The intentions were good. The results not so much. While on a recent bear and deer hunt in Western Maryland, I went out to glass for bear in an old clear cut and take a few photos of an old abandoned cemetery, when the trail bit the Tacoma.
The last thought went something like this, “I’m not sure where that trail goes and the brush looks a little tight. I’ll turn around here and head back.”
Using my mirrors, I backed up the trail swinging a little wide to make the 3 point turn and head back the way I had come, when hidden in the thick brush, lurked a deep hole and a loose embankment.
Without warning, the passenger front of the truck dropped off the trail and into the abyss. The driver rear tire barely touched the ground. Luckily or unluckily, depending on your perspective, a tree had stopped the Tacoma from a possible roll over. But as I was to find out later put a few cringles in the fender.
Assessment of the Situation
When confronted with a situation like this, it is best to stop and assess the situation and prepare a plan of action before jumping into action. What tools do you have available? What is the best way to recover the vehicle?
For this recovery, the first thing I needed to do was stable the Tacoma. Second was cut the trees away from the truck and third was to winch the truck back onto the road. I had a chain saw and hand saw, tree strap, clevis and winch, everything I would need.
Plan of Action – Tacoma Recovery
The first action item was to run the winch cable to a tree 90 degrees to the left of the truck to stabilize it and keep it from falling any farther down the slope.
With that complete, the next job was to cut the two trees next to the Tacoma. The smaller one at the rear of the truck was too close to the tire and using the chain saw seemed unsafe causing possible damage to the tire or truck. Using the portable folding hand saw, I cut the small tree and cleared out the greenbriers.
The second tree holding the front fender required the chain saw. With the tight winch cable stabilizing the Tacoma in place, I cut the tree, freeing the truck and limiting more possible damage to the fender on the recovery.
Using a second tree strap, I wrapped it around a pair of alder trees growing close together. Watching the truck for possible movement, I carefully released the cable from the first stronghold and ran it to the new anchor point.
I was now ready to recover the Tacoma. I took position in the driver’s seat, placed the transmission in 4-low and at idle, I winched, in short pulls, the truck up and out of the hole and back onto the trail.
It was then, once the Tacoma was back on the trail, that I could investigate and see what had happened. A large section of the embankment had broken off sending the truck into the hole I did not see because of the thick underbrush.
Safely, I turned the truck around and continued the day. In all, the incident took about an hour to complete. If I had hammered the throttle in attempt to get out, I’m sure I would have totally destroyed the front fender and most likely dented more of the side of the truck. If I had winched out without clearing the trees, again I would have caused more damage to the Tacoma.
Things are going to happen while on the trail. How we respond and having the correct tools on hand keep a slight mishap from possibly becoming a big deal with more damage and possible injury.
