Stranded by a Flash Flood while Camping in southern Utah

I once got trapped in a campsite in a West Virginia state forest. A violent thunderburst in the night washed out part of the road and the bridge to the site entrance. I was in a 1981 Chevette, not a truck! This was decades before cell phones and I was by myself. No immediate danger of starvation or no water, so I figured I'd try and hike out either up or down stream, whichever looked more promising once I got near the brook turned torrent. I was all set to go, when I heard a man's voice yelling. It was a trooper on the other side of the washout. Once he ascertained I wasn't hurt or in need of immediate assistance, he managed to attach a logging road map to a piece of wood which he threw over to me. With some minor hitches, I was able to drive out on the logging roads. The only problem was when I came to drainage ditches in the road that had sheet metal planks across them for the width of a logging truck. With a crowbar, I managed to move one over to align with the tires of my Chevette. After driving a short distance past the ditch, it occurred to me I may encounter another and not be so lucky, so I returned and with great effort, got both planks into my car by using the crowbar and part of a tree trunk, which I also took with me. Good thing as I used them twice more before coming out on a numbered paved road. At this point, I took the planks out of the car, took a compass reading to mark the map where they were, and went my way. The next day I saw a state police building, so I stopped in to tell them where the planks were located and thank the officer for giving me the map. I think they were a bit weirded out because they just sort of mumbled thanks and gave me strange looks. In retrospect, I guess it must have been just a bit unusual for a woman driving a beaten up Chevette with NY plates to come in and explain why I had taken two planks of sheet metal and left them in the middle of nowhere!

Glad it all worked out for you, and you seem to recognize the things you did wrong. We all learn through our mistakes, but your situation was deteriorating into an emergency that didn't need to happen. It was smart to check the riverbed, and the flat rocks were a good idea, but unless you were going to miss a plane, I'm not sure why you jeopardized your truck and your life to get out of there. Even if more rain was coming, the highway was literally right there, and you could have gotten help easily. Your truck would have been fine if you had to leave it for a day or two. I've been an outdoorsman in NM, UT and CO my entire life, and camped in similar situations. I have a very capable vehicle, I check my equipment and recovery gear frequently, and pack more food and water than I need. And I always wear boots in the desert! Thanks for the video. That was some beautiful country you were stuck in!

I have a big smile on my face after watching the video. Well done. Very entertaining and such a nice guy dave

11:08 - Shit! The camera wasn't on. Now I've got to go back and do it again!

"I came very well prepared." Nope. No food. No tools. Walking around in sandals. Good example of how not to go camping. You need to get an emergency kit together so that anytime you're more than 20 feet from a paved road, you can survive for a while. 2 weeks of MREs, water bottles, coat, hiking boots, first aid kit, etc. Lots of good places on the web with checklists for a survival kit as well as tutorials on basic survival. And always recheck your survival gear before going out into the back country. Check the weather before you go out. Chance of thunderstorms = flash flood possibility. I spent 5 years as a meteorologist in the Army in New Mexico and have seen too many flash floods. But I never got caught in one. Maybe you could take a course in basic meteorology even if it's just a tutorial on the web. The knowledge is invaluable. I carry about a month's worth of MREs and canned food in the back of my car year round. Winter sees me with blankets and coats, as well as other survival stuff. And it makes no difference that I live near Boston. If I slide off the road in the winter, I'm well prepared to survive a while. I learned desert survival in New Mexico, cold weather survival in Alaska, and jungle survival in Panama. I've had incidences happen that would have killed me if I hadn't been prepared. Once I got stuck in a conversion van on an unpaved snowy road in Alaska at 40 below zero, miles from anything. But I didn't panic. I got out easily because I had a 5,000 pound pull winch installed under the bed in the back! I hooked it to some trees to swing the back end of the van around and then drove out. Please be more prepared the next time you go out.

An epic camping adventure within eyeshot of the highway... more people should consider staying home on the east coast. This fella is a shut in.

Wow! That was scary. I really cannot imagine being in that situation. I'm impressed by how you kept calm, did not panic and came up with a plan to get out of there. I for sure would have panicked!!! I'm glad you got out safe.

OMG, thank you for this video! Funniest thing I've seen in a long time. I really needed that! Genius.

You are a bigger threat to yourself than any storm. I wiah you luck in eventually recognizing this,

I have a 2004 Heritage F-150 4x4 same design as yours , I fly through the muddy back roads of Vermont in spring in deep muddy trenches up to the half way point on the wheels shooting from one side of the sloppy road to the other..these Fords are unstoppable !

If one has a 2WD or 4WD without posi-track, it is good to apply the emergency brake, which will keep both rear wheels driving creating a posi track during slow speed driving, works well for snow and ice as well.

Nice little adventure film! It's a good reminder that you never know when fate will toss you a curve ball.

Great video. I’m glad you thought things through and succeeded. It’s moments like this that make you go out and buy a winch and upgrade your tires at a minimum. Good job.

When the roadbase is soft, make a more solid base. Good thinking. I really wanted to talk shit, but I've gotten myself into plenty of stupid situations.

believe it or not - your E-brake helped you get traction. It kept equal drag to both rear wheels allowing for equal traction on both sides. Even with a limited slip one wheel will still brake free, especially with warn clutches. Cool video - glad you made it out safely.

You was soooo lucky to be able to get out of there. I saw the danger from the beginning.

I got stuck in a canyon in Arizona. One of the girls broke her ankle and the canyon was too steep to carry her out. We had descended down some waterfalls to get where we were at so there was no going back. Search and Rescue came and got us four days later. We had water purification tabs and barely enough food.

Oh! The panic-stricken face! lol

Indeed, an amazing campsite :)

For a learner on his own without a phone, you didn't panic yourself silly etc. A great teachinging video for those not so quite in the know. For all the "experts" not out there with you . . . . not everyone has the experience, money, gear, vehicles, buddies or ph. Again, excellent teaching from a game loner! Thank you.