Almost a really bad scouting trip

[Devilscrown]

I went out scouting this morning and took my 4 wheeler about 35 miles into a unit literally called “the big desert”. Things were going great, saw some nice bucks, lots of foes and fawns.... then the 4 wheeler decided to take a nap. I was at a 10 mile hike from a butte where you can almost get enough cell reception to make a phone call... I was Just about to give up and start hiking and on my last desperation attempt the 4 wheeler fired back up and I made it back to my truck.

Anybody else have some “stranded” stories?

 

[Wildabeest]

Not stranded, but similar. My SxS has lately taken to quitting and giving me a “check engine” light. If I shut it down and let it rest for a couple of minutes, it starts right back up and is fine. Typically happens when I pushing it kind of hard, either doing steep climbs on descents or one time quit after running it about 10 miles on the open road at 40-50 mph. It’s happen 5-6 times in the past couple of months. I hate it because I now don’t have the confidence to take it more than a few miles away from my truck or cabin, and that sort of defeats the purpose of having the thing. I’m thankful I don’t have a “stranded” story to tell though!

 

[D4570]

Wildebeest
Can you change your fuel pump?
Most of the time there a vacuum-operated pump, the diaphragm will get a pinhole or a vacuum line cracks when it gets HOT it flexes and you get an airlock.

 

[Wildabeest]

Thanks @D4570. I’ll check that out. Definitely seems to happen when it’s on the hotter side.

 

[D4570]

"Does Anybody else have some “stranded” stories?"
Two this year.
15 miles from the truck. The very same thing you're talking about the 4wheeler would stop running at 7000 feet. We had to tow it back down and about 6000 feet it would start and run fine. We changed the fuel pump added a filter, new plugs, new gas, new air filter, no more problems.
Earlier this year bear hunting, one of the snowmobiles transmission froze up, the track could not turn forward or back. 17 miles of steep mountain trails.
We were pulling a trailer to put a bear in but had to lift the broken one up and put the track on it, one of us steered and the other drove the good machine.
Both Never have cell service.

 

[MTelkHuntress]

I only have one and hope to not have anymore. Our snowmobile broke down while on an elk hunt with my dad. I really wish we had two snowmobiles when that happened. No cell service and me being oblivious to dangerous situations just started walking back to the truck. I remember my dad freaking out a little but I guess at the time I just thought that all we could do was start walking. It was about an 18 mile hike back to where the truck was parked and it was very late by the time we got back. It was Thanksgiving Day also which is why we dont hunt on that day anymore. It was absolutely freezing but seeing the reflection of the truck from my headlamp was an amazing sight.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

The one time I was hopelessly stranded was when I was 18. I was working for my uncle, who was a land surveyor, in a remote part of NE Oregon. I was taking a different route to our job site after a weekend off. I hit snowdrifts, and tried to power through. Had I known to air down my tires, I might have made it. As it was, I buried my S10 Blazer.

I had no idea how far back to the closest town it was. I guessed it was closer to walk to our job site than go back. I was wrong. I walked all afternoon and into the night. I realized I had taken a wrong fork in the road when I could see the north star, and I was clearly going the wrong direction. I had no Firestarter, and I was wearing Wranglers and a flannel shirt. I spent a very cold night, waking up slightly hypothermic. I was able to gain a bearing and cut cross country to the right road. I stumbled in around 8 AM the next day.

I took a hot shower, ate some soup, and slept for about 18 hours. I was fortunate. Things could have very easily gone differently. I've been very stuck a number of times since then, but I go about things a little differently after that.

 

[Devilscrown]

"Does Anybody else have some “stranded” stories?"
Two this year.
15 miles from the truck. The very same thing you're talking about the 4wheeler would stop running at 7000 feet. We had to tow it back down and about 6000 feet it would start and run fine. We changed the fuel pump added a filter, new plugs, new gas, new air filter, no more problems.
Earlier this year bear hunting, one of the snowmobiles transmission froze up, the track could not turn forward or back. 17 miles of steep mountain trails.
We were pulling a trailer to put a bear in but had to lift the broken one up and put the track on it, one of us steered and the other drove the good machine.
Both Never have cell service.

Sounds like a tough day! I hope those type of days earn double points for paying dues!

 

[Devilscrown]

I only have one and hope to not have anymore. Our snowmobile broke down while on an elk hunt with my dad. I really wish we had two snowmobiles when that happened. No cell service and me being oblivious to dangerous situations just started walking back to the truck. I remember my dad freaking out a little but I guess at the time I just thought that all we could do was start walking. It was about an 18 mile hike back to where the truck was parked and it was very late by the time we got back. It was Thanksgiving Day also which is why we dont hunt on that day anymore. It was absolutely freezing but seeing the reflection of the truck from my headlamp was an amazing sight.

That is a tough day, your dad was probably proud of you when you made it to the truck!

 

[Devilscrown]

The one time I was hopelessly stranded was when I was 18. I was working for my uncle, who was a land surveyor, in a remote part of NE Oregon. I was taking a different route to our job site after a weekend off. I hit snowdrifts, and tried to power through. Had I known to air down my tires, I might have made it. As it was, I buried my S10 Blazer.

I had no idea how far back to the closest town it was. I guessed it was closer to walk to our job site than go back. I was wrong. I walked all afternoon and into the night. I realized I had taken a wrong fork in the road when I could see the north star, and I was clearly going the wrong direction. I had no Firestarter, and I was wearing Wranglers and a flannel shirt. I spent a very cold night, waking up slightly hypothermic. I was able to gain a bearing and cut cross country to the right road. I stumbled in around 8 AM the next day.

I took a hot shower, ate some soup, and slept for about 18 hours. I was fortunate. Things could have very easily gone differently. I've been very stuck a number of times since then, but I go about things a little differently after that.

That sounds like a rough experience, glad you ended up making it safely.

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

My friend and I were hunting cow elk in January on his tracked ATV a few years ago. Temp was in the negatives, with wind chill. We were about 3 miles from the truck when an A arm or something (I can't remember exactly) broke on the front axel. We ratchet strapped things back together and would drive a hundred yards or so before it would come apart again. Finally had the bright idea to secure it back up with the winch cable. We made it out fine after that. It wouldn't have been a horrible hike out, but I am glad we didn't have to do it.

 

[rustednuts]

Blew a tranny 15 miles deep on a Forrest service road, was able to creep out in 4 low

 

[GoatHntr]

It was 2011, I took off deer hunting with my 6 year old nephew. We were about 6 miles in on a 4x4 trail where I regularly hunted deer in California’s Sierra Nevada’s near Lake Tahoe. As we turned back from the summit heading back toward the logging road, just at the bottom of a wash, my truck didn’t clear a rock and I heard a loud bang! A few moments later the oil light came on. I shut the engine off right away. There was a walnut sized hole in my oil pan... I didn’t have enough oil or the correct tools to fix the problem. I was doomed! Then I started to assemble a plan. I knew we were about 6 miles from a moderately traveled road, we could get there no problem, but with a 6 year old that wouldn’t be the easiest prospect especially in the heat of the afternoon.

I thought about walking out with him on my back but moments later a group of hikers came up the road in a pickup. I asked them for a ride back, they were reluctant. “Naw man we got to get on our hike.” It was a moment of an obvious difference in interest groups that I believe drove the sentiment. A group of hikers with goji berries and vegan granola and a camo’d out hunter with a 30/06, with a healthy dip in the lip. It is no surprise a group from Berkeley, CA as they explained were not there to hunt deer. Finally I was able to convince them after explaining I had a kid, and then, offering them cash, they finally made the drive to a country store where I was able to get the supplies needed to fix the problem: a can of soda, JB weld, and oil.
After enjoying a classic coke, the can was opened up and made perfectly flat. It was attached with JB weld to the damaged oil pan and held oil. My nephew and I made it home finally and the truck drives fine to this day. Now that he’s nearly 16, I recently told him the other day that the ol pickup will be his as soon as he passes his drivers test. Good hunting out there, don’t forget the JB weld, and stay safe!

 

[44hunter45]

The one time I was hopelessly stranded was when I was 18. I was working for my uncle, who was a land surveyor, in a remote part of NE Oregon. I was taking a different route to our job site after a weekend off. I hit snowdrifts, and tried to power through. Had I known to air down my tires, I might have made it. As it was, I buried my S10 Blazer.

I had no idea how far back to the closest town it was. I guessed it was closer to walk to our job site than go back. I was wrong. I walked all afternoon and into the night. I realized I had taken a wrong fork in the road when I could see the north star, and I was clearly going the wrong direction. I had no Firestarter, and I was wearing Wranglers and a flannel shirt. I spent a very cold night, waking up slightly hypothermic. I was able to gain a bearing and cut cross country to the right road. I stumbled in around 8 AM the next day.

I took a hot shower, ate some soup, and slept for about 18 hours. I was fortunate. Things could have very easily gone differently. I've been very stuck a number of times since then, but I go about things a little differently after that.

Another NE Oregon story.

My work took me from Walla Walla, WA to Enterprise, OR one spring day about 20 years ago. I was in my own long WB 3/4 Ton GMC. I had taken the I-84 to Lostine route to Enterprise, but decided to take the Rattlesnake grade home through Clarkston, WA, even though it was listed "Local Traffic Only".

Long story short, came around a corner at about 50 and buried that truck in a hard spring drift. It went completely across the road so I figured the choices as a roll-over in the ditch or busting through. I stopped so hard I had a bruise from the shoulder strap.
No shovel, no boots, no jacket. "Business Casual", they call it. No cell coverage out there.

I hunted around and found a broken branch about 4" around and started digging at the snow. I dug, cold and wet for almost 4 hours. It was dark when I finally powered forward through the drift.

I had just got clear when a Wallowa County Deputy came around the corner. He laughed at me soaking wet and told me momma had called them out to look for me. He strongly recommended I turn around and take the long way home.
He then said, "If you get stuck coming back through the drift, I can call a tow for you, but I can't winch you out. It's policy."

I got turned around and back over the dug-out drift without incident. Then came a very long go around back through Walla Walla. I got home in time to take a shower, get breakfast, and go back to work.

A hard lessen. All my rigs have emergency gear now. Pop taught me that you wanna get stuck in 2WD and unstuck in 4WD. When you get stuck in 4WD you are REALLY stuck. Even though it took 4 hours, I can still say it worked that day.
-Mark

 

[elkantlers]

I went out scouting this morning and took my 4 wheeler about 35 miles into a unit literally called “the big desert”. Things were going great, saw some nice bucks, lots of foes and fawns.... then the 4 wheeler decided to take a nap. I was at a 10 mile hike from a butte where you can almost get enough cell reception to make a phone call... I was Just about to give up and start hiking and on my last desperation attempt the 4 wheeler fired back up and I made it back to my truck.

Anybody else have some “stranded” stories?

Nope, I ride a Honda.

 

[Wildabeest]

Blew a tranny...

So,we things we just don’t need to know...

 

[BearFoot]

Never stranded just temporarily delayed. Flat tires, blown belts, fouled plugs, electrical issues, cracked frames, Swamped rigs with water soaked engines, We try to plan for these things, works most times. Takes away from actual hunting. Stuff happens twenty miles plus, out there, from where the truck is parked.

over heating

Swamped, often requires fluids change


simply stuck!

 

[BearFoot]

We stick together!

 

[midwesthunter]

Almost stranded, took my 1/2 ton truck up on a two track into some nasty terrain, the two track slowly got more narrow. I was a couple miles in and no where to turn around and didn't want to back all the way out so kept creeping along. There were several spots where I had to walk to the top of the hill because I couldn't see where the road went over the drop off, and was usually a tight turn. Had several two wheel action moments as I crept over and made the sharp turn. Got through it and decided I was coming out the bottom, till the only two track came across a nasty wash out, I spent three hours gathering enough rocks to get across.

 

[1_pointer]

Nothing near as bad as most told already. Closest was getting stuck just north of the Bonneville Salt Flats. Luckily we were near a rail line. Walked up and down it gathering supplies, including a pallet. We were able to jack up all 4s and get something underneath them; with one being on the spare tire. After than we just through it in gear and hammer down. It would have been a L O N G dry walk to get to anywhere...

Second was locking my keys and phone in my truck on a WY pronghorn hunt. @TheTone drove right on by... Hitched a ride to the interstate where I met the tow truck and AAA paid to have to the truck unlocked. One time I was kinda glad to be hunting in an area that was a bit crowded.