Trailhead Trouble

[Gandalf69]

What is the craziest story out there about trouble at trailheads before or after any hike? Mine would have to be a tree falling on my friends car this spring. These day hikers told us as we were going back, "Its a small tree".....

[nyker]

Bummer! Were you able to open the door after that?

I came back to a flat tire on the rental after a 12hr hike starving and tired, in the dark. The rental car jack just sucked, kept sinking in the dirt when I tried to lift it once I was able to extend it. There were no large flat rocks or other real hard ground nearby but was able to move the car to the only rocky section in the road and did it there, thankful no other vehicles were coming up the road in a hurry...the lugs were stripped and took forever to loosen them so this must have happened before to this car. What would have taken 10min with a normal jack and pavement ended up taking over an like 90min.

[HikerGuy]

A flat tire, twice, once at Rock of Ages and another time at Sneffels. Fortunately I always carry an air compressor and tire plug kit. I was able to repair the tire each time.

[rijaca]

Flat tires, and a fuel pump that quit.

[Gandalf69]

Bummer! Were you able to open the door after that?

I came back to a flat tire on the rental after a 12hr hike starving and tired, in the dark. The rental car jack just sucked, kept sinking in the dirt when I tried to lift it once I was able to extend it. There were no large flat rocks or other real hard ground nearby but was able to move the car to the only rocky section in the road and did it there, thankful no other vehicles were coming up the road in a hurry...the lugs were stripped and took forever to loosen them so this must have happened before to this car. What would have taken 10min with a normal jack and pavement ended up taking over an like 90min.

It opened, luckily the tree hit other trees before it hit his truck to soften the blow. When he got it back, we got a flat tire doing Lindsey. It delayed us, we didn't start till like 1030, but everything was ok afterwards.

[Chicago Transplant]

Radiator kept overheating, thought I could make it home after buying one of those liquid sealants but I was a dumbass and didn't realize I needed to refill the radiator fluid, so overheated again.

Fuel pump went out after winter Huron on the way back through Leadville.

A couple of flat tires, most recently on the way in to San Luis at night with a long way to still go, but also a long way from pavement already. Camped right there and drove out on the donut tire in the morning and climbed 8er in Gunnison instead after finding an open tire shop in town.

[griddles]

Car gone!

Came back from ice climbing up in Clear Creek Canyon. I had parked in the pull out just past where Hwy 6 meets 93. Then jumped in a friends car to go to the spot. Came back 6 hours later, no car! Had to call 911 to find out that the car had been towed! I didn't get a ticket or anything. I never did figure out why it was towed. The tow did also break the exhaust pipe under the car so add that $$ to the tow bill. It was a pretty expensive day. Good news was that they did tow it to a lot only a few blocks from where I lived at the time.

[nsaladin]

Left a dome light on in the truck in Lead King Basin, away from the trailhead and across the river. No one was camping in the area when we drove in and setup camp. I quickly realized what I did and tried to start it... dead. We hiked around at like 8pm hoping to see someone near the trailhead, another party happened to arrive sometime after us just down the road and came and jumped us.

[81go]

Years ago, before cell phones, my wife and I spent a December weekend backpacking in a very remote, infrequently visited wilderness area of the Ozarks. The trailhead was 16 miles from the nearest paved road, and a couple miles further to a payphone. We made it back to our car at sunset, only to find that someone had slashed both rear wheels. We feared for our safety, as most likely someone was letting us know we were not welcome in the area (banjos and Deliverance going through our minds). We quickly headed down the dirt road, anticipating hiking late into the night. About a mile down the road, we heard a diesel pickup truck come up from behind us and slow down to our speed, paralleling just behind us and eventually pulling even with us. As the truck window rolled down, I was afraid to look. We were relieved to see an older couple who were out looking for a Christmas tree, and gratefully accepted a ride back to town.

[CaptainSuburbia]

Last summer I blew a tire driving down 390 on my way to Huron. It was still dark and I was only 1.5 miles from Winfield, so I decided to climb first and fix the tire later. Figured it would be quick and easy. I did the Lulu Gulch route and returned to my truck and started working on the tire. Turns out it was the furthest from easy. I quickly discovered that one of my lug nuts needed a key to loosen. I knew nothing of a key and couldn't find one anywhere. I hitched to Leadville and called my buddy who I was supposed to meet at Little Bear later that night. He said he'd bring some tools to break it off and it shouldn't be a problem. We spent a good hour working on it with no luck and headed for Little Bear leaving my truck. After climbing LB on no sleep, we returned to my truck with some more tools purchased in Salida and still couldn't get the nut off. Even watching YouTube videos didn't help. I stayed in Leadville that night and returned to my truck the next day with another friend and fresh ideas. Still no luck. I stayed another night in Leadville at the Rodeway and hired a tow truck driver the next day. Took him all of 5 minutes to remove the lug and change my tire. He charged me $1200 and said I was getting a deal. I had been stuck in Leadville for 4 days. A week later I found the key in a junk drawer

[JTOlson26]

Left a dome light on in the truck in Lead King Basin, away from the trailhead and across the river. No one was camping in the area when we drove in and setup camp. I quickly realized what I did and tried to start it... dead. We hiked around at like 8pm hoping to see someone near the trailhead, another party happened to arrive sometime after us just down the road and came and jumped us.

I love my 2014 4Runner, but I miss my 1999 4Runner with a 5spd for that reason. Not that I'm trying to drain my battery accidentally, but always felt good knowing in most situations I could at least bump start the old 4Runner.

[markf]

Left a dome light on in the truck in Lead King Basin, away from the trailhead and across the river. No one was camping in the area when we drove in and setup camp. I quickly realized what I did and tried to start it... dead. We hiked around at like 8pm hoping to see someone near the trailhead, another party happened to arrive sometime after us just down the road and came and jumped us.

I love my 2014 4Runner, but I miss my 1999 4Runner with a 5spd for that reason. Not that I'm trying to drain my battery accidentally, but always felt good knowing in most situations I could at least bump start the old 4Runner.

I carry a booster pack for just that reason. It's a lot less work than bump starting, especially if you're traveling alone.