Patty and I went on an outing with our local jeep club to a canyon about 20 minutes from home. It turned out to be a reasonably challenging run. We had ridden this trail on our ATV's but it looked a LOT different from behind the wheel of a jeep. We were truly thankful for the group leaders who "spotted" us through.
The job of a "spotter" is to watch your wheels and keep you on the straight and narrow. The driver generally picks his own "line", but the details are out of sight once they're under his vehicle. A few inches one way or another can make a difference in whether the vehicle remains upright, and sometimes the driver can't "feel" what is (or is not) under the tires.
Our jeep went in relatively unscathed; no body damage; just a number of dents on the skid plates. By the time we finished this run we had to bend a few parts back into position and we still have dimple in our bumper that needs attention. It takes a different mindset to look at a new car that way, but "that's jeeping". Look at the smile on Patty's face, and she wasn't even driving - this time!
