Spring is here and the snow is disappearing from the Washington mountain ranges. Ben and I headed up to do some scouting in the Manastash area. We got stuck twice. Once for each of us (mud and snow), but nothing a good tug couldn't take care of.

Here's a shot of me getting tipsy on the way to pull Ben out of the mud.

http://xterra4x4.com/Trips/Manastash/tipsy.jpg

Ben, realizing he's stuck, decides to make the best of a bad situation.

http://xterra4x4.com/Trips/Manastash/makebest.jpg

Another one of those "was worse than it looks" photos. Ben kept sliding off the incline into the bigger rut on the left.

http://xterra4x4.com/Trips/Manastash/pullingben.jpg

Earlier on we ran into two guys who were out driving in a borrowed Bronco. They went off trail and promptly ripped a hole in the side of their tire. They also didn't have a lug wrench so they flagged us down, and we had to climb down a hill to save them. The flat was on the downhill side and the vehicle was very unsteady so we ended up getting them towards a tree (did I mention they didn't have an e-brake either?) The hi-lift jack wasn't able to lift the Bronco high enough to put on the good tire, so Ben got shovel duty while they held the truck in place.

All in all a pain in the ass for a couple of guys who shouldn't have been off trail in the first place. Hopefully they learned something from the experience.

http://xterra4x4.com/Trips/Manastash/offtrail.jpg

After we climbed back off the hill we found some onlookers admiring our trucks. Spring has brought out the mule deer in force.

http://xterra4x4.com/Trips/Manastash/spectators.jpg

That's it for now. I have some video that I'll post later.

Great pics guys!

Nice flames on the front of the Bronco. :D

So... I'll be heading out to find a tow hook pretty quick! :eek:

Get one for the rear also ;-) it would have been much faster to yank me out if I had a hook in the rear

Ben

Will my trailer hitch work? I probably need an insert for it with a hook.

Brett

Check with a 4-wd shop. They probably have a reciever hitch clevice that will work very well.

yes if you got a hitch get a Pintel (sp) hook for it (but don't leave it in it will kill your departure angle)

Ben