Although certainly not as dangerous as Tale 1, this was another recent outdoor event I suffered through. I was going out turkey hunting on opening day here in Utah. I took my '94 Jeep YJ and planned to climb up a dirt road in Wasatch Mountain State Park, which I have done many times. I had my trusty black lab and his camoflaged kennel. Most people don't bring their hunting dogs for turkey hunts, but it can be done as long as the dog can sit in the kennel or behind a blind quietly. They don't help with anything, other than companionship. ( I guess if a bird wasn't hit well, they could be useful for tracking.)
Anyway, I got the Jeep on the dirt road and as soon as I hit the steepest part, BAM, my driveshaft U - joint broke. The Jeep wasn't rolling back, so I set the brake and hopped out to check it out. The left rear tire had wedged up on a big rock, which was great for checking things out, without worrying about the Jeep getting away. I looked underneath and sure enough the driveshaft was hanging down. I called my buddy, Scott, who has been a victim and rescuer in many of my misadventures. He was at work and I explained the situation. He asked, "should I start heading that way/" Having so much experience with misadventure at that point, I just replied. "yeah you better," knowing it was going to be another
Scott started making his way about an hour back from work to retrieve my pickup. In the meantime, I decided to see if I could roll the Jeep back down a bit to turn it around and maybe roll it further down the hill. I strapped up the driveshaft with a ratchet strap and got ready. The trick was that I didn't think the E brake would hold on that steep section, so I planned to hop in and get control. I kicked out the rock under the wheel, and tried to jump in the diriver's seat but I wasn't doing so well. Fortunately, the rock slid down along with the Jeep and wedged itself again under the tire, stopping the Jeep. So anyway the Jeep was wedged up good this time so, no point in a second try. I know it was dumb to try in the first place, but I'm full of bad decisions.
My pup and I walked down to the main road and waited for Scott and he soon arrived in my Chevy Colorado ZR2, with 2.8 liter diesel. This is the truck I should have selected in the first place. When we got back to the Jeep, I hopped in and Scott dug out and pried the rock, until the Jeep was free. I rolled it down a little bit to a point where I turned in so we could get it turned around. We hooked up the tow strap and yanked it around. Once that was done, I rolled the Jeep most of the way down the road, then we towed it the rest of the way to my house.
Anyway, this was a driveshaft that was just rebuilt two months earlier, so I called the shop and after some discussion, they agreed to get it towed back, where they fixed it again free of charge. And, no, I did not hit the driveshaft on a rock.
'i went back to the area a few days later to scout a bit for a better spot to setup for hunting and as I was tromping around, I came across a partial turkey wing. Then coming down from that spot, I found an immature moose with his throat ripped open and his guts eaten out. Figuring a Cougar (the real kind, not the bar fly kind) active in the area, I gave up on this spot for further Turkey hunting.