Monday, January 26th, 2026, at 9:45 p.m. (PT), we received a request for help with an offroad recovery in Washington. The requester, Alec Hauck, submitted the following information: “2012 jeep grand Cherokee, V8, AWD. I’m on Lookout Mountain Road right next to Little Lookout Mountain. Stuck in the snow. It got dark and the wet snow froze over before I was able to get off the mountain. Got sucked slightly off the tire rivets on the trail. Tried to use a come along to get back on line but no luck. / 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 had Amir Khalifa, who was engaging and started driving toward Alec around 10:00 p.m. We also contacted Benjamin from WORN, who shared the request with his local volunteers. While we were trying to find volunteers, we suggested Alex try deflating the tires to gain traction.
We received a call from Alex a few minutes later. He had managed to regain traction and was moving away from the place where he had gotten stuck. We immediately contacted Amir, who was already on his way, and he turned around to help.
We want to express our deepest gratitude to the team at WORN for their unwavering support in finding volunteers. Special thanks go to Amir, who took the initiative to drive, even though Alec managed to get out on his own.
Every time we encounter someone stuck in sand, snow, or mud, we suggest various self-rescue techniques. Sometimes, like in this situation, these techniques work, allowing us to assist someone from a distance. Deflating tires increases traction, which can be helpful in many situations for self-recovery.
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