Close calls, or devine intervention?

[1STMP]

I love exploration of off road
trails and seldom traveled
routes. I've been a Jeep nut
for most of my adult life.
A planned romp to nearby
Albuquerque in the Jemez.
My son and I set out that
morning with a full tank
and a sense of adventure
one can only experience
in an open top CJ-7.
Reaching the turn off to
a primitive trail called out
on the map, the adventure
escalated to obsticle
avoidance and driving skills.
We climbed a gradual incline
to the top of a ridge and
parked. Vistas were
spectacular, as an entire
valley floor was within view.
The mountain lion made his
way from bush to bush,
bunnies on the menu, a half
mile distant.
Climbing back down from
the ridge, we continued on
the mapped out route.
The trail was smooth, paved
with flat sandstone, but
overgrown with willows
overhanging the trail,
blocking immediate forward
vision.
After about a quarter mile, I
had to stop and clear the
small branches caught in
the grille.
Letting the Jeep cool off a
bit, my son and I walked a
short 20 yards down the
trail.
Breaking free of the
overgrown willows, we were
standing on the very edge
of a gorge that was at least
a half mile deep. Straight
down.
It still rattles me to this day,
what would have happened
if I hadn't stopped to clear
those branches.
There was a Devine power
looking after us that day.

 

[moparedtn]

Good grief DJ...
Yes, that was definitely divine intervention. Hope you said a quick "thanks" prayer.
BTW, have you tried the onX app? Looks like it would be very helpful to such
explorers as yourselves?

 

[WileERobby]

A guardian angel, or whatever one may prefer to call divine intervention, certainly exists. I'm surprised mine hasn't gotten tired by this point !

 

[PlymCrazy]

You obviously aren't done here yet my friend. And we're grateful you're still here

 

[1STMP]

Good grief DJ...
Yes, that was definitely divine intervention. Hope you said a quick "thanks" prayer.
BTW, have you tried the onX app? Looks like it would be very helpful to such
explorers as yourselves?

Hello, Ed.
No such thing as aps those
days.
The map I obtained was
from the BLM office in 1986.

 

[1STMP]

A guardian angel, or whatever one may prefer to call divine intervention, certainly exists. I'm surprised mine hasn't gotten tired by this point !

If you've got one, they'll
never tire...
I've often wondered why I'm
still breathing.

 

[moparedtn]

Hello, Ed.
No such thing as aps those
days.
The map I obtained was
from the BLM office in 1986.

You might consider one....

 

[1STMP]

You might consider one....

I should have known. The
gradient topographical lines
formed a thick dark line on
the map. But the trail
came in at the exact same
spot across the gorge,
making it look like the trail
was continuous.

 

[Dipstick]

There was a Devine power
looking after us that day.

 

[Detective D]

Good grief DJ...
Yes, that was definitely divine intervention. Hope you said a quick "thanks" prayer.
BTW, have you tried the onX app? Looks like it would be very helpful to such
explorers as yourselves?

A couple months ago, you could get this for free with a Polaris app. It looked EXACTLY the same and was a free download.
My brother in law used it last white tail season in WI.
I don't have it, so I can't say if it is free anymore or not but why spend when some UTV maker is handing it out?

 

[moparedtn]

A couple months ago, you could get this for free with a Polaris app. It looked EXACTLY the same and was a free download.
My brother in law used it last white tail season in WI.
I don't have it, so I can't say if it is free anymore or not but why spend when some UTV maker is handing it out?

I proposed nothing other than obtaining the app (or something like it). No idea what's out there
and for whatever price they may be offered.

 

[Sahara]

The fact that I survived my previous lifestyle is proof to me of Devine intervention. I coulda/shoulda been whacked by bikers, stomped by skin heads, overdosed or otherwise left for dead so many times and never was. No logical explanation for my survival other than somebody watching over me. Even this past August I came within minutes of burning in the forest fire. A few minutes, like less than five. Not a lot of minutes.

 

[1STMP]

Good grief DJ...
Yes, that was definitely divine intervention. Hope you said a quick "thanks" prayer.
BTW, have you tried the onX app? Looks like it would be very helpful to such
explorers as yourselves?

I said more than a quick
"thanks" prayer. My son
being with me, doubled
my concerns.
This episode taught me a
valuable lesson. It scared
me pretty good. Though my
son was just a young'un, he
knew full well what could
have happened.

 

[Kern Dog]

divine intervention

noun​

1. Direct and obvious intervention by a god in the affairs of humans.

Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License • More at Wordnik
*************************************************************************************************************************
Yeah, I've wondered if somehow I too was blessed with some form of guardian angel, divine intervention or some protective force because I too have has several close calls that could have gone the wrong way.
It is fun to think about. I never take it for granted or expect it, so it isn't as if I'm dancing between flying bullets to test the theory...

 

[1STMP]

divine intervention

noun​

1. Direct and obvious intervention by a god in the affairs of humans.

Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License • More at Wordnik
*************************************************************************************************************************
Yeah, I've wondered if somehow I too was blessed with some form of guardian angel, divine intervention or some protective force because I too have has several close calls that could have gone the wrong way.
It is fun to think about. I never take it for granted or expect it, so it isn't as if I'm dancing between flying bullets to test the theory...

Hey, KD
I've read of some of your
past experiences (devine
interventions). Not all will
survive buildings collapsing
on them without it. I, like you,
am grateful to be able to be
around to tell the stories.
These occurances never
slowed me down in my
adventurous endeavors. I
just don't take things for
granted since that day.

 

[1967coronet]

If you've got one, they'll
never tire...
I've often wondered why I'm
still breathing.

I hear you, glad you took that walk.
Things happen in life that make you understand faith and just plain luck.

 

[Budnicks]

Good to be diligent when going offroad
checking out the rig & trail every so often

I had sort of a similar experience in/on the Rubicon trail
the infamous trail between
Wentworth Springs & Tahoe basin starts in ElDorado Co.
I was familiar with the trail, been thru it several times, that year alone
I lived close & went up there often
(Learned very young, my dad was also a Jeeper, a member of Georgetown Stumpjumpers
helps put on the yearly Rubicon event)
I learned never to get complacent, out in the wilderness,
no matter where it is...
I was between Spider Lake/on the slab climbing up towards the lake
& the edge or the trail/rock formation at dusk,
I thought I had a lot of room still. it's a huge giant granite slab
it was hard to see', I knew it was close, so I got out to look...
I'd have rolled several hundred feet down the hill...
Me & my bud John W. another local he was in his 78 Ford 150
4x4 lifted truck big tired etc. was there with me in his rig,
We noticed his left front tire was 1/2 off the ledge, about a foot drop,
but severely sloped a few feet after that point, if you went off that edge...

He even said he thought I saved his life...

No not really, but maybe it was in the cards, someone had a different plan for US
I think it was just being raised around that stuff,
my dad had a Jeep when I was in HS, he instilled 'the respect' in me early on...

Sometimes I wonder if someone is tapping on my shoulder
or planting that thought in my brain/ears, get out & look stupid...

not me or my old jeep, just a meme from the -www-

this is part of that trail
& where I was talking about, photos don't do it justice, going up

Overhang big drops

Spider Lake at the top of that huge slab of granite, high Sierras

photos, none of the rigs were mine or John's
a popular place in the daytime,
our adventure was way back in like 1980-81-ish IIRC

 

[1STMP]

Good to be diligent when going offroad
checking out the rig & trail every so often

I had sort of a similar experience in/on the Rubicon trail
the infamous trail between
Wentworth Springs & Tahoe basin starts in ElDorado Co.
I was familiar with the trail, been thru it several times, that year alone
I lived close & went up there often
(Learned very young, my dad was also a Jeeper, a memeber Georgetown Stumpjumpers
helps put on the yearly Rubicon event)
I learned never get complacent, out in the wilderness,
no matter where it is...
I was between Spider Lake/on the slab climbing up towards the lake
& the edge or the trail/rock formation at dusk,
I thought I had a lot of room still. it's a huge giant granite slab
it was hard to see, I knew it was close, so I got out to look...
I'd have rolled several hundred feet down the hill...
Me & my bud John W. another local he was in his 78 Ford 150
4x4 lifted truck big tired etc. was there with me in his rig,
We noticed his left front tire was 1/2 off the ledge, about a foot drop,
but severely sloped a few feet after that point, if yoy went off that edge...

He even said he thought I saved his life..

No not really, but maybe it was in the cards, someone had a different plan for US
I think it was just being raised around that stuff,
my dad had a Jeep when I was in HS, he instilled the respect in me early on...

Sometimes I wonder if someone is tapping on my shoulder
or planting that thought in my brain/ears, get out & look stupid...

not me or my old jeep, just a meme from the -www-
View attachment 1602209

this is part of that trail
& where I was talking about, photos don't do it justice, going up
View attachment 1602225
Overhang big drops
View attachment 1602226
Spider lake at the top of that huge slap
View attachment 1602227

none of the rigs were mine or John's
popular place in the daytime,
our adventure was way back in like 1980-81-ish

From the point of my "devine
intervention" onwards with
my addiction to offloading,
precarious situations always
took center stage with the
main focus being on
keeping the rubber side
down.
4-wheeled in Ohio, Colorado,
Texas, Utah, Arizona, but
mainly in New Mexico.
That territory from your pics
shows to be a fun ride.
Maybe if I were 20 years
younger?....