Oh SHIT! - Nick Savatgy

Failure provides an opportunity to learn, and we have had our fair share of lessons. With a combined 60+ years of off-road experience, we have seen the spectrum from camping in campgrounds, off paved roads, to sleeping in a Cascadia Vehicle Tents roof top tent on the Rubicon Trail. Oh shit! moments can happen anywhere!

One such moment occurred following a night run on Fins & Things in Moab, Utah. As is customary at the gone MOAB event, an unofficial night run happens the night before the event with those helping out with the event. LED lights blazed the trail ahead while rock lights aided in tire placement. Hours of fun passed by as we navigated the slick rock obstacles, and all was good. Then on the dirt road drive back to pavement, a voice came over the radio “I need to pull over…. I have a flat.” The front passenger side tire of the Nissan Frontier in our group blew out completely, separating the tread from the sidewall. We made quick work changing out to his spare tire but it goes to show you can’t even let your guard down on the drive home.

Another example comes from a trip we did exploring the mining country of central Nevada. The route took us to well-preserved mining structures and across desolate stretches of dusty desert. None of the trails were hard by any stretch of the imagination. One section of trail was faintly visible and eroded heavily; it clearly hadn’t been traveled in a long time. A momentary lapse of focus led to the Toyota FJ Cruiser in our group sliding into one such washout. The ditch swallowed his 35-inch tires and all the travel from his Total Chaos long travel kit. His FJ landed on the frame like a beached whale. Working together we used Bubba Rope Gator Jaw synthetic shackles and Warn winches to free the FJ.

Learn from our experience! Issues can come up on the easiest of trails. Calm minds and teamwork come in

Oh SHIT!

handy even when the easiest of trails present an “Oh Shit” moment.

We’ll see you on the trail!

Writer/Photos by Nick Savatgy

RogueOverland

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