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by Rick Russell
The weather had just turned cold with the arrival of a series of winter storms when I received a distress call. The caller was a young 4 wheeler who said his vehicle was stuck on the Holcomb Creek Trail (3N93) near Big Bear. I'll refer to him as Chris to protect his identity. The Holcomb Creek Trail is rated Most Difficult even in dry conditions by the Forest Service.
"So Chris, how did you get stuck?" I asked. He began telling me how three of his friends loaded into two vehicles for a night run across 3N93, a trail he had run many times, when a tie rod end broke on his 1987 Mazda 4x4 pickup. Within a short distance the uncontrollable wheel over-steered and broke the front CV joint. Without steering or the front end pulling (broken axle) the situation seemed pretty hopeless. But they didn't give up.
At this point it’s still not snowing — just very cold.
Using the few tools they carried, Chris removed the broken tie rod. All of them piled into the buddy vehicle (stock Wrangler) and headed back out to Big Bear. By the time they reached town it was 3 AM Sunday morning and most of the services were closed. Left with very few alternatives, they sat in the Wrangler with the heater on until businesses began to open.
By midmorning they had located a muffler shop willing to weld the broken tie rod. By the time they reached the trail head of 3N93 it had began to snow.
The snow was now deep enough to prevent their stock Wrangler from driving back to the broken Mazda. Determined to get the Mazda out, they decided to walk the last two miles back to the vehicle. In hindsight, Chris said that was a mistake. They were dressed for the cold weather but not for the snow, by then eight inches deep.
It took only a short time for Chris to repair the steering. But without functioning 4 wheel drive, they quickly realized the Mazda could never drive to the end of the trail on its own power. Besides, they had another problem. One of his buddies had frostbite. His feet had turned purple from walking in the snow without proper boots. Fearing more snow and colder temperatures, they walked back to the Wrangler and sought medical attention for his buddy. But wait, there is more!
On day three of this adventure (Monday), Chris began calling towing companies. Two off-road towing services at Big Bear refused to take the job when they heard the location of his truck. When a guy with a snow cat quoted Chris $700 to bring the Mazda out and then called back to say the trail was too small for his 10 foot wide tractor, Chris had run out of options.
By this time, you're probably wondering how I got involved. Chris called your friend and mine, Harry Lewellyn. Harry said he only knew one person crazy enough to try to get the truck out during this bad weather. On occasion, Harry has referred to me spending more time on my roll bar than on the wheels. That's not really true, but we both know I do enjoy a tough 4x4 challenge. And this had all the ingredients of just that.
Before agreeing to this adventure/rescue, I considered several factors. First, I was convinced that Chris was stuck beyond the reach of a towing service. Secondly, with the exception of misjudging the weather conditions, Chris had given a solid effort to retrieve his vehicle, had traveled with a buddy vehicle and had already repaired the steering to make the extraction a little easier. I follow one more guideline when it comes to retrieving vehicles: a person from the stuck vehicle must be with me and have the keys in their pocket.
With the current storm fading, and the prediction of another on its way, I told Chris we needed to go now, Monday night. I called on Bob Burmeister, who owns B&W Wheel in Fontana, to be my buddy vehicle and asked Chris to bring a friend to help pull winch cable.
I packed my Jeep for a weeklong adventure, just in case something went wrong. I took several changes of gloves and clothes, a couple of knit hats, two sleeping bags, food for several days, a tent, tire chains and I dressed in ski clothes. Of course, this is in addition to the standard items I carry. Armed with a front mounted Warn 10,000 pound winch and a rear mounted 6,000 pounder, I was ready to meet the challenge. And besides, if I failed, Bob would bring me home. I count on my buddy vehicle.
Although it was snowing during our drive to Fawnskin, it had quit by the time
we reached the top of Holcomb Creek Trail at 3Nl4. While Bob made a gallant
effort to drive the trail without chains, I lowered the tire pressure to 15
pound in my Goodyear Mud Terrain tires and installed the tire chains on the rear
of the Jeep. At the first hill, vehicle weight transferred and good traction put
the Jeep into a wheel stand, pinning Chris and me to our seats. Our "E
ticket ride" had begun. By the time we reached Bob, he had changed his mind
and had just finished installing his chains. 
Bob
led the way, stopping to walk along areas where the edge of the road was unclear
or through rocky sections where the correct route was not visible through the
freshly fallen snow.
Although Bob continued to radio back that the streams were iced over, the colder temperatures didn't become apparent to me until ice began forming on the inside of my windshield from our breath. All metal was tacky to the touch from the small amounts of warmth radiating through our gloves. Later that night, a one-liter bottle of water froze inside my Jeep. You’re probably thinking my heater is worthless in a rag top Jeep. And you’re right, except the bottle of water was lying on the floor just above the muffler. Believe me, it was cold.
We
reached the Mazda about 10:30 PM. The vehicle was in a narrow section of the
trail and needed to be pulled back to a wider spot before being turned around.
With only one rear wheel spinning on the Mazda, it took just minutes for it to
slide off the trail. Using a tree saver strap and a pulley, I winched the Mazda
back onto the trail.
By the time the Mazda was turned around, it was about midnight and the temperature had dropped well below freezing. In fact, when we let air out the Mazda’s rear tires, the valve stem stuck open from the cold temperatures.
Figuring Chris was stuck about halfway down the trail, we decided to backtrack toward Fawnskin. The obstacles were familiar and our tire tracks would help keep the Mazda on the trail. Initially Bob pulled the Mazda along the trail, adjusting the strap to different lengths. I followed to assist from the rear, if needed. The Holcomb Creek trail is not only narrow but it has several off-camber sections that give gravity the upper hand.
We hooked a strap to the Mazda and started towing it. The Mazda kept sliding off the road. Shortening the strap did help on the tight corners. In some cases, Bob was able to snatch the Mazda back on the trail, but usually it required we set up a winch network.
In one particular instance, the Mazda went off the trail and stopped only inches from a large tree. The only thing I heard over the CB were panicked screams from Chris. Using two winches and a set of pulleys, Bob and I pulled Chris back onto the trail sideways.
In another situation, we were pulling the Mazda in tandem (my Jeep strapped to Bob’s Wrangler) when we reached a major hill with an off-camber turn at the top. In order to get over this one, it required my vehicle to be stabilized with the front winch. Then by using the rear 6,000 Warn with a set of pulleys, I was able to pull the Mazda slowly up the hill. Once the rear wheels were in the best location, we unhooked the winch and slid the front end down.
Our small rescue party reached the end of the trail at about 4:30 AM and Fawnskin by 5:30 AM. By this time I had used two pairs of gloves and loaned out another two pairs. Our nylon tow straps were frozen. In fact, you could hold the tow strap in the middle and it would stick straight out for several feet in either direction. Even if we could have chipped the ice away from the strap’s anchor point, there was no way of rolling or folding the frozen straps small enough to carry inside the vehicle. So we both did our best to hang our straps around the spare tire.
Chris adjusted his toe-in at Fawnskin and drove the Mazda home. Bob and I watched the sun rise as we descended the mountain knowing full well it was going to be tough to stay awake all day.
© Harry Lewellyn
Ecological 4-Wheeling Adventures
P.O. Box 12137
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
voice: (949) 645-7733
fax: (949) 645-7738
email: info@eco4wd.com
Other Ecological 4-Wheeling Adventures and Fourwheeling Academy Articles
Ecological 4-Wheeling Adventures Website
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