you never know if a detour will take you to a much longer travel. Thanks and happy safe trip.. this is epic
Thanks Al! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and yes, we learned a lot too! I'm glad we had a full tank of gas and all the provisions on board if we needed them, but it was a good reminder to stay vigilant!
Riveting. Best video ever. So fun to get the full story.
Glad you enjoyed it! :)
@@AdventurousWay Glad you all survived it without injury to people or truck. I, on the other hand, didn't have Matt's cool-headed approach (even though he seems crazy sometimes, he clearly is not) in April of 2019 when I was in a slippery situation in some mud in the Great Basin Desert in northwestern Utah (near the Sun Tunnels). I was pulling my little CampLite and--shorter version of story--damaged my truck and trailer. Relatively minor stuff but it still cost thousands of dollars including an RV insurance claim. All because I didn't stop when I should have. Though sometimes it's hard to know where the line is.
Airing down would really help
4:33 And suddenly those all season tires suddenly don't seem like the best option.
Milestar Patagonias FTW!
Those are always the best adventures!! Fellow overland bound member!
Seems like y'all made the right decision to stop and wait. Nice video.
Thank you!
Great video, and very good decision making along the way too!
Am I on the Indiana Jones ride or watching an off-road video?!? Great job on gunning it through some of those water holes! 😅
I am thoroughly impressed with that F-150's 4x4 chops!
Haha, thanks! It was pretty terrifying at the time, but I was impressed with how the F-150 handled it too!
I've been over that trail many times. Been over it in the rain but have never seen water like that. The other side of the pass is all hard ground and definitely the easier side.
Just a Sunday drive in 🇦🇺
Winch?
Only kidding. One hell of a washout.
Is this video about off-roading? because it mostly has people talking.
It will be a legendary story as time goes on.
Indeed! It will be a story we will always remember!
Great video! I would’ve just gunned it, but I guess that’s why my buddies are always in another vehicle than me hahaha.
I know this is a 4 year old video but they just recently had a nasty monsoon mid June. We did it 4 days after in a well built F150 and it was pretty challenging coming from the visitor center. Full size rigs, especially anything bigger than a 1/2 ton will have troubles probably squeezing in between these two huge boulders. One of the river crossings was a super steep and slick exit. Fun trail and if you like to hike, check out Medano Lake. I would do this as an out and back as the road you exit out of after the pass is washboard from hell.
Great Video & A Great Story ,Glad We Got To See it & Were Really Glad Your All Good & Come Back To Colorado Again
We will definitely come back to Colorado - we love it there!
Not me with my hands on my forehead stressing with you guys
Why people bring long wheelbase vehicles to these roads?
There’s nothing on that trail unsuitable for long wheelbase vehicles. In good conditions, it’s an easy trail.
It is pretty impressive you made it that far on crap tires in a stock truck, momentum is key in that type of situation. That trail looked like a ton of fun if you have the right truck.
Except the truck isn't stock and I've been very happy with the KO2 tires. Each to their own I guess, but it doesn't matter what type of truck you were in, the trail was impassable up ahead anyway.
The ‘Five P’ principal comes to mind !
WOW!! What an adventure!! So glad you were safe!
Us too!
Extremely amusing
That’s what I call an adventure Yeehaa!!!✌️❤️
Sunny to rain to rainbow to hike to bike and home. Yep that is an adventure. Be safe have fun.
When your on a muddy or snowy road like you were putting it in low range is good but put transmission in 2nd gear to keep wheels from spinning. Transfer case in low transmission in 2nd to keep wheels from spinning. Take a old axial shaft too to pound into the ground to attach your winch to in case there is no tree to attach to...
That's great advice. We definitely needed 4L for those muddy sections! We didn't have a winch, but even with one, I don't think it would have helped us through some of those obstacles after we got stranded.
I have a danforth anchor ( from a boat) that I use if there is soil for it to dig into
Nope! Going to run over some plants to get home! Lol
Apparently the rangers either did not give permission or they forgot to ask if that was ok. lol I am with you tho, turn around and go the way that was clear. Not doing no hike out in the middle of the night when my vehicle is drivable. And the path I came down was still an option.
Some people should just stay home..
Bloody idiot! You better hope I never see you cutting trail. Stay the trail, or stay home. Please never come to CO...
@@WW-wf8tu you must not have watched the video all the way through. I didnt at first either and was a bit confused as well. They got to the top of the pass and turned around, effectively going back the way they came. If you've driven the trail you'd see they started on the sandy side (west), and also got stuck in the sandy area when it gave way to washouts. There is no sand on the east side.
Did you have you read diff locked?
After growing up in southern Colorado on the east side of Medano Pass I can say with certainty that a hard hail storm can put down more water more rapidly than about any other storm types that happen there. Flash flooding happens very often and you must be aware of it. It can happen rapidly. This road they are on has several crossings in which the water gets pretty deep. The narrower the crossing the deeper it is. If you're in a safe place a flash flood can be an interesting thing to see go by.
Great driving!
Holy cow! That was intense! My brake pedal here in my living room was definitely getting pushed. Glad you didn't keep driving and hit that deep ditch!
I have watched it many times while editing the video and it still feels intense! -Diana
@@AdventurousWay Just glad you didn't have your trailer with you! As they are made for off road camping, I'm sure that someone will try it eventually :-/ Safe, and happy travels!
Some friends and I were at Great Sand Dunes NP back in 2017 and we almost tried this road but we were in a 1996 Suburban with no recovery equipment so we decided against it. The weather was perfect though so it probably would have been fine.
If you don't already have them, consider adding a 60" Hi-lift jack, a couple come-alongs and a couple good lengths of chain to your gear. That stuff has saved my ass a few times.
That was probably a good plan! We carry a lot of recovery equipment with us, but I've been meaning to pick up some come-alongs to add to it. In this case, it wouldn't have helped much though.
@@AdventurousWay In that specific case they wouldn't have done anything. But they can literally be a lifesaver. I forgot to mention a tree saver strap so you don't hurt any tree you may have to anchor to. I've also seen people get an electric winch on a receiver hitch mount and add a front hitch to their truck and plugs for the winch at both ends. That is a bit spendy but very useful.
Been driving this trail for 45 years. I've never seen anything like that big ditch. That must have been one hell of a storm! Wow
That’s the problem with sudden Colorado storms,always be prepared.
wow! what an adventure! Glad you are all ok :)
Us too! :)
Great video and good on you for using common sense. Is your truck stock or do you have any sort of lift? What tires do you have and are you happy with them?
Thank you! We have done a number of mods to the truck, although nothing too aggressive as we still rely on it as our tow vehicle and daily driver. We have a blog post about it here: www.adventurousway.com/blog/why-we-love-our-ford-f-150
As far as off-roading goes, the relevant upgrades are probably the brakes, front / rear suspension, skid plates and tires (BFGoodrich KO2s).
We've been really happy with the setup. It serves as a nice balance for safe, comfortable towing while also being easily driveable around town, and slightly more off-road capability than stock.
Great video guys
Have to admit - that Ford kicked ass in that deep water and mud. It is basic model no modifications? Even appears that you have non-off-road tires. Super impressive. Usually "street" tires like that is what gets you stuck.
The truck is lightly modified. We've upgraded the suspension and brakes, and it has a full aluminum skid plate underneath. It's running on BFGoodrich T/A KO2 tires so not a mud tire, but more of an all terrain. I've written more about some of our upgrades here: www.adventurousway.com/blog/why-we-love-our-ford-f-150
This is absolutely riveting. My husband and I watched. It was as suspenseful as any film could be.
Kudos to all of you for your calm demeanour. Excellent driving.
I do wonder why the rangers allowed the road to remain open and left knowing there were at least 3 vehicles out there. It was clearly already very wet before you started. But so glad you are safe. Great ad for Ford.
Thank you - it was pretty terrifying at the time, but we really tried to stay calm. Maybe with the benefit of hindsight (and more experience) we should have done something differently, but I think we did OK in the heat of the moment all things considered.
To be clear, when we set out on the trail, it was bone dry. Afternoon rains are common in summer in Colorado, so nobody was too worried about a little rain - it happens almost every day! The storm that hit us that day was anything but normal. And by the time it hit, I imagine the Park staff had already left for the day and would have had no idea about the severity of it.
Once we called them an let them know, they responded very quickly. I honestly can't speak highly enough about how they helped us.
We prefer not to go off-roading alone, but sometimes that's just the way things work out. When we do, we always make a point to log our journey with the relevant local rangers - we did the same at Mojave National Preserve. I don't know whether the other two vehicles had notified the Park Service that we were heading out on the road, but we had.
@@AdventurousWay Stiff upper lip! Carry on! Safe, and happy travels!
Always good to have s a FORD out on the trails, to help others in need. Have fun go Offroad
Well done - way to stay calm and think things through. Also really impressed with how well you were prepared for different situations! Wish more people thought things through and prepared appropriately. I'm sure the park rangers appreciated the way you guys handled the situation; they get so many calls from people who DON'T prepare, and have to be rescued from their own stupidity. Again, well done! (I do confess, however, I am wondering whatever happened to the other 2 cars...?)
The Park Rangers were fantastic! We felt so bad, calling them out late in the evening when it was stormy. But I'm glad we did - with their help we managed to execute the recovery without damaging anything, injuring anyone or adding to the already risky situation. Being able to relay through our friend that we were warm, safe, dry and uninjured helped to avoid anyone taking unnecessary risks to get to us, and I think that helped.
As for the other two cars, we're wondering too! We were worried about them, but we never saw them again, the Rangers never heard anything from them, and we saw no sign of their vehicles the next day. My best guess is they were still at Medano Pass when the rain started, and (wisely) decided not to head back down the trail and instead to take the long route home. But who knows - maybe one day they'll find this video and comment and let us know!
They probably continued with out any problems my opinion he wasn't prepared i carry more gear then him i couldve gone thru that hole easy ive actually have drove thru worst but my jeep only thing stock is the body nothing else is stock axles etc has been upgraded
The hole in front of us was a concern, but it was the 20ft ravine further up that was the real issue.
@@AdventurousWay I understand for your vehicle and what you had with you. You reacted correctly by not going fourth
Enjoyed your video.
Thank you!
The great sand dunes are a wonder so beautiful spent a night there on the dunes
That's awesome well now you need to go up to Alaska and visit
We'd absolutely love to - Alaska is on our bucket list for sure!
Land Rover discovery. Land Rover makes the range rover. Lol just giving you a hard time! Way to stay cool.
Haha, oops! Thanks :)
Okay ... working in the Forest Service we had a policy to never chain up going downhill into our job site, because we wanted the going home to be easier than the getting to work. HOWEVER ... I do recall a couple of times when we locked the hubs on the 4X and chained up all 4 wheels while going DOWNHILL toward the job site, in canyons where we had no radio contact of any kind. Snowdrifts were deep enough that snow was billowing over the hood (front) of the truck as we bashed on through. A-a-and then there were a couple of incidents where we got in deep enough water to float the vehicle (briefly), but that was long enough to reach hard ground with a line and yank the rig back to (or across to) the hard surface. Many times, high centered and winching, or with several rigs in tandem taking turns yanking each other out.
I was there to run that trail at the time you were on it. My wife and I were at the alligator farm and could see the black sky over at the sand dunes, which was the storm you were in. I was concerned that the road might have been washed out, and sure enough, in the morning we showed up over there, it was closed. We came back and ran it this past week. We got a few sprinkles of rain, but that was it.
What a coincidence! I'm glad you were able to come back to it!
Wow great video! Thanks!
Thanks for watching!
If you’re going downhill and there is a river on the road, don’t go any further! It won’t get better, it will get worse. Turn around and go back up.
Btw cb emergency channel is channel 9.
OMGosh, I would have been scared! lol Glad everyone made it out alright!
We were scared for some of it! But yeah, I'm glad it all worked out in the end.
I think you handled the situation well. Kept velocity when going through obstacles on the trail.
Called for help when needed.
One thing about offroading- if conditions are deteriorating- only use the path you know. In this case, you only know the trail you just did. Turning around was an option that perhaps should have happened earlier. When i'm out offroading and far away from help like you were, I have a 6 obstacles maximum for a road or trail. Rain would have counted as one here. Once I encounter 6 questionable obstacles I make the call to turn around. So far that methodology has worked well, and I have pretty much stopped encountering unpassable roads these days.
Welcome to Colorado. Thank you for not going off road to try to get out. You rock.
Thank you! I don't profess to be a highly experienced off-roader, so when I found myself out of my depth I figured the best thing I could do was to stop and call for help. With hindsight obviously we could have made different decisions and maybe not even got into that situation, but once we hit that obstacle I just wanted to avoid making things worse! As the Rangers' Raptor showed, it would have been easy to get stuck!
I don’t recommend doing this in a stock ‘19 grand Cherokee. It will do it but it gets really sketchy at the top and on the way down the other side
Very interesting. Glad you made it as you did with no harm. My heart was beating as you traveled along the primitive road.
Yes, we are also glad it all ended well.
Awesome adventure! 👍🍻
Glad you guys had the fuel to get back.
What happened to the other 2 vehicles that were behind you?
We don't know. They probably ended up going out the other way in the evening - the same way we got out the next morning.
Lol welcome to Colorado 3pm rain storm everyday!
This pass has become a popular UV and ATV route.
Good job you kept a cool head slow and steady. Street radials and no lift=no Bueno😜😜
We definitely made full use of our all-terrain tires and suspension lift, but it would have taken a lot more than that to get through the obstacles that stopped us.
Epic video! Glad you all stayed safe :)
Thanks :) Just remember this the next time Matt invites you to go off-roading :D -Diana
21:00 looks like its time to go off road. If I was stuck that is what I would take a try at.
23:00 Looks like a large excavator is needed . lol
Awesome stargazing in the dunes.
I wish we'd had more time there, the dunes are really beautiful! We were fortunate enough to see some beautiful night skies at White Sand Dunes NP, but not here. But seeing these sand dunes covered in hail was pretty cool!
thank you I have a question can I sleep in the car in any area? i don't have a tent? what is my best option?
We usually look for places to camp on Campendium: www.campendium.com/
You can camp in the National Forest (it's called "dispersed camping"). In National Parks you typically need to stay at a designated campground or have a permit. You can use your car for a tent - many people do when solo travelling.
Isn't anyone going to ask what happened to the jeep and land rover?
Wow what an adventure, thanks for sharing. This is the sort of thing I worry about when we are out and about in the backcountry. If you wouldn't mind stop by my channel and have a look... if you like what you see smash that subscribe button with the bell notification on.
Offroading in a pickup demands a front winch and ground tackle. I'm surprised you made it that far on the trail with that truck. FX4 is a good weather offroad vehicle but rain mud or snow it has to be equipped with lifts, offroad tires, etc. Next time if it starts to shower turn around before it turns to rain.
PS... I have a 2020 FX4 - V8 5.0, 10 Speed trans, 355 rear gear.. my opinion my truck needs a 4 inch lift with better belly skid plate and a heavy duty 12,000lb front winch; mud offroad tires with front lockers
Nice video
Thanks for your comment; I totally agree.
There are absolutely more upgrades that we could do to the truck that would make it much more capable, but it's not a completely stock FX4. Amongst other things, it has better tires (KO2s), aftermarket suspension (rear Bilsteins and front Fox 2.0s giving it a 2" lift), full skid plate (RCI Metalworks), upgraded brakes (Z36s), etc. I'd love a winch on the front, but the location of the intercooler air intake on the EB makes it difficult.
In hindsight, you're absolutely correct - we should have turned around as soon as it started to rain. Lesson learned!
extreme 4X4? you're in a F150 made of aluminum, does your wife drive a Subie?
Yes, it's an aluminum-body F-150. Ultimately the vehicle didn't really matter - nothing was going to get past the 20ft ravine that you saw in the video.
Send it!!!!
Defintely an 'Adventurous Way' to have fun and make the journey memorable!!
Definitely that wasn't on purpose this time! :)
Loved watching this. What an amazing journey and you all handled it so well.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Medano Pass Road was still closed when we were there in July, but it is now open.
Wow, we recently heard from some friends who were in the area and sent us some photos of the trail now. Looks like it took some major repairs!
Adventure!