Trail Etiquette: Always watch your back

[WrenchMonkey]

We had a great time at Rush two weeks ago, but there were a couple of points discussed at the club meeting afterward that deserve reposting here, for more attention.

One is the need for better trail communication, whether that's CBs, or two-ways, or whatever. that's being discussed (at length) in another thread (http://www.cincyoffroad.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11951).

This thread is meant to be a reminder of the "Watch Your Six" rule: Always, always keep an eye on the rig behind you, keep him in your mirror. If he stops, you stop. We never want to leave anyone behind in the woods.

Saturday evening at Rush, we made a clear decision to split the group on the way to HardCORE. But there were several times through the weekend, when someone had mechanical issues, or struggled with an obstacle, only to have the group ahead just ride off into the sunset. At one point, I had to go back and find Jeff, broken down and alone in the woods, because he just fell off the end of the line. That is not good.

So always watch the guy behind you. If the group is too big and progress too slow (like it did get to be Saturday), we can always split into smaller groups, and usually will. But that has to be communicated and agreed upon. We never just leave anyone behind.

Thanks.

[blazerbrad]

In addition to always keeping the person behind you in site, is there is some responsibility to keep up with the person in front of you. I think we have all been on a trailride where the person behind you is really slow, decides to dive into that optional mud hole along the side of the trail, or simply decides to stop and watch the bunnies.

[Waffle]

Waiting at forks in the trail-

Its all about watching out for the one behind you. If you come to a split in the trail, wait until you see the rig following you, then continue on your way. Not doing so leads to groups getting split apart and everyone trying to backtrack to find each other leading to more forks and more potential for being lost. Most of all, it leads to wasted trail time and adds unnecessary frustration for those that don't know which way to go.

[jeepmanjeff]

I concur with all that has been said. It is a must to not leave someone stranded. We all go in and we all come out.

[93 Krawler]

There's nothing like being blinded and having your retina burned out by someone's light bar. When passing others on the trail, I always turn my LED's off so they can see. I wish everyone would do this. The main reason I put the 30" light bar on my rig was to blind them back if they didn't turn theirs off.

[WrenchMonkey]

Bumping this for attention. Seems it was an issue at Harlan, and discussed at the meeting that we could all use a reminder...