You Can’t Always Trust your GPS
Shane McAfee, owner of A&A towing, LLC was busy during the recent closure of Highway 95. He told me that he winched out 22 vehicles over 4 weeks. These vehicles belonged to folks that thought that they could get around the closure on Forest Service roads and trails but ended up stuck in the deep snow.
Apparently it was all kinds of people that found themselves needing his services. Whoever they were, they followed their GPS into the mountains hoping to get through, only to get stuck before they got too far. They would then walk back or hike up to get to cell service where they usually called 911. Dispatch would then in turn call Shane and his wrecker. Occasionally, those who ended up stuck had to spend the night in their vehicle waiting for daylight to hike to get signal.
Some of these drivers told Shane that they never saw the signs telling them that the road was closed. ITD had large electronic signs on I-84 in the Boise area as well as at least one more in the Payette area. There were certainly more on the north side of the closure.
Shane’s technique for getting the vehicles out easier was to get there as early as he could in the morning. This way the snow would still be frozen and not soft like it gets in the afternoon. Occasionally he had to walk in to help the stranded drivers as his tow-truck couldn’t get to them.
Yes, as we all know, there are a number of roads through the Payette National Forest that can take you around the closure. However, Google, Apple and the rest didn’t account for it still being winter when 95 was first closed and mid-spring at best when it opened. Meaning there is still plenty of snow on these roads to get stuck in. If it wasn’t snow it would be mud. I checked Google Maps and Apple Maps in the last week of the closure and these platforms were still recommending unsafe routes to get around the closure.
Shane says he doesn’t mind these calls as he loves the outdoors and enjoys spending time in it. He spent 50 years working as an outfitter out of Salmon, Idaho in the River of No Return Wilderness and the Salmon-Challis National Forest. He is also a volunteer fireman with the Indian Valley Rural Fire District.
