Yesterday we were chasing autumn colours again, and took a minor road into the mountains. But this one turned out to be very minor indeed, very narrow and impossible to turn around. There were steep drop offs to the left and we were feeling quite uncertain.
And then disaster! The left back wheel slid into a washout on the side of the road, where there was a 15-30m steep slope before the first trees. As the back of the car dropped we had a very adrenalin filled moment before it stopped. I believe my exact words were "(censored)".
We climbed out very carefully (and surprisingly quickly) through the driver's door. The back wheel was deeply in the ditch, and the right front wheel was off the ground. The right back wheel was gripping the road by the corner of its tread less than half a meter from the edge which had already collapsed. The diff was on the ground.
The first thing we did was use the winch to steady the front by attaching to a tree, and manually tightening it as well as possible.
We were very afraid that if we tried winching it the back would slide around and both back wheels would be off the ground and the whole vehicle could go over the edge. In any event we couldn't access the winch controller because it was in the downhill side locker.
The situation we were in was very precarious, with a real risk of the vehicle tipping and rolling down the slope. We were on a very remote track, and hadn't seen another vehicle on this track. It would be a long walk to any people. It was getting dark and the temperature was dropping. We were both shivering. We could not access the camper because it was hanging over the drop off, so we only had the clothes we had in the front of the vehicle. We had no accessable torches or lighter for a fire. And it was bear country. (We had contingency plans for bears but they all involved getting into the vehicle and driving away!
But did have a satellite distress beacon -our Delorme Inreach device. It had been tracking us as usual, but we decided to use it to get help. This was of course the only time we had ever needed it. So I sent an SOS.
Within a short time (minutes only) our SOS had been acknowledged and we were asked for details of our emergency. After a return text message we were told that Division 1 of Japanese police had been notified, and that they were contacting local police, and then that local police had our position and would respond. We may have the dubious distinction of being the first EC owners to use an SOS satellite beacon!
It took more than an hour for the police to arrive, but we later realised that that was the driving time from their station to our site. So in fact it was a swift response. The three policemen questioned us, took lots of photos, searched the accessable parts of the vehicle (for drugs?), and kept asking us if we were military! They communicated with us via an interpreter on the phone. (Their phones had reception but we don't have a phone in Japan due to some Japanese regulation. )
They said they could not do anything about stabilising the rear of the vehicle and that we would return in the morning. They offered us couches in the police station for the night, and a very restless and worry filled night ensued!
In the morning an English speaking police officer took us under his wing. He contacted a "vehicle rescue company". After checking that we had enough money to pay them the tow truck arrived. It was much smaller and lighter than our EC so we were not too optimistic that it could do the job.
By the time we arrived on site we felt sick with anticipation of what we might find -perhaps the vehicle suspended by the winch half away down the slope? However she was still in the same position when we did arrive. The police immediately scrambled along the bank and emptied our left back locker, locating the winch controller. The tow truck operator rigged his winch via a tree onto the strong point shackled on our tow bar. He then operated both winches together preventing the tail from swinging down the slope. It was slowly and skilfully done and soon Matilda had all four wheels on the road! I felt like kissing that small man and actually blew him a kiss which had the effect of driving him away!
The rescue cost us $400 for the tow truck and nothing for the police. They are public servants we were told! Fabulous!
The effect on us was to make us considerably more cautious about taking some of the narrow bush tracks in Japan! We felt like staying around urban areas for awhile. So after an afternoon catching up on sleep we went to a resturaunt with live shamisen music. This is traditional Japanese music played on a three stringed instrument.
We had a lovely evening and slept in the car park nearby, thus allowing Joe to have a sake to settle his nerves. (There is 0 alcohol permitted in drivers in Japan so he can't drink if we have to drive on.) It was the restorative evening that we needed!
Scary stuff! Glad there was a happy ending!
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