Echo Canyon

[Kauri]

Deep sand and deep gravel are similar, but different.  How's that for being concise :-)

From my experience, both lend themselves to airing down, at least at normal speeds.  There is the idea of a sand tire, aired up pretty high, that will allow you to "float" on top of the sand.  This works quite effectively, but we're also talking speeds of some significance.  Sand tires are very different in tread design (virtually none) and shape (rounded profile, no sharp edges).

For normal Death Valley stuff, air down and above all, maintain momentum.  In sand, once you stop, you will have a hard time getting started.  Gravel is slightly more forgiving, in that sometimes, you can "dig" your way out with application of power.  The coarseness of the gravel, combined with an All-Terrain or Mud-Terrain tire tread, allows you to catch the edges of the gravel, and move forward.  Sand is typically so fine that it will shift around the tire, not allowing it to climb out of the hole.  The sharper edges of normal tires can't float, but instead cut into the sand.

Traction boards don't have to be those fancy, pricey things you see on expedition vehicles. They can be simple 4' sections of 3/4" plywood, or even tree branches. a 2' x 2' piece of 3/4" plywood is also really handy to have for a jack base.

Dry lake bed silt/sand is the worst.  I recall a time I came across someone stuck at the edge of a lake bed.  The person should have never been there.  By the time I arrived, he had buried his fully loaded F-150 past the centerline of the rear wheels; the rear bumper was not visible, and he was completely hung up on the frame.  I tried winching him from the road, but it just dragged my Jeep.  Three hours later, we had dug ramps in front of the rear wheels (going backwards was entirely impossible), dug ramps in front of the front wheels.  I knew I had one opportunity.  I hooked a snatch strap to the front of his rig, and had about 15' of slack.  It was not a pretty pull out, but I got him out.  I was 4wd, locked front and rear, and spun all the way back to the road, with the F-150, also 4wd "helping".  The worst part is if he had stopped before he buried it, I could have easily winched him out from the rear.

David Bricker / SYR

Awesome, THANK YOU for the info and advice!!