On an unseasonably warm late October Saturday, members of the CORE 4×4 club ventured out to Assateague Island for a beach drive down to the Virginia Border, a 24 mile round trip drive on the sand.
In attendance were:
- Niels Vilstrup, Cecile Sørensen, Kathrine Mønsted – Jeep JK
- Jendra Rambharos and Amanda Wiater – Jeep JKU
- Dawn Keslar – Toyota 4Runner
- Kevin Clasing and Ann Kenney – Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk
Greeting us at the Maryland/Virginia border was a beach house that has seen better days. Weather-beaten and derelict, it was a great example of what a beach house at the far end of a limited access beach, protected by the National Parks Service, would look like after many years.
It was a great run, with numerous sightings of the famous Assateague ponies, both up on the dunes and down by the water.
On our way down, we came across a huge diesel GMC truck that was stuck up to his frame rails in the sand. After he got stuck, he seemed to think more throttle was going to get him out, but instead it just buried him deeper. A Jeep Gladiator was attempting to help, but they did not have the appropriate recovery gear to enact a safe recovery. We quickly stepped in, replaced the tow straps with safer semi-elastic snatch straps, with closed ends, and made another pull attempt by the Gladiator. Unfortunately the truck didn’t budge. I took my jeep around, connected a second snatch strap, and we double-teamed the pull. This time we were successful in getting him out.
Lessons learned: air down properly, always carry a snatch strap, and when you start to bog down, get off the throttle and don’t bury yourself further.
After that we continued down the beach to the border, where we stopped and set up for lunch.
All in all, a great trip with a fun group. My son can’t stop talking about taking the Jeep to the beach, which counts as a win in my book. I’m lucky that these are experiences I can share with him, and seed that sense of adventure in him!
Trail Report courtesy of Jendra Rambharos from his blog. Pictures courtesy of Jendra Rambharos, Amanda Wiater, Cecile Sørensen, Kathrine Mønsted, and Ann Kenney.