Mud. A cautionary tale

It had been raining heavy today & I had a terrible case of cabin fever. There were a couple of spots I tagged on maps that looked like promising hunting/fishing/wheeling spots around me in Raleigh, NC so I loaded up my son and took off to go scout them. The rain had subsided & I told myself it was just a scouting mission.

I have a stock Sahara with the rubicon rear end, limited slip diff, & all terrain tires. I had aired down to 25 since I knew i needed to drive from spot to spot on the highway & it’d be wet, but I wasn’t expecting anything crazy.

Spot 1: trails under some power lines. The trails were flat a with puddles. A little rocky & we had some fun bouncing around & splashing. One spot was an actual crossing of some overflowed water that was about 20” deep. Me & my boy laughed as we jostled around & even saw a turkey. Score! I’ll be back in a few weeks for you sucker.

Spot 2: Drove 20 minutes. Satellite photos were out dated & what looked like some sandy trails in a remote cove on a lake were just the early construction of a park that had now been finished. Total dud. These 2 spots I’d researched a bit, so I look up an area I’d seen before & go off my original plan (mistake 1: shouldn’t have improvised)

On the way to spot 3 we’re on Old 98 (a rural highway) and I notice to my left set of telephone lines with trails under. We pass an entrance to them so I u-turn and head in. The trail is a side hill, but looks gravely. I’m in 4-lo & automatic. We go 50 or so yards and as I crest a small hill top there’s a big dip & a very tall off camber up hill. I can tell it’s muddy so I decide I have to turn around. I thought I had a good dry spot, but all of a sudden in the middle of my 3 point turn the Jeep starts slipping backwards. I’m pointed up hill but below the tracks in the mud. I’m doomed. The front tires have some traction but the rears don’t. The back end swings around & both sets of tires cake with mud. Fuck it I get on the hammer & pray. I’m killing it. Youd’ve thought I was in an XJ pounding a monster energy drink. My back bumper hits a tree & stops swinging, something digs in and we’re back on the trail! Mistake 2: I stopped.

We get ready to start going again. It’s a joke. I literally side 4 feet sideways & back into the same position just a few feet closer. So I start the same dance. This time the back end swings around, hits a tree & I smash my rear tail light to pieces.

Now I’m worried. Call the wife. She’s pissed. I call my neighbor whos got a Ram 2500, toyo open countries, & straps. I’m not getting out of here on my own. Mistakes 3 & 4: I didn’t have the right equipment & I was alone.

Thank God almighty he’s such a good guy. We use ratchet straps to slowly winch me back up hill. A long time later and I’m actually out of the mud & after almost sliding into a telephone pole I get back into flat ground. We exit and it’s been 3 and a half hours of hell.

So what did I learn? More importantly what can you take away? All of my rookie mistakes. Don’t go out in bad conditions alone. “All terrain” tires are not really for for all terrain. Don’t drive into unknown conditions without checking first. Finally, hammering the gas pedal is not always the answer.

Luckily nothing broke besides a tail light & my ego & everyone was safe. PLEASE ALWAYS BE SAFE OUT THERE. Things went from fine to bad for me fast, don’t let it happen to you.
 

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JTCO

Meme King
Thanks for sharing that experience. Glad you're OK. I've been in a couple similar situations, scary for sure. Really good that you had cell service as well.
 

doubletapdaddy

Caught the Bug
It sucks when you've got to learn lessons like that. I know that I've been through my fair share. Ultimately a little pride and a broken tail light is nothing, but that feeling of mentally kicking your own ass over the whole ordeal is the worst. We've all been there...You're in good company. 🙃
 

YAHAHA

New member
What a great story; thanks for sharing. Fess up, it wasn't really hell. By the mud on his clothes, it looks like your son had a good time. And you got to spend 3 hours outside with him. At the very least, THAT makes it a good day.

Have you ordered your new tires yet?


It's not just a Jeep, it's an amusement park on wheels.
 

Last edited:
Thanks for sharing that experience. Glad you're OK. I've been in a couple similar situations, scary for sure. Really good that you had cell service as well.

Thanks bud. Yeah, cell service was nice. I’m putting a CB on the short list as a back up.
 

Sounds like a winch would have come in handy.

It sucks when you've got to learn lessons like that. I know that I've been through my fair share. Ultimately a little pride and a broken tail light is nothing, but that feeling of mentally kicking your own ass over the whole ordeal is the worst. We've all been there...You're in good company. 🙃

Out here mud/clay is inevitable. A winch was the first thing I put on before I even registered the Jeep. It has come in handy due to mud already.


Sent from my iPhone using JL Wrangler Jeep Forum mobile app

I’d almost pulled the trigger a few times on a winch, problem is these damn plastic bumpers. Now that I’ve run it over & over in my head, I’m a jackass for just not getting out and checking. That’s really the WORST. If I’d just jumped out I would have known & this all would have been avoided.
 

What a great story; thanks for sharing. Fess up, it wasn't really hell. By the mud on his clothes, it looks like your son had a good time. And you got to spend 3 hours outside with him. At the very least, THAT makes it a good day.

Have you ordered your new tires yet?

It's not just a Jeep, it's an amusement park on wheels.

That’s the one positive. Me and Hudson had FUN. It was scary & I'm lucky it worked out, but I never lost my cool. You’re totally right now this’ll be a great memory. I’ve got a bit of a temper sometimes & another lesson I’m taking home is that part of what saved us was a good attitude.

And no, tires will come after the winch 😂
 

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