High Mountain Driving – part 5

High Mountain Driving – part 5

By Jerry Smith

Director of Environmental Affairs for the United Four Wheel Drive Associations

Wrong Interpretations of Trail Difficulty

Many trails have been described hundreds of times in many places.  Trail information is on Facebook, the Wells’ books, people you talk to, and a ton of other places.  What they don’t describe is the commenter’s experience level and competence behind the wheel.

The differences between one description and another can be the difference between driving a Mini Cooper and flying a 747.

Like I said before, each of us has a level of expertise that we will achieve for learned skills.  It’s like being a carpenter.  Most of us can drive a nail with a hammer, but most of us could not build a house to code.  There are differing levels of being an expert carpenter.

Because there are so many descriptions of the same trail, my recommendation is to take the worst level of difficulty you hear and the easiest level of difficulty you hear and consider somewhere in the middle a fair assessment.  Having done that, take into consideration your off-highway driving experience and the capability of the vehicle you will be driving.  One last thing is to apply your level of fear of heights or if you have passengers often, their fears and trepidation.

Now you may have some idea of whether a certain trail is within your capability or not.  Asking people who know the trails well and you are familiar with their wheeling expertise can also be a confidence booster.

I have known drivers for years that I swear haven’t improved their abilities in the slightest.  They just show up and drive like it was another Sunday going to the mall.  Others I have watched began as total newbies and within two or three trips you start seeing them learning and excelling.  One I can think of is very quick at picking up on little things to improve on her driving.

People like me are probably too anal about the tiniest little things.  We mentally measure every rock on the road.  We observe the air pressure in someone’s tires and how the particular tire works in different situations and on the various terrains.  How a driver works the throttle or responds to a spotter are other little things we scrutinize.  There is nothing that isn’t important.

I admit to being in the super anal driving clan.  On the one hand, it’s a good thing to be aware.  On the other hand, let’s just say people like me need to know when to hold their tongue and keep their advice to themselves.  It can be easy to insult others telling them every move to make.

One Last Thing

The “Rule of Thumb” you’ll hear a lot about in wheeling the backcountry is that uphill traffic has the right-of-way. Though that is the rule, rules can be and are broken all the time.  There will be times when meeting others on a narrow trail that breaking this rule makes far more sense.

Let’s say you are alone climbing a long, steep, narrow stretch of road and encounter two or more vehicles coming down.  There is no room to pass and they say there were no wide spots behind them for a long distance and there was one behind you not too far down the road.  Do you insist that they back up for a long-distance or give in and back downhill to the wide area?

In most instances, you should be the one in reverse.

Now comes some advice you really need to know, so please pay attention.  There are plenty of people who will tell you all kinds of reasons you don’t want to back downhill.  99% of those reasons are BS!!

The reason is that while backing downhill, stopping can be very difficult and unpredictable. The weight transfer causes the braking to be mostly on the rear axle and it is designed to be the secondary braking axle. The weight on the front axle will unload and lose traction (steering AND braking ability) and the vehicle may turn uncontrollably. On a steep, narrow gravel road, that is about as dangerous as it gets.

Even with all that, there are times when backing down to yield the right of way is the prudent thing to do. In that case, back down VERRRRY slowly. Maintain control so you may stop safely at a very short distance.  You may hear some derogatory jeers about your speed but ignore them.  Keep your vehicle under control… period!!  It will be no hair off them if you go over the side.

There you have it.  I hope I have made a strong impact on your thinking about mountain driving being just like any other.  There are other things I could add, but if you understand what has been said here and try your best to use this knowledge, chances are you will do well in our Rocky Mountain High Country. 

Many Happy Trails to you and never forget what Yogi Berra said; “When you come to a fork in the road… take it!”