Tommy
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Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,652
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Post by Tommy on Mar 29, 2017 18:09:36 GMT -5
My brother is coming down Friday night and staying till Sat night and so I get to turn momma sitting duties over to him for the day, grab my dog and take off. Eva will be in Germany so its just me and Charley Couple of places within reach - I'm thinking about Stoney Creek 2.5 hours north - theres a spot near Stoneyford that I've been itching to explore again after all the rain we had...no doubt some new rocks knocked loose. Theres also a gem show nearby in Chico - small show but I aint got much free money anyhow. If I hit the show theres several good Stoney Creek access points right nearby - or Burris creek is within reach if I leave real early and get some hounding in before the show... Also been thinking about Clear Creek - 3 hours south. Might be too late to get the permits to get in though. Thats a long day there and back tho... Oh well time to stop day dreaming and get back to cabbing...
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Post by rockpickerforever on Mar 29, 2017 18:29:17 GMT -5
Sounds like fun! How nice of your brother to take over momma sitting duty for one day.
Just be careful. Keep in mind Charley (despite being a wonderful dog!) is not going to be able to help you out of a jam, should one arise.
Case in point - went on a prospecting field trip with our club last Saturday. We stopped just a few miles from our destination to allow another member to show us his claim. We were one of the first vehicles to pull off the highway, allowing room for more people to pull off and park behind us. We were the first in, last to leave. We did not know where we were heading, others were leading the way in. In his haste to turn our long-assed beast around, Bob dropped the right rear wheel off of a 4 foot high, old stone wall. The right rear tire was on the ground, the differential was on the edge of the wall, the axle at about a 45 degree (well maybe 60 30 degrees from horizontal ) angle, frame twisted and the right rear of the frame from the door and about five feet back was sitting on the top of the wall!!!
Fortunately, a couple people in the group saw a what happened, and returned to the scene of the crime. We were able to break down the old wall, dig out the dirt, and strategically place a couple large, flat rocks in front of the tire. Along with a rope tied to the front, and pulled to the right about 90 degrees down the road, our new acquaintances were able to get us out. Once we had done the excavating, the truck pretty well walked up the wall in 4WD.
I was envisioning huge tow bills, maybe repair bills for the underside of the truck. But it came out unscathed, thank God. Our friend had called AAA, it was going to be an hour or two before they could get there. He called them back, said their services were no longer needed. Their loss!
So lesson learned. Don't go off road (or do stupid things) when by yourself. We had just gone to the desert a week ago by ourselves, nothing bad happened that trip. Just got lucky.
And no, I did not take a single photo, that would have been cruel. Had I known that our predicament was not as dire as I thought, I certainly would have!
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Post by Peruano on Mar 29, 2017 18:36:20 GMT -5
Stuff happens, but you can't let it make you stay home. Glad the day was saved.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,652
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Post by Tommy on Mar 29, 2017 19:23:12 GMT -5
Just be careful. Keep in mind Charley (despite being a wonderful dog!) is not going to be able to help you out of a jam, should one arise. No worries - there is no off roading involved in either location - well maybe a little at Clear Creek if you go in far enough which I wouldn't. Last time up at our favorite spot in Nevada it was late summer and super dry and I couldn't make it up a certain hill I had been up a half dozen times before - this time it was too sandy. I tried six times in low-4 to no avail and had to roll it backwards back down. Behind us was a tight passage ravine followed by a steep uphill so there was no way in creation that I was going to try to back out the way we came - so I rolled it down to the bottom cut it hard and tried to get the ass end up a sandy bank. Well same thing as what you described - left rear up the bank stuck deep in sand, right rear two feet off the ground - front wheels on the road but dug into the sand - frame bent to where the drivers door wouldn't close Anyway I ended up getting out my high-lift jack and piling up some rocks behind the truck, jacking the back end up then pushing the back end to the right and off the jack. Three times it took until the rear wheels were back on the road and we were free to drive. Talk about some holy crap moments haha. Surprisingly - and to this day I don't understand it - but in that one little ravine spot with a steep hill in front of us and another in back of us - we had cell coverage I even called my son who had a 4x4 himself as we sat there and asked him hypothetically *if* we happened to get stuck what was he doing that weekend... he was totally excited to come (3.5 hour drive) but we got it out.
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Post by fantastic5 on Mar 29, 2017 20:00:44 GMT -5
My husband and I did something similar last summer when we were in Utah. I have a 19 year old 2WD F150 and have always taken it places no 2WD should go. We were up in the hills above Cedar City and came to a hill she just wouldn't pull and in trying to turn around dropped the right rear tire off the road about 3 feet down into soft sand leaving that side of the truck sitting on its frame. I was ready to start walking, but my DH was insistent that we didn't need rescuing. He dug out the tire and frame. Then using the *$%*##@ (his word not mine ) scissor jack managed to build a rock platform under the tire 3 inches at a time until we were able to drive out. It took close to 2 hours, but we didn't need rescuing. I made sure he knew how great he was too!
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Post by rockpickerforever on Mar 30, 2017 0:00:19 GMT -5
Peruano Thanks, Tom. Yes, glad we were able to continue with our plans for the day as well. I wouldn't say I fret about "what might happen" and stay home. But always better if accompanied by friends in another vehicle. Just have to avoid making those stupid mistakes.
Tommy Jacking it up was our first thought as well, but we carry just a bottle jack in the truck. Have a big high lift jack, but it was home in the shed. Doh!
Anne fantastic5 We got really lucky, was off that dang wall and on our way within about 20 minutes. Continued on to the claim site, and dug dirt for the rest of the day! (Even found a little gold!) In addition to dodging a hefty recovery bill, I'm glad we didn't have to rely on a commercial tow company. They probably would have just yanked it sideways off the wall, not caring for how the truck fared. So actually dodged two bullets, bill for recovery, and repair bills to the truck.
Glad to know these things happen to other people as well!
ETA - Doh! Tommy Forgot to wish you well wherever you go, whatever you decide to do. Be safe, have fun!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2017 1:41:33 GMT -5
No fooling?
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Post by rockpickerforever on Mar 30, 2017 9:15:56 GMT -5
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Post by rockjunquie on Mar 30, 2017 9:59:28 GMT -5
Well, Tommy, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that wherever you go, with whatever time you have-- you WILL find something good! Have fun, dude.
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Post by Bluesky78987 on Mar 30, 2017 10:06:24 GMT -5
Have fun Tommy - you always find the best stuff! I vote you go to Stoney Creek, as I've never been there and eager to see the pictures of what it looks like.
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Post by roy on Mar 30, 2017 10:18:24 GMT -5
My brother is coming down Friday night and staying till Sat night and so I get to turn momma sitting duties over to him for the day, grab my dog and take off. Eva will be in Germany so its just me and Charley Couple of places within reach - I'm thinking about Stoney Creek 2.5 hours north - theres a spot near Stoneyford that I've been itching to explore again after all the rain we had...no doubt some new rocks knocked loose. Theres also a gem show nearby in Chico - small show but I aint got much free money anyhow. If I hit the show theres several good Stoney Creek access points right nearby - or Burris creek is within reach if I leave real early and get some hounding in before the show... Also been thinking about Clear Creek - 3 hours south. Might be too late to get the permits to get in though. Thats a long day there and back tho... Oh well time to stop day dreaming and get back to cabbing... i agree with others please find a buddy to go hounding with you going by your self not a great idea,have fun clear your thoughts and find roy some nice rocks
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