Interesting Pismo Beach Trip / Report
Just got back from another great weekend at Pismo / Oceano Dunes. This is my fourth time this year and so I have some confidence in how to get to the campsites. This time was a little different though...
I misread the tide tables, thinking that high tide was going to be on the low side of high. Turns out I was wrong. We arrived to the beach by 11:30pm with high tide at 1:30am. We started to air down the tires in the pull off area and as everything was dark, was surprised when a couple of waves got to within a few feet of the truck. Now I don't have 4WD, just 2WD with the duallys. I've only gotten stuck once (my first time visiting and because I hadn't aired down enough). Having success in the past doesn't mean I won't eventually run into a problem and this time I early did....
We hopped in the truck and headed down the beach, watching the waves trying to thread a line on the hard pack sand while avoiding the soft sand on the left and the water on the right. Thankfully the creak wasn't flowing much so crossing it was uneventful but further down got interesting. There was a travel trailer that was turned sideways along the beach and the truck was buried in the sand. I think he was trying to turn inland and got stuck just as he hit the softer sand. We stopped a few hundred yards away so my buddy could ride up on the ATV and scout it out while I finished airing down the tires.
My friend came back and told me the trailer was completely stuck 90 degrees perpendicular to the water and the only way around was to time the waves and go closer to the water. I proceeded with gritted teeth and a clinched behind to drive down towards the trailer, keeping an eye on the soft sand and trying to time my arrival to the trailer as the waves were receding. Luck was on my side for this part, as I made it around with perfect timing! I didn't even take a sec to see how stuck this guy was. Murphy than started to make his presence known as just on the other side of the trailer and hidden from me was a patch of soft sand and a pickup that was stopped right in my path! If I turned to go on the inside of him I would have been stuck in a pile of soft sand with my trailer sitting below the water line and another hour of rising tide such that I might have been digging out from the water. Stopping behind the truck wasn't an option either as there was a slight rise to the soft sand so loosing all my momentum would have made it nearly impossible to getting going. I made a quick judgement call and swerved down lower on the beach near the now returning waves. I gave her some more juice, being mindful to not get the tires spinning and cruised by the stuck truck just as a smaller wave came up and met me. Thankfully, it was just a small one that hit the front right wheel and nothing much else. I didn't even have time to look back, I just kept rolling until we got far enough up the beach to where we usually turn in and head towards are usual camp location.
After turning inland, we drove in a couple of hundred yards before parking. Destination reached sometime close to midnight! My next task was to rinse off the front wheel well with some fresh water just for precaution. I also did a full rinse down and washing when I got back home.
Other than that eventful arrival, everything else went great and we had a fantastic time (and beautiful weather) for the rest of the weekend.
A couple of notes... Even though I don't have 2WD, the dually aired down gives a fantastic amount of traction. Just keep a steady foot on the throttle and avoid wheel spin and she will do fine. I will also be keeping a closer look in the tide tables.
I misread the tide tables, thinking that high tide was going to be on the low side of high. Turns out I was wrong. We arrived to the beach by 11:30pm with high tide at 1:30am. We started to air down the tires in the pull off area and as everything was dark, was surprised when a couple of waves got to within a few feet of the truck. Now I don't have 4WD, just 2WD with the duallys. I've only gotten stuck once (my first time visiting and because I hadn't aired down enough). Having success in the past doesn't mean I won't eventually run into a problem and this time I early did....
We hopped in the truck and headed down the beach, watching the waves trying to thread a line on the hard pack sand while avoiding the soft sand on the left and the water on the right. Thankfully the creak wasn't flowing much so crossing it was uneventful but further down got interesting. There was a travel trailer that was turned sideways along the beach and the truck was buried in the sand. I think he was trying to turn inland and got stuck just as he hit the softer sand. We stopped a few hundred yards away so my buddy could ride up on the ATV and scout it out while I finished airing down the tires.
My friend came back and told me the trailer was completely stuck 90 degrees perpendicular to the water and the only way around was to time the waves and go closer to the water. I proceeded with gritted teeth and a clinched behind to drive down towards the trailer, keeping an eye on the soft sand and trying to time my arrival to the trailer as the waves were receding. Luck was on my side for this part, as I made it around with perfect timing! I didn't even take a sec to see how stuck this guy was. Murphy than started to make his presence known as just on the other side of the trailer and hidden from me was a patch of soft sand and a pickup that was stopped right in my path! If I turned to go on the inside of him I would have been stuck in a pile of soft sand with my trailer sitting below the water line and another hour of rising tide such that I might have been digging out from the water. Stopping behind the truck wasn't an option either as there was a slight rise to the soft sand so loosing all my momentum would have made it nearly impossible to getting going. I made a quick judgement call and swerved down lower on the beach near the now returning waves. I gave her some more juice, being mindful to not get the tires spinning and cruised by the stuck truck just as a smaller wave came up and met me. Thankfully, it was just a small one that hit the front right wheel and nothing much else. I didn't even have time to look back, I just kept rolling until we got far enough up the beach to where we usually turn in and head towards are usual camp location.
After turning inland, we drove in a couple of hundred yards before parking. Destination reached sometime close to midnight! My next task was to rinse off the front wheel well with some fresh water just for precaution. I also did a full rinse down and washing when I got back home.
Other than that eventful arrival, everything else went great and we had a fantastic time (and beautiful weather) for the rest of the weekend.
A couple of notes... Even though I don't have 2WD, the dually aired down gives a fantastic amount of traction. Just keep a steady foot on the throttle and avoid wheel spin and she will do fine. I will also be keeping a closer look in the tide tables.
