On Trail Gear and Trail Assistance
I have been talking with friends and co-workers, hearing about some of the trails and errors on the trail.
Thought I would post a bit on my take on being a good trail companion.
First and foremost..
When the going gets tight, someone gets in a tough spot, or looks like they are going to be in trouble and quick. KEEP YOUR HEAD. Don't get all freaked out, because if you get freaked out and lose YOUR head, then they are going to get really freaked out and might get themselves or someone else hurt.
I know some don't take high stress situations well, some do. I seem to be the latter, which is nice. You can learn to deal with high stress situations, which is just a good thing in general anyway. If you are one that gets edgy or freaks out, figure out how to deal with high stress situations, when you are calm, you can help keep THEM calm. If everyone is freaking out no one will be able to do anything really constructive.
Second
Know your gear.
Know what you have, where it is, what it can do. WHAT IS WAS DESIGNED TO DO AND IT?S LIMITS ARE!!!!!!!
You cannot help if you do not know any of this by heart.
If you have to stop and think "Can my winch handle that pull?" "Where is my strap, jack, winch controller?" Then you are going to slow everything up at best and cause a more problems at worse.
Have heard a lot on synthetic line (I myself have Masterpull on my winch) and people say it is no good because you cannot drag it across rocks and such. You shouldn't drag ANY winch rope over jagged rocks, but yes the synthetic stuff will break a lot easier on jagged stuff if not protected. If you have then make sure you have and know how to use chafe guards (these can be as cheap as tubular webbing or as fancy as wrap around ones with Kevlar and such in their design. Heck even a stout jacket or coat could work in a pinch, just practice safe winching and recovery habits when you need to either help someone to either right them from a flip or flop or to keep the from flipping or flopping, cause you might break your gear, but they might break their neck or some other body part. So just pay attention and use some common sense.
Third
Learn how to communicate.
Agree on trail commands, verbal and hand signals, whatever.
If you need a spotter or will be providing spotter assistance. Make sure you know who is the spotter, nothing worse then a newbie asking for assistance and getting 20 people telling them a dozen different things. And if you are going to be the spotter, do try and have a clue as to what you are telling them, if you are in doubt, and someone else knows the trail or obstacle better. Don't get all macho and territorial, just allow the person with more knowledge and experience spot them thru.
Same goes for the flip side. If you don't know that you can make it or are unsure of the line. Ask for some assistance, it does not mean your an idiot or a pussy, just means you have some common sense. Heck most trails just take a bit of common sense to get thru, take a minute if you need to and find your line. But if you do, ask someone to spot you or lend their experience to your route, sometimes you might have to be VERY specific when asking for help or you may end up with a dozen people trying to give you advice and direction (which can REALLY suck).
And on trail communications gear. If you need something fast to make a run, fine buy what you can. But if you have the time and maybe money as well. Do your research, ask advice, look around. Find a GOOD radio. I am not talking broadcast quality, but a rig that will allow you to communicate clearly and easily. You can have the best communication skills and have any and all signals agreed on, but it doesn't matter if no one can hear or understand you. It doesn't cost that much or take that much time to get good gear. I myself have a Cobra 29LTD, older radio, but it works very good, is clear and holds up to all the bouncing my jeep can throw at it. There have been a ton of debates on this radio and that as to which is better, most is user preference. And you can have the best radio and it is all crap without a decent antenna system, the venerable 102" whip is probably the easiest choice, they work great when properly installed, hold up to a TON of abuse and cost very little. Fiberglass whips (Firestick type) work well too, I have a 2 foot long one, shorter the my cage so it stays out of the trees on tight trails and doesn't flop a lot.
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