The Big Stuck < WrongTurn.com.au

Well, when you wake up fresh and figure, you know what I feel like digging for 2 hours straight, the best thing to do is ignore the locals advice and go have a crack at the trail. And honestly, we had a very good start till we got to the 6km mark, snow, very hard packed snow. I am in 2wd still and as the front tyres touch the snow I decide, no no no, reverse, slick mud doesn’t allow for any movement, engage 4wd, this just causes the ass to slide off the track. Well… now I am committed. I hammer the throttle, we make it 2 car lengths in then high center, where we then proceed to dig, and dig some more, and dig some more, even busted out the traction mats, which I will add, failed immediately. ARB did say they will warranty them in Georgia for me though, so wish me luck when I have a talk with them.

: dig dig dig

: traxs out for help

: it sits perfectly on the skid plates

It is time to deploy the winch, and still dig, as the rocks are either oddly shaped, to light, or to far. Dig, winch, dig, winch. I repeat this process and finally make headway and am able to get close enough to the edge of the snow that there is now a rock reachable using all my winch line, my bridle strap and recovery strap. You may think 40 meters is a lot, but its really not when looking for suitable winching points.

With one last hurrah we exit the snow into the slickest mud yet. I get the wagon spun around, as we have decided not to push any further as I can’t even get half a car into the next snow bank. We stop for one last fake beer. Lined up for the exit, its 4 high, traction aids off and a shit ton of right foot. The car is sooting a lot more than normal for some reason. This appears to be the reappearance of the crack in the intercooler. But only under high boost.

Cut scene, army gear!!!

Okay back to regular programming, its lunch time, I want pork and am struggling to find it where it is not salted beyond my liking. The food is somewhat alright, but we should have copied the truckers as their meal looked heaps better. They had seen me airing up outside and we had a rough conversation before they headed in, so while we were seated, I was offered 2 shots of vodka, after the morning we have had that was a nice touch.

: Airing back up

: These are the best candies you can find!

Pushing on, since it is a small country, we reach the capital Yerevan for the night. Which works well as we need to strip the car and clean everything before storage.