Hey, I tried to get stuck! I very nearly did. But, I took one look at the rocks Ron got stuck on and decided that I’d like to be able to drive home, and well, they were taller than my doorsill! So, I got hung up on something slightly smaller. Things I liked: Portability: I could carry a couple of boards and a bag, and that was enough to get two of the stucks unstuck. No sharp edges: I didn’t need gloves like I usually do with rocks. Even the liner coated ones were OK. No broken fingernails: I almost always have a rock slip out of my hands and take off a nail. Bridging gaps: Instead of having to build a causeway (filling in a gap with rocks) I could bridge it with a board. Most of the spans were at most 1.5 tire “patches” long, so the boards took the weight nicely.
Creative placement: the end of the board could be wedged under a ridge in the rocks and was very secure - see Mike’s photos. Also, there was one place we wedged a little board across a gap in a rock by supporting it from the side with another board! It was very secure. The Welcome Mat: while it didn’t work really well in the dust or on rock, I can see it being very useful in snow, sand or mud where it can sink into a firmer substrate. We did use it for traction on a rock, and it went flying.
Bags of blocks: worked great. Had a tendency to roll under the tire and have to be moved back into position for the rear tires. They worked better with a board.
The new O-Course has some tire placement rocks, some easy rocks, harder rocks, still harder rocks and then the totally impossible rocks that Ron got stuck on. He had 3 tires in the air!
I had a great time, and I hope I didn’t scare Mike too badly! Ellen