Tahawus road & car issues

[adkayaker]

I picked perhaps New York's most desolate dead-end road in the more desolate region of the Adirondacks on one of the coldest days to slide off the road into a snowbank. Attempts at self snow removal and temporary traction items failed and at 7AM, it took a 3 hour wait for the very first car of hikers to pass by and help push me out. While I had plenty of food, water, and cold weather clothes, the episode brought up some basic questions.

1. Does a forest ranger or state police routinely do a at least once a day check in winter of this road and hiking parking lots?

2. If it got to be a full day with no cars and I hiked back out to Route 28N, then what? Most people are not going to stop for a person with backpack so still dependent on an official vehicle?

3. I've heard yes and no from coworkers on keeping a 2 ton come-along winch in the car with either a long towing strap or chain. Totally dependent on a nearby large tree, several coworkers claim one can pull the car out by yourself since you are not pulling the full weight of the car on wheels. Other co-workers are skeptical of this working if deeply stuck. What do you think of these rather cheap devices for self car extraction?

 

[Little Rickie]

How often do yo think you will be on roads like that?

I think the come along would work fine if you're not stuck too deep or too steep.

I've driven down that road in the winter. Drive slower if your alone.

 

[Jay H]

I have ran across a DEC forest ranger (forget his name) at the trailhead for Allen. He was checking the register there so they do wander in there and they also sometimes check on the snowmobilers out on the main drag.. This was on a sunday morning, not terribly early but Zero-G and I were off to do Adams one February morning when we ran into a DEC ranger at the trailhead.

I saw your TR in the NY section, glad you were rescued!

How much chain are you going to carry? the comealong is useful but caution applies... If your car is deep in snow, it's going to be hard, even with a winch or come-along...

Jay

 

[David Metsky]

A come-along can work, but it can also be dangerous and won't get a seriously stuck car out unless the geometry is in line. Frankly, it's a big chunk of gear to carry everywhere if you only need it once every few years at best.

I've had no problems flagging down a car on main roads with a backpack if needed, I think someone will stop for you. Try to avoid carrying a meathook or axe, it helps convince folks to stop.

 

[Tom Rankin]

I've seen a ranger at Upper Works in Winter. It was a weekend.

The road does get plowed all the way to the end, but as you know, it can be very slippery.

Ask Paradox about self extraction!

 

[Viewseeker]

Ranger was out few weeks ago working the trail to flowed lands. Did not see that they had checked this past weekend after coming out from attempting santas..But all parking lots where well plowed along with the road. That road is so windey its slow going even in the summer. Glad you where rescued.

 

[John H Swanson]

I used to carry a come along and 60 ft of steel cable and a few slings and steel connectors. I bought the cable with end eyes. It was two sections. One at 25ft and one at 35ft to allow me to cover a variaty of distances with a single cable or one doubled or a combination.

The come along I had had a doubler, (external pulley) that increased the capacity.

I acually needed the gear and used it on two occasions to pull my car back onto the road. It all depends on having good anchor points withing 70ft. Surprisingly the trees were there when I needed them. I was able to literally drag my car sideways across a dirt road. So I can attest it works.

on a separate occasion, I dragged a parked pick-up with the parking brake on accross an ashalt road.

Then there was the time I needed bridging equipment to cross a 3 foot washout and had it in the car, but that wa a rarety.

Lately I have less need for this gear.

 

[Little Rickie]

Where do you do all your driving?

 

[adkayaker]

I've heard people using heavy ropes and towing straps but to me, a chain seems more substantial. I would probably conclude I was driving faster than I should have.

 

[DougPaul]

I've heard people using heavy ropes and towing straps but to me, a chain seems more substantial. I would probably conclude I was driving faster than I should have.

Rope and straps can be fine, but be careful if they are at all stretchy. If they break under tension, both ends become high-speed missiles.

Doug

 

[teejay]

Doug"s right. But chains and cable, while they don't feel stretchy, do stretch under load. And by the time they break, the amount of energy that is suddenly released can cause serious injury or worse.

Don't ever stand next to any cable, chain, rope or strap under tension.

teejay

 

[cbcbd]

A come-along with a steel cable (ie. like used on winches), one pulley, and some extra biners just in case can come in very handy. Using a setup like that with some mechanical advantage, like a 2:1 with that one pulley, I've pulled up to 4000lbs with reasonable effort. It's good to have if you plan on getting into out-there roads with minimal management. I'm considering one myself although have been lucky so far with just my tire chains.

 

[Chip]

I've pulled up to 4000lbs with unreasonable effort.

Must be a left coast thing.

Off Roaders winch themselves out all the time. A 5 ton come-along and tow straps cost $60 and weigh less than 20 pounds. Seems like reasonable insurance. The tow straps are designed to stretch a bit and snatch or snap the vehicle out. I doubt you'd snap the cable.

I agree with Chicken Boy regarding getting a ride; the pack would help. The only time I had a ridiculous time getting a ride with a pack was because I was wearing camo pants.

 

[cbcbd]

Must be a left coast thing.

Ha! nice catch. Fixed.

It WAS reasonable, trust me!
This wasn't my turn but here is someone else coming-along a v-thread to failure manually. The readings being spoken are from the load cell we have attached:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGIhCJns2Bs

 

[John H Swanson]

Where do you do all your driving?

Just pursuing the peaks

 

[ADKdremn]

But chains and cable, while they don't feel stretchy, do stretch under load. And by the time they break, the amount of energy that is suddenly released can cause serious injury or worse.

That's why when pulling or winching someone out you're supposed to put a weight of some sort on the middle of the chain/cable. Off road catalogs sell special weight for this purpose, but really it can be anything from an extra coat in your vehicle or whatever, just to force some of that tension downward.

on a separate occasion, I dragged a parked pick-up with the parking brake on accross an ashalt road.

I'd like to hear that story....double parked at a trailhead maybe?

 

[John H Swanson]

I'd like to hear that story....double parked at a trailhead maybe?

Not so interesting. My neighbor hit a deer with his pick-up and bent the center of his bumper in about 4". His headlamps were crosseyed. His truck failed inspection. So Isee him out on the street trying to adjust the headlights...but the adjustment screws didn't have the range. He told me he just needed the truck to pass inspection - a new vehicle was in the plan in a few months.

So I offered to try and pull it out with the comealong attached to the tree on his front yard. (This is entertainment for engineer. Is the bumper really cgoing to be the weak link in the system?) We parked the car inline with the tree. Attached the come along, applyed the brake, chocked the wheels, thru an old blanket over the cable, routed the cable thru the doubler, and started cranking. The come along pulled the truck about a foot as the chock slid on the asphalt. My neighbored looked like this

So I explained we needed more friction under the chocks. I grabbed some rubber mats from the garage and put them under the chocks. Repeated the process. You could hear the metal bend. We got the bumper pulled out about 3 1/2" and he said okay lets stop there. I think he was concerned the bumper would come off completely.

In the end, it passed inspection...and I developed a new sense of cockyness when viewing people who park too close to my car in the city.

Also, when I pull into an ice covered or mud filled lot, I look at the distance to the closest tree. It's all comes down to the length of the cable.

 

[Paradox]

Not that it is much help but I found myself in a similar situation in April May of 2009. See: http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=22065.

I do have two sets of tire chains for a Ford Ranger pick-up size set of tires. And about 4 come-a-longs, and about 150' of tow straps and tow chains. A come along can be exhausting to use without much reward.

 

[NumNum]

I picked perhaps New York's most desolate dead-end road in the more desolate region of the Adirondacks on one of the coldest days to slide off the road into a snowbank. Attempts at self snow removal and temporary traction items failed and at 7AM, it took a 3 hour wait for the very first car of hikers to pass by and help push me out.

You can thank my knee for acting up, thats what made us turn around from the santas and go out early. Glad to have met and helped!

I think you would have gotten out eventually, you had done alot of digging already.

 

[adkayaker]

Now here's a coworker suggestion that might work but would subject one to a nice lawsuit by the municapality for highway destruction . . .

instead of worrying about distant trees for a come-along, he mentioned a deadweight bar that one can sledgehammer into the road at an angle and attach a come along to it.