Am I just a wussy baby man, or was I smart (or at least cautious?)

[Gvsukids]

Offroad parks won’t even let you go out by yourself.

In Michigan they will.

It’s always been ‘a rule of thumb’ -

That's why we have a winch aboard; because we often go alone. Many people off-road alone and that's why there are recovery Facebook groups. Have you seen all the YouTube videos of people being recovered that went out by themselves?

You’re being a wuss (since you asked)



2 out of 10? Thats basically a paved road.

But one has to start somewhere, and sometimes that first step is the biggest.

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[GWolgamott]

While a wild animal attack is the least of my worries (this is lower Michigan, so maybe a bobcat,)

Bears... there are bears up there. Well there are bears where I live in Baldwin too... but they're black bears so "mostly" harmless and you rarely see them but they are there.

 

[JAsh1967]

Bears... there are bears up there. Well there are bears where I live in Baldwin too... but they're black bears so "mostly" harmless and you rarely see them but they are there.

Great, JUST GREAT! Now I'm going to spend the rest of my time up here hiding in my camper waiting for a bear to try to get in! LoL

 

[ZilverFox]

I’m sitting at the tigerton wi ohv park after completing a couple day solo tour of the eastern part of the upper peninsula. The goal was to make it from drummond island back to wisconsin on as much dirt as possible. Whereas were i generally go in wisconsin does not allow jeeps on atv trails the UP trails are the opposite. Single tracks with no pull offs for a truck. Off cell service for most of it. Dispersed camped on the lake superior shore.

The only track i could confidently find to make it from my campsite to the next in pictured rock national park was thwarted by a big water hole. Made the mistake of not testing depth first and thought i was screwed sitting in door level water. Sucker backed out fairly easily. I will be adding a come along or something for the rear as there was no way to winch forward.

Ive heard the its amazing what it can do statement and i agree. On 35s and added oil pan skid

 

[GWolgamott]

Great, JUST GREAT! Now I'm going to spend the rest of my time up here hiding in my camper waiting for a bear to try to get in! LoL

Funny thing... that friend I knew from Indian River. He once had a bear try to eat him.
Seriously. Its a long story but your fine... it's fine. It wasn't a wild bear... was a black bear but not a wild one that's the important bit.

Maybe I shouldn't have brought that up...

 

[Zachanadandy]

That wasn’t the point ….I was specifically talking about venturing out in the wilderness by yourself. Venturing on non public trails, etc. Offroad parks won’t even let you go out by yourself.

It’s always been ‘a rule of thumb’ - kinda like ‘Tread Lightly’
Or did all that go by the wayside over the years?

Aside from private off road parks aren't all trails public for the most part? First roads, marked trails, I mean the rubicon trail is a county road? I know a lot of people won't venture out solo, but many of us do. Raised in the mountains, my driveway is tougher than a lot of the badge of honor trails. If I was to follow that rule of thumb I'd never be able to come or go from my own property without a spotter. There's also 0 cell coverage out there. As I said, be prepared for the worst if you are going out solo (although I'd be prepared for the worst even in a group), but is rather go wheeling solo than go to work.

 

[Jrgunn5150]

That wasn’t the point ….I was specifically talking about venturing out in the wilderness by yourself. Venturing on non public trails, etc. Offroad parks won’t even let you go out by yourself.

It’s always been ‘a rule of thumb’ - kinda like ‘Tread Lightly’
Or did all that go by the wayside over the years?

It's always been a thing people on the internet say.

I've never visited an Offroad park when I wasn't by myself.

Where I'm from wheeling by yourself is the only way to get anywhere. I literally go wheeling to get away from people, not collect ducks in my skottle.

 

[GWolgamott]

I get the get away from people thing... but how is that area meaning you have to go by yourself to go anywhere...

I do all the time but it's not hard to go with people. My schedule makes it hard, so 90% of time yeah I go alone but there are always people to go with if wanted too. Hell I've accidentally joined a group few times because I was pulled off somewhere wandering the woods and they stopped to check on me. Then end up riding with them.

 

[Lukasz]

Had been planning to go down a seasonal road / ORV trail in Michigan, OnX Offroad rates it as a 2/10 technical trail (so presumably, bit worse than a dirt road.) But, a few things gave me pause:

• I can count on one hand the number of times I've had my Jeep off road and have 4 fingers left over
• That one time was at a south-east Michigan ORV park (Holly Oaks) and in an "Off-roading 101" group for beginners
• I'm currently up here solo, no passenger (the wife's working,) no friends, nothing. So getting in trouble, I'm on my own...

I've got a near-stock Sport S, I do have a steel bumper with a winch, but no lift and I'm on street tires.

So was I just being cautious as I don't know MY limits yet, or am I a wuss and I should go back tomorrow and tackle the trail?
I'm also planning to stop into a local Jeep performance shop, might ask the proprietor about the trail and see what they think...

Hit me, I can take it! LoL

Breakage will eventually happen and you will eventually get stuck, it's a part of the game.
No need to be afraid of it, embrace it and be prepared.

Some recommendations:

1. Bring a friend in another vehicle if possible.
2. Bring a toolset and a bunch of spare nuts, bolts, maybe some spare parts, depending on how mechanically savvy
3. Learn how to use your winch, traction boards, snatch block, etc.
4. If you're going on your own, make an emergency plan with your family, leave behind your planned route, etc.
5. Bring some form of emergency communications. Ideally something like Garmin InReach. You can get these on Facebook Marketplace if you don't want to pay the MSRP.
6. Make sure you know how to contact your local volunteer offroad recovery group, if one exists.
7. Have fun out there!

L.

 

[Flanders]

Yes to option A. Grow a pair.

Also, you don't have to wait 30 minutes to go swimming.

 

[Janster]

It's always been a thing people on the internet say.

I've never visited an Offroad park when I wasn't by myself.

Where I'm from wheeling by yourself is the only way to get anywhere. I literally go wheeling to get away from people, not collect ducks in my skottle.

Things must have changed over the years…..or, it’s where you live.

Back years ago, I belonged to and help run offroad clubs. We never promoted offroading by yourself, and we always promoted “Tread Lightly”. The offroad parks here (on the east coast), do not allow you to go by yourself. There isn’t much (or any) places to go offroad that isn’t private land or is illegal to be there.

 

[Chunky White]

the majority of us with lockers and sway bar disconnects etc. do not even use them off road. I did a 3/10 trail last weekend and used 2wd for 90% of the trail. I did use 4hi in the mud holes and used 4 low to climb one of the hills with an off camber rut because I didn't want to over heat the engine while being far away from homes or businesses. I drove 45 minutes or so of gravel road just to get to the start of the dirt. You can always check the mud holes with a stick before going through them. I would rather go with someone else following me since I don't have a winch yet

 

[MeiMei]

I took a bone stock JKU sport to a few 6/10 trails with no issues. I would bring a spotter and if you don’t have a winch, at least bring a comalong and a good chain. Even the cheapest sport Wrangler or Gladiator sport is very capable off road. High clearance and 4 low can go almost anywhere. Add larger tires, the Rubicon and Mojave features and there are very few trails you won’t be able to do. I went to Moab (moderate trails), Big Bend and other places and never got stuck with very little off road experience.

 

[Zachanadandy]

Things must have changed over the years…..or, it’s where you live.

Back years ago, I belonged to and help run offroad clubs. We never promoted offroading by yourself, and we always promoted “Tread Lightly”. The offroad parks here (on the east coast), do not allow you to go by yourself. There isn’t much (or any) places to go offroad that isn’t private land or is illegal to be there.

The clubs promoted.... more paying members? Shocker. The wildly overpriced privately owned off road parks back east promoted more paying customers? No way. Meanwhile out west some of us live dozens of miles out primitive dirt roads with no neighbors for miles. We couldn't possibly not promote "offroading" by yourself as you couldn't get anywhere without a buddy. Some of the best off road parks I've been to are publicly owned out west an $5/day per vehicle. No they don't try to force you to bring more vehicles. On the major trails like moab and the rubicon you'll never really be alone, 100s of vehicles a day will pass you by. Of course we "tread lightly", but that has nothing to do with who we wheel with and in my experience the bigger the group the more likely I'll be picking up trash behind them.

 

[Gvsukids]

Of course we "tread lightly"

Lost among sxs.

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