That's a great quote. And true. BNS, you have to realize that if you get "way out there" alone, you have to be prepared for the worst. Prepare to be stuck for days in very cold, or very hot bad weather. If it's better than that, all the more better. But it's better to be safe than sorry.

As for vehicle recovery, it really depends on where you are stuck. You have to assume that if it was nasty enough to get a 4x4 Liberty stuck, that a tow truck is not going to be able to get to where the Libby is. The best thing to do is to make a few acquaintances with your local 4x4 club. I know my local club has a few long timers that offer recovery 24 hours a day (or at earliest convenience.) If they cannot get me out, I might as well just report the Libby stolen.

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Scoobybri
2007 Sport 4x4 Offroad/Towing/C Packages
Homelink EVIC
245/70-R16 Grabber ATs
Rusty's 2.5" Coil Lift with Rancho RSX rears
Roof Basket w/home-made cross rails and 4x55watt lighting
Super Skink Sliders
Spidertrax 1.25" Aluminum Spacers
Front Receiver hitch with Warn D-Shackle
Cobra CB Radio with spare mounted antennae

That is a GREAT show with Bear. Beats the crap out of Survivorman.

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2006 Sport CRD

Could the Aztecs have known, that in 2012 after a 4 year experiment, our country would cease to exist?

I'm in Beaverton, Oregon. Sounds like it would be a good idea to have some acquaintances that could get me unstuck before I go anywhere too extreme. I probably won't do anything too exciting for a while anyway. The Liberty's too new & shiny right now.

You lucky dog! There're some COOL spots out there to 4x!

_________________
E.E.P. for my Jeep (EMPTYING EVERY POCKET)
2004 Limited - Stock no more
JcrOffroad sliders-Trail tested, mud approved
Frankenlifted
Al's A-Arms
Stock Skids
235/70/16 Cooper Discoverer HTPs

There are tons of forest roads out here, and endless exploring to do.
But I've gotta say it's not quite as fun as exploring the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
That is probably my favorite place I've been to (except for the deer flies).
I grew up in Mishawaka, Indiana not far from you in Buchanan.

join the local Jeep club, I guarantee they will be a great group of people

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02 Sport
3.7L 4spd Auto
Rustys 2.5" Coil Lift
Full Skids
6 Hella 500's
Surco Safari Basket
245/75R16's BGF AT's
L.O.S.T Member #004607

BoyNamedSue
Search the web join a local club and wheel with them they will probably know the area
with them you will be able to go far beyond what you could even with a winch and lockers
the best part is you will never be alone nor left behind and most areas that have good wheelin have a local club
Heck I live in south Louisiana and we have 3 clubs with in 100 miles and 0 public land to ride on
when the club rides on private land we get 50+ jeeps out riding

Most clubs will have some guys that are "closed minded" and have the "SFA or no way" attitude wile the older guys will be very open to any one who enjoys
off-roading
but you need to find them

I go out alone 90% of the time to go camping/hunting/fishing/take 5 miles off a hike/exploring/etc. Like everyone else has said-BE PREPARED. There is absolutley positivley no substitute WHATSOEVER for preparation. Period. Since you live in the PNW, you should have cold weather gear, water/water purification abilities, a hatchet/axe, survival knife (I have this one in my Jeep: http://www.ontarioknife.com/asek.html it's bailed me out more than once), at least 100 feet of twine/skinny rope to build a shelter, food, a stove to cook said food, (IF LEGAL) a small caliber rifle for small game if needed/basic fishing gear, communication that works where you're going, a first aid kit, tools for basic repairs, a tow strap (even if you're going alone, you can do a makeshift winch with it off your wheels-not reccomended, but it can get you out if absolutley nessicary), and any medications that you or your passengers need. Oh, and the NUMBER ONE thing that you need to bring along with all this stuff is the knowledge to use it if needed. Sure, you could bring a hot air balloon along in a trailer so that you can balloon back to safety if need be, but if you don't know how to fly a balloon, then you're just lugging extra weight, right? You could bring a mobile surgical suite with you, but again, if you don't know how to use it, it's just weight.
I admit it, when I go out into the wilderness with my girlfriend, we don't bring all that stuff, but we should. As a Mountain Search and Rescue volunteer, I know that I should bring more than we do, but we bring the minimum of equipment that we can survive for a week or so with if the weather turns south-food, heat source (JetBoil stove and Fuel for said stove), water, a water filter pump, a spare filter or two, the ASEK knife, two balls of hemp twine (hemp is stronger that Sicel (sp?)) to build a shelter/fashon a spear with the knife, an extra knife (or 3), flashlight with plenty of batteries (I have a surefire-best flashlights on the planet, period), a mountaineering tent, cold weather sleeping bags for both of us, and when I get back to New Hampshire, a .40SW handgun along with all maintence and cleaning items will be included in the gear. All of this fits in the back of my two door JK with room for our 60 pound pooch (who has his own survival needs-irrelavant to the discussion), so getting it all into a KJ shouldn't be a problem at all.
The second best survival kit is another person though-as long as you both don't get proper f**ked, one will be able to help the other.
The first best survival kit is the one in your head.

Keep the rubber side down,
Justin

All this is fine and well for the 1 time you need it and if you can figure a way to fit it then great
I for 1 see no need for that stuff in MY part of the world you can hike at most 10 miles to some kind of town ,city ,house ,camp or what ever
the main reason I have seen for rescues have been #1 stuck while wheelin alone and if they had a winch they had no anchor point
#2 broke rig and no tools or parts to fix a minor repair ,like a broke U-joint on a dirt trail with in 10 miles of home
sure if you live where it snows and you go out in the winter even with a group be prepaired for at least 1 night
but at some point the weight will kill your rig

I read an artical in a offroad rag a while back about "litening the load"
They talked about carring more weight then needed and how it causes more stuff to break and also causes more stucks
I then went through the TJ and took out a bunch of old tools and some other junk that I though I could live with out and lost 40#
I then weighed what I kept and it was almost 100# now with the loss of 20# of compressor and tank and wires but the gain of 60# of CO2+ stuff I am back at square 1
what we do in the club ,another + to being in a club, is split the load
I carry the 60# of CO2 and air tools but leave out all my hand tools ,75# or so, but some one else that is with me may not have CO2 and air tool so the whole weekend we stay togeather most time it will be nother TJ so all we need then are 1 set of spares ,break lines ,U-joints ,ect
and if 1 rig breaks beyond trail repair you can get out in the other

About the flies: YOU AREN'T KIDDING!!!!!!!

Ever been to Tahquamenon? I found out there's an old logging trail that will take you to the backside of the falls. I'm on vacation the 2nd week in June, and I'm not stopping 'til I get there. (Of course I also keep trying to find a more direct route to Mt. Arvon from Lake Michigamme, but haven't been successfull, so far......I've gotten within 2 miles of it, but ran out of road).

Anyway, I always get a kick out of driving the old logging trails up there. As soon as I get my lift installed, and some rock rails, I'd love to try going to the Jamboree, at Drummond Island.

_________________
E.E.P. for my Jeep (EMPTYING EVERY POCKET)
2004 Limited - Stock no more
JcrOffroad sliders-Trail tested, mud approved
Frankenlifted
Al's A-Arms
Stock Skids
235/70/16 Cooper Discoverer HTPs

I talked to a guy who went to this JJ and he said it was "nasty stupid muddy" and that the mud was to the point of pluging radiators from cooling

You're just TRYING to get me to go, aren't you?

_________________
E.E.P. for my Jeep (EMPTYING EVERY POCKET)
2004 Limited - Stock no more
JcrOffroad sliders-Trail tested, mud approved
Frankenlifted
Al's A-Arms
Stock Skids
235/70/16 Cooper Discoverer HTPs

I went to Tahquamenon Falls, and then drove up to the Porcupine Mountains. Saw my first ever black bears up there. Tons of morel mushrooms, deer everywhere, really unique, tough, independant people It's like a whole other world that time forgot. If I didn't have to work for a living I'd could spend years exploring that area with a fishing pole always at the ready. Why can't I win that darn lottery?

Whenever I go out alone I make sure I have lots of straps, a tree saver, and a come-along in the truck with me. I've used a tree more than once to get myself out of trouble.

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Steve

nice lookin knife

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Steve

I am dying to find some one to off road with and also some where fun, if any one is around the cincinnati area let me know asap

Check here http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewforum.php?f=26

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Slightly modified Lt. Khaki 3.7 2004 LTD 4X4. Purchased new 8/6/03.
What I don't have....A Mag light mounted to my seat.
Original Old L.O.S.T. #000354

Nick's Pics & Mods click here: http://www.cardomain.com/ride/531173
http://www.survivaltopics.com/forums/

This is why I always carry a PortaBote, whenever I go camping up there. If I could find a way to make a living up there, I'd move in a heartbeat. As for the 'Porkies', I've spent some time up there as well. I don't think it's possible to go the Porcupines without seeing a bear. Last year, I went up hoping to get some morels, but it was one of the driest springs they've had in a long time.

I'm hoping to get up there in 3 weeks, with better results, this time. I won't be in the U.P., but I'm going up to Cheboygan, to see the spring sturgeon run on the Black river. They aren't as large as the ones that the DNR has in their holding pond, in Oregon, but it's still kind of neat to see 4 to7 foot long sturgeon, in the wild, during the spawn. There's a group up there, called Sturgeon for Tomorrow, created by Brenda Archambo: Her family had rented ice shanties up there for decades. About 7 years ago, it was realized that the spawning sturgeon needed to be protected (Sturgeon eggs = caviar = BIG money), so the SFT was created. They accept volunteers, 24/7, during the months of April and May, to stand watch over prime areas of the river as a deterrent to poaching. (Sturgeon literally ignore ANYTHING during the spawn, except other sturgeon, making them extremely vulnerable). http://www.sturgeonfortomorrow.org/

Morels, a few ORV trails, some 75 to 150 year old sturgeon...........What more could I want?

_________________
E.E.P. for my Jeep (EMPTYING EVERY POCKET)
2004 Limited - Stock no more
JcrOffroad sliders-Trail tested, mud approved
Frankenlifted
Al's A-Arms
Stock Skids
235/70/16 Cooper Discoverer HTPs

and it's an amazing piece of kit too. Saw on the back, serrated/smooth edge on the front. On the butt of the knife theres flat faces for hammering, and also a crown for breaking glass. The sheath has a pocket on the back that holds a combination cord/strap cutter, flathead driver, and sharpening stone. It's a hell of a tool.

Rubber side down:
http://colorado4wheel.com/images/misc/Snickers.jpg

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http://www.Colorado4Wheel.com
"Its not about what you can DO with your Jeep, its about where you can GO with your Jeep."
Knowledgeable - But Caustic