How long before the stress sets in when things go pear shape??...

Yeah, like you, Axle, I can't relax when something is wrong and I know I can fix it. Or if I don't know what the cause is.

Tend to deal with the problem and while I'm doing that, navigator makes a brew and/or snack for afterwards to "calm down a bit" :-)

Cheers

Hi Axle,

Definitely time to relax when the pear comes.
The first minutes or hours may be crucial to a positive result, so give a bit of time to think about things a bit first.

There's that saying "fools rush in where others fear to tread"

I think it is important to always look at the problem at hand and have a good hard think about the problem and how best to approach any given situation

eg: In remote sand driving, the old man used to tell me "if I start getting stuck on big dunes, I'll pull up for the day, have a quiet brew or two and tackle them in the morning when the sand is damp"

These days I have the HF, Sat Phone and, if life threatening, EPIRB, spare water & Katedyn and about a weeks worth of food, so think I have most bases covered

I know where you are coming from Axle. What I am finding is that as I very rapidly close in on my 7th decade of being on this Earth, is that I need twice as long to solve problems that are half as bad. They seem to take on "bigger than Ben Hur" proportions at first glance..
It sort of forces me to sit down, calm down and try to think my way through.
It is very hard to take Jack Absolom's advice when a problem is gnawing away at the back, front and both sides of one's mind.

Cheers
Pop

I just sit back and think .... "What would Lassie do??" .....

She'd run home with a note for help, of course .... [;-)

Naturally, with my luck - she'd run straight under the water tank, and chew it up, before anyone read it .... [:-(

Cheers, Ron.

Old Jack, what a character :)

Great advice but not always so easy to do. A bit of discipline.....

Like you, I can't sit back until things are fixed.

Robert M Pirsig gave the best piece of advice in his book

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance"

The gist of it is...

When confronted with a seemingly impossible fix in the middle of nowhere with the elements about to unleash on you - change your mindset.
step back and tell yourself - "This is the best thing that could have happened today".
Really changes your attitude and lets your creative side out to solve the problem. No need for that cuppa.

You really have to read the book.

I can only say that I always take this approach and have found some amazing solutions to problems I have had to deal with on the road.

We recently had a pear shaped moment on the mud flats on Lorella Springs.
After a quick assessment we tried a few things that had minor benefits. We watched the sunset, snapped the dyneema winch rope and it was obvious we weren't getting out of there quickly.
I suggested my better half light a fire aand put on the billy. It wasn't just for the cup of tea but so she had something to do that we were actually going to benefit from.
Making the cuppa might be for the benefits of the cup of tea as well as a chance to sit down and let your mind reassess where your at.

Just my thought.

Steve