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Essential Overland Gear: Tow rope or rescue boards
Rescue boards. The name says it all.
The boards can be used to escape snowy or icy parking lots with just a little digging in the Manzano Mountains, sandy surfaces just off the road in Ojito Wilderness and mini-mud bogs in the Jemez after an overnight sprinkle at a campsite.
The best thing about rescue boards is you can use them as a solo adventurer.
Knockoff boards go for less than $75. Maxtrax, the premium orange rescue boards are priced from about $269. A small version of the Maxtrax work great on minivan campers and have a much smaller foot-print, a must in smaller vehicles with limited storage space.
Don’t forget Rhino USA boards, right, made in the U.S., for $150. For less than $20, traction mats made of soft rubber from Walmart can be lent to people along the road to escape precarious situations along New Mexico Forest Service dirt roads like the ones with soft shoulders leading to the San Pedro Parks Wilderness.
All this rescue gear works in some cases. And when it works, not having to call a tow truck makes it worth its weight in dollars, especially when you don’t have easy access to cellphone service.
Tow-ropes, costing less than $20 from any auto part store, can sometimes do the job of getting your rig unstuck if you are traveling with others and the others have four-wheel drive and hitches. In coming editions, Journal Outside will detail how to self-rescue and what to do when you are caught deep in New Mexico mud season.
Essential Overland Gear: Tow rope or rescue boards
