Minor off-road issues that have escalated

Have you ever been in an off-road situation that started out with a minor issue but then it ballooned into a much larger situation?

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I think we’ve all been there. Sometimes these things happen quickly and other times it worsens in slow motion. Maybe it was a stuck that appeared to only need an easy pull but during the recovery your 4x4 changed position in a bad way and it became more complicated. Or maybe it was a seemingly minor mechanical issue that was just a precursor to a much larger problem.

I’ve been in situations where minor problems ballooned in size. That one time above the tree line on a shelf trail in Colorado when the small rockslide turned into a much bigger rockslide. Or that time in New Hampshire on a snow run when a rig broke and then another rig broke, and then another, resulting in some late night/early morning trail welding. Or that time in Alaska when the trail was blocked and backing down the really long, narrow trail was the only option.