Getting out, and not needing to
What to carry, what to check before you leave pavement, and how a recovery goes wrong. Written by people who pull each other out, not by instructors.
If somebody is hurt, call 911 first.
Injury, a vehicle in moving water, or anything in a traffic lane is an emergency call, not a recovery request. We are volunteers with trucks. Nobody is on shift and nobody is obliged to come.
We are volunteers, not professionals.
Nobody here is a certified recovery operator, a mechanic or a medic unless they tell you they are, and we do not check. This is what the group has learned, offered freely. It is not training, not a standard, and not a substitute for hiring somebody who does this for a living.
When you are the one stuck
What to do first, and what happens after you ask.
Doing a recovery without hurting anyone
The short list of things that actually hurt people.
What to carry
The things that turn a bad afternoon into an inconvenience.
Before you go
Five minutes at home that decide how the night goes.
Trail etiquette
How trails stay open.
Weather and conditions
The two things that change a Texas trail overnight: water and heat.