View attachment 205376 I had a pretty good solo recovery with my 2019 Power Wagon on 4/29 out in the Lytle Creek CA area. I was exploring some pole access roads Lone Pine Canyon Road. As I turned a corner on the trail there was a deep washed out rut on the passenger side of my rig. At the time I couldn't quite see where it started or how deep it was. I cleared it with my front passenger wheel but then felt my rear passenger wheel drop into it, ultimately resting my rear axle pumpkin on the dirt. I couldn’t reverse because there was hard rock behind my read axle so forward was the only option. I locked up my axles and tried to crawl out but because the trail sloped down toward my passenger side my front passenger wheel slipped into the rut. At this point both my passenger wheels were in the rut with nothing under them and steep raised embankment on my passenger side so everything had to be assessed from my driver side. Should be noted there was nothing with in 300 feet for me to winch off of :-/. I busted out my shovel and started digging dirt to fill the rut under my front passenger tire along with gather large rocks to pack in. I had to clear away some packed dirt in-front of my front axle and sway bar as well and did the same for the rear. After about 45 minutes of digging, filling and rock gathering, I had created a “ramp” under my front passenger tire. I placed one of my X-Bull Traction Boards ($65 for two on Amazon) under it just for good measure. With both axles locked I was able to crawl out, fortunately without causing any damage to my rig, at least that I was able to find. I did crack a traction board but I’d say it was worth the cost.
Good reminder to always have some basic recovery gear with you. Also another good reminder to not go out solo, which I did.
As someone without a lot of recovery experience, is there anything I could have done different here beside get my wheels in a 2 foot deep rut?