Tejon Ranch Hog Hunt- Pig O Rama!
Oops!
Note to those who would be wise — if you're going to Tejon Ranch during the wet season, you'll want a short wheel-base, aggressive tires, and a winch. A long bed, 3/4 ton quad cab truck with standard A/T radials is NOT the optimal vehicle for these steep and rugged roads.
Touchy Predicament-
The hillside on the driver's side doesn't look nearly as steep from the comfort of my desk chair. But trust me, from the driver's seat it was not exactly a comforting view. The muddy ground was so slick I had to hold onto the truck just to stand up.
I had the winch hooked to a tree about 100 feet ahead of the truck and to the left. Unfortunately, any forward movement only made the rear-end slip more to the edge.
Note the orange strap running from the rear of the truck. That strap was tied off to a tree and cinched up with a hi-lift jack to keep the rear of the truck from slipping the rest of the way off the edge. A couple more inches, and the truck would have gone over, probably flipping a time or two on the way down... maybe 100 yards or so to the road below.
Some friends from JHO were finally able to come around and get behind me with their Jeep and a winch. After a few tense minutes, we managed to pull the Silver Monster up the hill and get me back onto flat ground.
The next challenge was to find another way down. This route was completely impassable. The journey down was an adventure in itself, but before that could happen, I went and shot my hog.
By Phillip Loughlin
Copyright 2003 - Elwing Enterprises