Wednesday, May 20th, 2026, at 10:15 a.m. (PT), we received a request for help with an offroad recovery in California. The requester, Shahmeer Syed , submitted the following information: “Bottomed out towards bottom of John Bull, need winching out / I’m with the vehicle / I can help cover the cost of fuel.”
Our administrator, Al Fontan, contacted the requester and verified the contact information provided, GPS location, and current situation before sending the request to local volunteers. In this particular recovery, we contacted volunteers within a 25-mile radius.
From the group of contacted volunteers we got Ramon Aragon marking himself as engaging and taking over the recovery. This recovery arrived around 10 p.m. and by 11:00 p.m. we had Ramon on his way with a 2 hours ETA. He was about 50 miles away but willing to drive the distance.
The recovery was completed very late passed midnight. It went well, with Ramon sending us a quick text: “Just got signal, but he is recovered. He is airing up now. We’re out off the trail on pavement.”
Ramon also sent us a few photos we share down below.
We want to express our sincere gratitude to Ramon for completing such an exceptional job at such an advanced hour and despite the considerable distance involved. Thank you very much!
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