Prescott Forest - "Just an Easy Forest Service Road"

[Bradywgn71 746]

We joined a small group of capable offroad vehicles for an “easy forest service” road picnic.  This was a chance to test out our 4x4 that had been making a weird rattle noise for sometime.  We started in Williamson Valley and the plan was to have a nice lunch and exit through Skull Valley area near Iron Springs Road.  It was a beautiful sunny day and the first portion of the trail was easy sandy roads with some minor running streams.  We had to turn around once as one of the trucks wouldn’t have made a stream crossing.  Not a big deal it happens.

 

 

We then took a long route up to a ridgeline with nice views of the mountains towards Baghdad, AZ.  In the middle of nowhere we came across a rancher with a flatbed Unimog.  He stated it had been stuck in deep mud for several days and he just got it out.  He warned us to be careful the trail had some deep mud but with our built rigs we should be ok.  We thanked him and moved along.  **This was one of those here is your sign moments** We found the spot he had been stuck in but it was only a short section and we made it through with horsepower and careful placement. 

A little further on we found our first quicksand/mud area.  The lead vehicle (suburban) sunk in front of us.  With a heavy Factor 55 kinetic rope we were easily able to pull him back.  During this time one of the group members, in a very nicely modified Gladiator, attempted to come around that area but found even deeper mud.  Sunk his whole rear end and not going to move.  He had to use his winch line to pull himself up and out of that. 

 

 

We continued and the trail became the normal rocky Arizona forest road with not much difficultly.  Along the way we stopped for a BBQ lunch and enjoyed finally getting out after a long winter.  After lunch, we joined a larger main easy road and made our way to Skull Valley.  Lots of running water but no mud and no issues.  We were a few miles from town and hit a locked gate.  Such a bummer.  We were told it was a 50/50 chance on the gate being open.  Not our lucky day.  The trail leader knew this area well and we had two other options.  A direct route back to Williamson Valley on a newer small forest service road or a power line trail to the south.  Our group chose the shorter route since storms were in the area and it was later than expected.  We had some kids who needed to get home and animals at home that needed fed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made our way to the north and the trail was fine.  A few small stream crossings but nothing much.  As we were about halfway to being done with this spur trail the Suburban in front of us just sunk in seconds.  The trail was dry and it was a big surprise.  Turns out there was a crust of dry dirt over “mud soup”.  It was clear none of us could go forward with the trail melting in front of us.  Chris was behind the Suburban and we attached our winch line and attempted to drag him backwards.  Unfortunately, our big Grand Cherokee (on one-tons) then also broke through the crust and sunk on the right side all the way to the frame.  The entire 37” tires gone on the right side and no hope of moving. The whole front right bumper at ground level. This was the most stuck we have ever been in years of wheeling. 

 

 

We had to shuffle the group a bit and got the big Gladiator behind us.  He attempted to winch us, but our Jeep refused to move.  The mud was too deep.  Tires turning freely and no hoping of escaping the mud soup/quicksand crap!   Chris tried to then pull himself forward using the Suburban as an anchor, but it just wouldn’t move.  Our jeep was sunk.  The Gladiator then got turned around and got out his kinetic rope.  We are so thankful he had this!!  We pulled a stupid and all our recovery gear, except for 1 soft shackle, was sitting in our other jeep at home!  Now that is super helpful and not our usual!!

 

The Gladiator had to take several attempts at pulling us out but eventually got the big WJ pulled backwards to a small patch of more solid ground.  See Video. 

 

By this time it was dark out and getting cold fast.  Snow was even starting to spit at us!  Not ideal for sure.  Now the issue of getting the first vehicle pulled out started.  For several hours the group tried multiple plans that failed.  Finally, Chris was attached to the Gladiator with a tow rope. Then the Gladiator was attached to the Suburban with that kinetic rope.  They took several shots at it and finally after a long time and much shoveling of mud the vehicle finally was forcefully yanked out of its happy mudhole. They had to drag him around 30 feet backwards.  This was around 7pm.  I’m sorry I don’t have video at this time or photos of this one as I was helping spot and communicate to Chris.    I should add we were all soaked with mud and one of he guys even lost his boots to the mud and was barefoot in this cold.  Additionally there were some minor injuries to hands and feet from helping out during the recovery.  The bushes were not kind in this area and the shoveling was rough without gloves for some of the people.  Link to us getting dragged out of the first sinkhole spot: https://photos.app.goo.gl/XuDbYQ9NUMnwmJru6

 

One other “fun” factor was there was almost no cell signal in this area.  The one group member was able to get a text out to a panicked mom (was a friend of one of the other kids who was with us that day) and get someone to take care of her horses.  After that the cell signal died and no one could get messages out.  Totally alone and miles from a “town”.

 

The group then backtracked and hoped to smoothly get back to the main road so we could try going home on the powerline trail.  We were in the lead and navigating in the dark.  I’m thankful I was recording the gpx track.  As we were approaching a stream area, we knew we needed to stay hard left as and then make a turn up the bank to the right out of the stream.  This was all solid when we went in but leaving the earth opened up swallowing the front right of our jeep into quicksand.  We sunk over the front right bumper and leaned hard into the bank on the passenger side.  There was no going forward or back, and we were again stuck.  This time though we had stream water coming in and filling the passenger side.  I couldn’t get out of the vehicle to pull the winch line so our team leader had to come through the water and mud to pull our line to a tree.  Thankfully in this area there was a large tree.  

 

Our jeep also decided in this moment to break the window regulator, so the driver’s back window was down. Karma considered running away during this moment!   Our winch pulled us out thankfully and we got up to the dry bank in maybe 15 minutes.  This was certainly a surprise and I’m thankful for our good Warn 10k winch.  It would have been helpful earlier to have our full recovery gear, but we thought we were going to make it back out to the main road where we started this spur trail.     

 

However, the truck behind us was mostly stock and we warned her to try to avoid the hole we just ended up in.  She unfortunately also found the sink hole that had expanded since we got out of it. She sunk even deeper than we did and we later learned she had some electrical damage.   Chris flipped around and tried from multiple angles to pull her out using the winch. We were limited on dry ground and didn’t want to sink in the steam as then the whole group would be blocked by us.  NO such luck.  She was stuck too deep and the bank in front of her right front tire was too steep.  Chris then turned around and we tried to use the kinetic rope to pull her forward.  Tried again several times and several angles. Even tried backing up the steep bank on the other side of the stream but we started to sink, and we all agreed this wasn’t working. 

 

This is after she pulled back. She was sunk in about 4ft deep on her right front when up at the bank wall.

 

We moved our Jeep out of the way while the rest of the group scouted the area around us to see how we were going to get her out and the rest of the group around this deep sinkhole.    The Gladiator then pulled her backwards and  the group had to bushwhack up and around the trail.  The issue now is a very steep bank (8 ft vertical) that dropped the truck on her nose, and she couldn’t make it to the other side of the stream.  One of the guys attempted to shovel out her front to find her tow point but couldn’t find it.  They had to pull her backwards and hang by the rope and then one of the guys attached the tow strap.  That was scary!  Chris then dragged her out and up to a safe area. 

 

I hate having to go off trail and do this, but we’d otherwise be spending the night, abandoning vehicles, and walking out.  With the cold this got scary fast.  Lot of prayers said.  My poor dog was shaking from fear and all the rough rope pulls. Most of us were shivering badly in this area for hours.  The group was amazing despite this.  Everyone worked well together, communicated respectfully, and even tried to bring humor to a very very tough evening.

 

While the rest of the group was making it through “the bypass around” and dropping into the creek, we noticed the truck’s tire was flat.  This is when we discovered she didn’t have a spare.  A few of the guys attempted to see if it could be plugged but it turned out to be her inner TPMS valve was leaking.  They fixed that but later found that the bead had come off and wouldn’t reseal due to all the mud and sand.  We continued to lead the way out and in the dark it was a challenge.   We kept needing to stop to fill the truck tire with air but eventually she decided to leave her vehicle at the main road once we got back there.  So now it is around 1am and we have to try the Powerline trail.  Our nerves were fried but the group was successful and it turned out that the powerline trail was in much better shape and limited mud and no sink holes.  We made it to a main gravel road and out to Williamson Valley by around 230am.  Home by 3am.  In reflecting on the situation a lot went right but we certainly could do better in the future.  Hopefully no mud sinkhole futures for us again and we won’t be wheeling in areas that get this much water or snow.  There have been record amounts of rain and snow in central Arizona so please be careful.  I swear I have mud PTSD now.  We were on trail almost 16 hours not counting the time for lunch.  What a long day!  We did make some new friends and have a crazy story to tell!!  The woman was brought back to her truck the next morning with a spare tire. 

 

We spent the next day cleaning the jeep and are still trying to dry out the r side.  I am shocked but no major damage.  Lost a spot mirror, a few new scratches, need to fix the window regulator, regrease everything, and check the diff fluid.

 

 

Lesson Learned/Tips

-Actually, pack your recovery gear in the vehicle you are in. We are now building a full second recovery kit so we have a dedicated set.  We are adding a factor 55 winch line repair tool https://factor55.com/product/fast-fid-new/ We are adding heavy 1” kinetic rope likely the Yankum Ropes  https://yankum.com/collections/kinetic-recovery-ropes/products/rattler-kinetic-recovery-rope?variant=39734984999118 made for 1 ton vehicles (we weigh around 6500lbs), and adding a winch retention pulley https://factor55.com/product/rope-retention-pulley/  and some extra soft shackles.   A warn 10K winch not enough with a straight pull for this mud.  Had we had the donut tool we could have doubled the winch line for more strength.  In the first sinkhole there were no trees so that was not helpful either.

 

- I'm thankful we all knew how to use the winch, what tools would work best, and working together we were able to make it home that night.  Some of the guys race in King of the Hammers and have a ton of trail recovery experience. I am so thankful we were with awesome people who were committed to not leaving anyone behind and doing it as safely as possible.

-Kinetic ropes are amazing in these conditions.  It really is the only thing that saved all of us all evening.  I highlight recommend you get a good quality one.

-Understand that with the months of rain and snow Prescott National Forrest in this area is soaked and even if the trail looks dry underneath it likely is not.  This area and further north are going to need a long time to dry.  Seen two other friends get seriously stuck in the Camp Woods area recently.

-Make sure to have a full set of spare clothes and warm weather gear.  We personally had winter jackets but could have used a change of pants and socks.  Others in the group needed heavy jackets for this freezing nighttime temps.  Don’t forget your dogs too and bring jackets if they need them. 

-Add extra hand warmers for other members of the group. Add emergency blankets and other items to stay warm.  We had about 4 handwarmers but not enough to pass out to everyone.  We personally could have slept the night (even with the open window) and would have made it.

-Have extra high-quality flashlights with enough battery life to get you through the night.  We personally had 3 flashlights to be able to help with the recovery but discovered 2 of them were crappy.  I have ordered better ones.  The waterproof flashlight came out handy when our jeep took on water and of course the flashlight fell into the water!!

-Have your active Garmin In -Reach or Spot.  Are we were in had zero cell signal.  We hadn’t been trail riding much and had deactivated it to save money.  But looking back this should have been on and could have gotten us help sooner.  We just said oh it’s an easy picnic forest service road shouldn’t be any issue. Have cellphone numbers to text through Garmin or Spot when you need help.

-Pack an extra meal and more water than you think you need.  Other members needed food and water and we were limited in what we could share.  Needless to say we were super hungry from eating lunch at 1pm and getting home at 3am!  Pack extra meal and water for your dogs too!  I had plenty of snacks for them so they were fine thankfully.

-Harness your dogs and have a net or attach them to the jeep somehow. Karma went flying at one point and hit the dash super hard during a pull.  I couldn’t have her and Cooper out of the Jeep and help.  Plus it was in theory safer inside than in the mud and cold.  Dogs are ok but it could have been worse for sure.

-Make sure to tell someone what area and preferably what specific trails you plan to run and when you plan to get back.  I tried sending a text at 3pm to a friend saying where we were but it never transmitted until 1am.    

 

Lessons we got right

-Knowing how to navigate your way out if the trail leader can’t or if someone’s device fails.

-Knowing where your first aid is and how to use it

-Know how to use your recovery gear and be prepared to use it for others benefit. 

-Know hand signals for winching and winching safety.  Be able to communicate effectively under stress was key for us.

-Know how to trail repair a tire.  Have someone with on board air to continually refill a tire that can’t be repaired

-Have a SPARE tire.

- Bring extra gloves

-Bring full size shovel.  We only had one for the whole group which slowed down the digging out of the vehicle.

-Have a bottle jack available.  High lift was available but didn’t work for the vehicle we needed to use it on.

-Had extra blankets in case we had to sleep in the Jeep that night

-Have hiking boots for when you need to walk to town

- Communication with GMRS and had an extra radio to share.  Despite being a new group we ran with everyone was patient, respectful, and worked very well as a team.  They even kept a sense of humor even thought the situation is dire!

-Ask for help.  We had some newer people on the trail but they did a great job of staying calm and asking for help when they needed it.  Everyone was excellent at making sure they were as comfortable as they could be and being supportive.

 

So that is the story of our long Saturday night on an “easy forest service road”.  I am so thankful we made it home and will be making changes to what we bring on “just a day trip.”  I may have more videos of us being recovered but trying to obtain those. 

 

 

 

[Curly 951]

Sounds like quite an adventure!  You will have to try that again before monsoon season. 

[Riddler 43]

What a story! I hope not all easy forest service roads are like that. LOL Thanks for sharing the lessons learned and great ideas for what to consider for future trips.  Glad you're all ok. 

[Bradywgn71 746]

Thanks all. I should add make sure everyone wheeling has a full tank of gas to start. We were carrying extra and would have been ok but one member was at a 1/4 tank. Had we needed to go back the entire way we came they wouldn't have made it back ok their own. 

[jgaz 587]

Excellent trip report.  
I really liked the what went right/wrong summary.  

I have no similar vehicle experience, but we do an after trip review on almost any hiking trip I take

 

[Bradywgn71 746]

1 hour ago, jgaz said:

Excellent trip report.  
I really liked the what went right/wrong summary.  

I have no similar vehicle experience, but we do an after trip review on almost any hiking trip I take

 

Yeah we spent a lot of time reflecting and discussing what can we do or add to make us and others safer. Normally I'm the overpacker for even day trips. But we hadn't wheeled in a while and I was too tired was my excuse before this day run.  Won't be unprepared again!  Just thankful everyone was ok in the long run.

[Ladybug 472]

Excellent report Sarah!  And summary!  I'm glad you all were ok!  Indeed our forest roads, with all our snow and rain this year, maybe should not be labeled as an 'easy forest service road' this year.  

Glad you all got out safe.  Quite a few memories you have made there.

smiles, ladybug 

[dzJeepChic 2,517]

Oh my gosh, what a story!! When everything that can go wrong does go wrong. I've been through similar situations, and I know it's super stressful (yes, that is PTSD). Glad it ended well, and great job assessing  right/wrong!!

[Bradywgn71 746]

To add to the story....Chris fractured his foot and we think during this long evening. So he'll be rocking a boot for a month.  Hopefully he heals up faster!!