Tuesday, February 24th, 2026, at 10:40 p.m. (PT), we received a request for help with an offroad recovery in Oregon. The requester, Simona Rodriguez Fields, submitted the following information: “The car is stuck on the wall side of a mountain road that leads up to Abiqua falls. The car slid into a soggy portion of the road when we were driving out; and another hiker tired to help but ended up pushing the car more into the mud. Photos included are of the car, and map details of the exact location of the car / 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 15-mile radius.
From the volunteers we contacted, Kaleb Farnsworth volunteered to take over the recovery process. He indicated his engagement and promptly began coordinating a suitable time for the recovery. The request was received late at night, so we coordinated with Kaleb and the requester to attempt recovery in the morning when daylight would be available.
Once the recovery was completed, the ticket was closed at 11:49 a.m. the following morning. Kaleb, was not able to meet with the requester but he was able to move the vehicle out of the mud into a firm location and contacted the requester to give some advice. He later sent us a quick note and some photos we share below.
Kaleb’s note
This is where the vehicle was pulled to, no damage was done to the vehicle, the vehicle was unlocked which made the recovery much easier, I had put it in neutral and pulled from a vehicle tow point, it took us maybe 15 minutes once we were setup to pull it out, it might have been able to get done through self recovery, however it would have taken 2 to 3 times as long due to how far the front and back was into the mud on the side of the road. The customer would have stayed out of this situation of they had grabbed a stick and checked how deep the water was, the edge of the giant puddle was less than 4 inches deep, I was able to walk through it with 8 inch tall boots on the edge area to 3 feet in without getting wet. All in all, it was a super easy recovery, it could have been done with another front wheel drive vehicle and a simple ratchet strap, along with a lot of patience.
I am super glad to have the opportunity to come out and assist with the community! I can’t wait to assist in another recovery!
We want to thank Kaleb for helping in this recovery. Great job!
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