In Deep at Work

[vintage AE]

So I decide to go exploring around the trails around the drilling rig I'm living at because it's mountainous and scenic and I ended up walking back to the rig...

I seen the top of the derrick and thought this cut line would take me back to the rig. I made it to the bottom of the road and across a flat section until it started to climb back up. I hit a soft spot and slowed down in the mud so I noticed another soft spot ahead and floored it, but didn't quite make it.

There was a huge F350 with a 8" lift and a huge shackle on his receiver hitch at the rig. It turns out that shackle is for pulling himself out of the mud
He got stuck, so we used the front end loader at the rig to get him out. We decided to wait a few days for the road to dry up before we went back at it.

Days later my buddy decides that his F150 is light enough to get further in and could tow me out. He got closer than the F350, but he got stuck too. The F350 came back to get the F150 out, but he got stuck again There was a Dodge duly onsite, so he came and pulled out the F350. The guy with the Dodge thought he could come back with the loader and get further to pull out the F150. He got closer, but he got the loader stuck

I'm thinking that I'm never going to get my Toyota out. We now have the loader, F150 and my yota stuck, what now? A Case Case STX450, thats what!

The Case got the loader free no problem. He got the F150 out with little difficulty, but tore up the road doing it. He got in a bit closer to me and got stuck about 580' away and then he got himself stuck

Luckily this thing has a good winch on the back of it. He had to use a snatch block and winch himself up to the top using the stumps on the side of the hill. He dragged me along for about 290' until he had to leave me behind. We winched me out the rest of the way when he got to the top. His ruts were over knee deep and zig zagged back and forth. I made it back to the rig without any damage And, after washing off a couple hundred pounds of mud, it runs like new.

A photo with my rescuer

[scr8p]

kids.....

[askbob]

Now that's a rut!!

[RC104ever]

Wow, that's some hard core mudding!

[Charlie don't surf]

A good winch in your future? looks like fun!

[vintage AE]

I had a blast the first 3 hours...the first day. After that it was more like work and a pain in everyone's ass. I'd love to run out and get me a Warn or a TJM winch, but I need to spend some money on my new house. Landscaping, window treatments and an office are on the to do list

Also, I'm getting a re-re RC10 for my birthday coming up in a couple months. The list is a mile long, but the cable to pull me out was just as long

I'll have to ask for one for Xmas and just try not to get stuck again. While I'm at it maybe I should also ask for an ARB air locker or two Based on my track record, I've been needing a tug about once every 3 or 4 months.

The last time I was stuck in a river for about an hour and a half. Water was over the seats in the interior and I'm still getting the bugs worked out from that. Thank god for warranties

[Y'ernat Al]

I just noticed you're a geologist Anthony. That make's two of us. I'm an engineering geologist down here in Southern California. Looks like I have some work coming up that'll take me up into BC actually. Looking forward to it.

I can just hear the roughnecks - "dumb geologist", but when the 425 gets stuck, now that's just wrong!

[DMAT]

seeing this gave me a good laugh.

[vintage AE]

I just noticed you're a geologist Anthony. That make's two of us. I'm an engineering geologist down here in Southern California. Looks like I have some work coming up that'll take me up into BC actually. Looking forward to it.

I can just hear the roughnecks - "dumb geologist", but when the 425 gets stuck, now that's just wrong!

I'm actually in BC, been working up here in the Groundbirch area for the last 5 years, but I'm based in Calgary. I've been asking my office to get work in CA, but they wont bite. It would be sweet to work somewhere where it couldn't snow every month of the year. Where about are you going to end up in BC?

Usually they always make fun of the geologist's import...almost no geos up here have a domestic truck/SUV and almost all of them are toyotas. Once they realized that I could make it further than all of them in the mud, including the 425, I got a lot more respect. The 5'2" guy that has the jacked up F350 even said that a F350 isn't made for off roading , no shit

I had at least 5 people helping me and all of them had fun because they all are off road guys. I didn't even get stuck with the bill that was over 1000 bucks.

[Y'ernat Al]

I'm actually in BC, been working up here in the Groundbirch area for the last 5 years, but I'm based in Calgary. I've been asking my office to get work in CA, but they wont bite. It would be sweet to work somewhere where it couldn't snow every month of the year. Where about are you going to end up in BC?

Usually they always make fun of the geologist's import...almost no geos up here have a domestic truck/SUV and almost all of them are toyotas. Once they realized that I could make it further than all of them in the mud, including the 425, I got a lot more respect. The 5'2" guy that has the jacked up F350 even said that a F350 isn't made for off roading , no shit

I had at least 5 people helping me and all of them had fun because they all are off road guys. I didn't even get stuck with the bill that was over 1000 bucks.

I don't know where exactly yet, but it's in the north, a remote powerline alignment. I'll be doing foundation work with these rock drills that fly around via helicopters to remote (no road) sites and put in foundations for big powerline alignments. We'll see if it even gets going this summer, or the push it to the spring. I have a white 2007 Tacoma quad cab just like yours that I use down here. I got the exact same thing..in the desert we get on these long narrow overgrown roads with no turnarounds and I can 6-point turn myself around, while all the F250's are driving backwards for a 1/4 mile .

[Dirtdiver]

I'm not surprised the Deere Loader got stuck, but was really surprised the Case got stuck.

I thought your hero was going to be a log skidder or forwarder that pulled you out.

[flipwils11]

Great story and pictures!

[markbt73]

She swallowed the spider to catch the fly...

[slotcarrod]

LMAO!!! You know your a red neck when????

Brings to mind this song!

[youtube]pDY6bWT5oTM[/youtube]

[vintage AE]

That's the song that was going through my head the whole time. That and Blake Shelton's new song…Boys around here.

BTW, Shannon only knows the need to know version on this lol