Field trips 2.0

[norseman]

8 hours ago, BC witness said:

Yeah, that's pretty rad, and there are Dakkar winning versions of my Mitsubishi, but I don't have the $100G for the mods to get to that stage. :-0

maybe just a winch front bumper combo?

[Twist]

A winch, ground anchor, and hi lift jack can do a lot off-road.

[BC witness]

I'll definitely be getting a Garmin InReach and something like that Pow'r Pull very soon. I've had many fully tricked out 4x4s in the 50+ years I've been going out in the back country, but don't have the space or the money for that sort of thing any more, so I make do with a mildly off road dual purpose vehicle. I just need to learn to adjust my level of trail attempts to suit.

 

I think the rig I most regret getting rid of was the '76 Ford E350 camper van, converted to 4x4 with an F350 solid front axle, winch, Detroit lockers front and rear, and 35" tires. It was pretty much an unstoppable tank, with most of the comforts of home when I shut the key off at the end of the trail.

[MagniAesir]

We already have a code for Norrish, but the association is a good group.

Not to rub salt in the wounds, but SOMEBODY needs to remember to leave flight plans with his friends, so if something happens help will arrive.

 

 

Amazon.CA has the in reach mini on sale for  $399.99 right now

[BC witness]

Thanks, Magni, that wound probably needs a little salt rubbed in every once in a while. Family did know the general area we were going to, and did expect us back by dark, but yes, improvements need to be made. That's a 2 way street, too, right?

[BC witness]

I got out to Cabellas yesterday and found the Garmin Inreach Explorer+ on sale ($120 Cdn off), so I bought it, and got it all set up, ready to go. It will now live in the console of my SUV so I don't forget it when I head out. I'll set it to tracking each time I go off road, and send the tracks to my designated contacts, so they know where I am at all times.

 

I haven't been able to find a retailer of the Maasdam rope puller here in Canada, so I'll either order from them direct, or get a standard come along of suitable size, along with a tree saver strap, and enough rope to do the job. I'm also looking for a set of traction boards to aid in mud/snow recovery. The gold standard for these are the Aussie made MaxxTraxx, but they are VERY expensive, so I'm on the hunt for cheaper knock-offs. If I was going to be using them often, I'd go for the best, but for a once in a long while emergency use, the cheapies should do. 

 

In past 4x4s, I've always carried a set of chains for all 4 tires, but the owners manual for my Mitsubishi warns that the traction control system of the car won't allow their use, hence the need for the traction boards. I do miss many of my old pre-computer 4x4s, but they all cost 2 to 3 times as much to run as my hybrid Outlander, so I'll live with the trade offs in rugged trail abilities.

[Rlee]

I see Maasdam has a strap puller also.  I have looked into this and suggest looking at Wyeth-Scott if your going to use it in place of a winch.

[Kiwakwe]

BCW, I picked these up when they were about $75, now 125 but still cheaper than maxtrax. Have only had to use them to get a rollback truck, driven by a kid, out of my driveway after he went over the embankment. They didn't work as the rig's rear axle was buried but they held up ok.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AV2HONS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Catmandoo]

2 hours ago, BC witness said:

I haven't been able to find a retailer of the Maasdam rope puller here in Canada

 

Have you checked Amazon Canada?  I dislike cable type ratchet pullers and avoid them.

[picman77]

On 8/3/2018 at 7:19 PM, SWWASAS said:

.....When I got zapped with infrasound I asked them to stop because it hurt.

Please explain to us exactly what "....zapped with infrasound..." means.

[BC witness]

After looking at several comparison videos of the many brands of traction boards, I picked up a set of the ARB Tred Pros yesterday. A local 4x4 gear retailer had them on sale for $380 CDN, which is about half of what the MaxTrax cost here. That's still pricey, but they came out very high in the reviews, and they fit nicely behind the rear seat of my suv, taking up very little space. I also bought a cheap 2 ton come along, which will suffice as a puller until I can find the Maasdam rope puller. I still need to buy a tree strap and a length of rope to go with the unit.

 

With this gear, and the recently purchased Inreach, I'm feeling much better about going out solo, which is often the way it is these days, as a time that suits the others that I research with is not always easy to arrange.

[wiiawiwb]

That's good news BC. We all prefer to go out on an investigation or expedition with friends where we can share thoughts and do things together. It's also more productive to coordinate efforts of two or more.

 

Having said that, I'm convinced that a sasquatch is more inclined to come closer, and take more chances itself, when there is only one human around.  One of the techniques I've been dying to try is to have an audio recording of snoring that can be put in a tent then triggered and stopped with a remote control. Meanwhile, you sit back quietly in a ghillie suit away from camp with a thermal imager just waiting for a white hot or black hot image to appear and inch its way closer.

[BlackRockBigfoot]

On 6/18/2020 at 1:10 AM, picman77 said:

Please explain to us exactly what "....zapped with infrasound..." means.

Not to speak for SWWASAS, but what about that statement needs explaining?

[norseman]

On 6/17/2020 at 10:10 PM, picman77 said:

Please explain to us exactly what "....zapped with infrasound..." means.

https://cliffbarackman.com/research/articles-2/a-case-for-infrasound/

[BlackRockBigfoot]

Whoa.

 

We are going out to spend the night in one of our areas.  The haze in the mountains is absolutely CRAZY right now due to the Sahara dust storm.

 

It's eerie right now.  Gonna be beyond pitch black tonight...