Adventures with Sand
Well, the trip continues as do the adventures. We’ve been doing a lot of off-road driving, much of it very fun, parts of it technically challenging and other parts . . . well, testing of our skills, patience and muscles. The testing part was to put it in a word - Sand. Read on for the adventure!
The strange part is that we could likely have avoided our off-road workout if we’d ignored the advice given to us by the BLM ranger at the Paria Contact Station. Like all good expeditions, we stopped off at the local agency office to check on the conditions of the route we were heading out on (as we did the day before at the Big Water facility on the way to Alstrom Point). We were told not to worry, the conditions weren’t that bad and we shouldn’t air down our tires (for better driving on sand) unless we get stuck. “That your rig?” “Yeah.” “You shouldn’t have any problems.”
Sometimes your own judgment is better than the agency’s.
Yeah, that’s me with (you can’t see it) a shovel in my hands. You see the max tracks mounted on the spare tire . . . well, they didn’t stay there very long.
Here’s a view of what we were dealing with.
No problem, we came prepared and dealt with the situation. A bit of digging, a bit the use of max trax and some careful driving got us out of deep-sand situations. Twice.
A guide who came by as we were digging ourselves out the first time said it’s the worst he’s seen it in several years because they haven’t had much rain this year. We made it to White Pockets and spent a couple of nights there - helping another stuck vehicle right outside the parking area (the third deep-sand area).
We aired down our tires by the recommended 30% the night before we left and, aware of the last two sand-traps, avoided them as well as we could. We got out without getting stuck.
That can’t be said about this Nissan Armada - apparently one of the 4WD cars that rental agencies will issue. The drivers were nowhere to be found. I yelled for them, but no answer. They probably wound up walking back until they got help (note the lack of max tax on our rear tire or shovel on the box - they were inside the cab ready for use).
After we’d passed the point where sand was an issue we aired back up (that’s why we carry an air compressor). We got flagged down by a group that had camped around the mid-way point to White Pockets and their first words were, “Did you go to White Pockets in that?” (Said with admiration I might add.). When we said yes, they asked bout the conditions, their expressions changing when we mentioned deep sand and the our use of max trax and airing down significantly.
I was going to write a longer post about this, but decided on the short version. In all honesty, I’m just a middle-class suburban kid whose main technical skills got honed while serving in the army. But I’ve learned that with a bit of sound knowledge, the right equipment, good judgment and the right attitude, you can get to remote places and see incredible things. Even if every once in a while you have to dig yourself out.
But hey, isn’t that part of the adventure?