Jeepers Helping Jeepers

Over the years I have witnessed varying acts of kindness handed out within the Jeep community in many forms. From something as simple as helping a buddy with an install to figuring out some wiring, all the way up to lending a vehicle or providing missing parts. This just breeds good karma and is always welcome to see in our world these days.

On my recent Coal Mountain Spring Jeep Jamboree, I had the chance to see this play out in several ways when my friend lost his upper control arm mount while we were deep into the trials. This was not a minor issue and resulted in the end of his driving day. To make it worse,we were in a section of the trail that was about halfway, very tight and with no "easy" way out.

What happened next was really cool. A trail guide was actually the first one to notice the carnage and pointed it out. My friend made his way up to the top of the hill where the ground was semi-flat. Within a few minutes of hopping out of his Jeep, he was surrounded by other drivers ready to help. After several people assessed the situation and a trail fix could not be completed, two trail riders from Vermont slid under his Jeep and began to ratchet strap his broken mount back into place. They worked on the Jeep while laying on boulders without any issues. I along with other drivers provided all of our ratchet straps to aid in the "band aide". A driver who was quite a bit back from us, walked up and after noticing the extend of the damage offered to trailer home his Jeep so he would not need to worry about what to do with it.

There were several good humored shouts to burn it in place or push it back down the hill but all in all, everyone was very supportive and compassionate about the situation. It is very scary to see your Jeep broken down so far from a trail and home while not knowing how you can fix it.

Once the trail repair was in place and seemed to be holding, we still had to finish the obstacle and make our way out to a safe exit point. I led the way with my Jeep in case he needed a pull, but the trail guides and other drivers picked out the best possible track for him to proceed on doing as little damage as possible to his Jeep. Nick, from Jeep Jamboree, walked the entire obstacle along side my friend helping him with wheel placement and keeping a close eye on the ratchet straps.

Once we were able to clear the Blue trails, we set off on our own down the Green trails and waited at the crossroads for the head of AOAA to help us out the rest of the way. They guided us along the Green trails for an hour and a half until we were back at the parking lot.

The repair held the entire time and even when he loaded the Jeep onto the trailer for it's journey home. At the dinner that night, my friend also walked away with a "Major Award"!

We were able to finish out the weekend without too much stress knowing that his Jeep had a safe way home. He became my co-pilot for day two (and photographer) for the remainder of the trip. This was a great experience and I hope to join another Jeep Jamboree in the near future, maybe up in Vermont this time!

The Journey is what counts, Adventure Awaits!