I took a few pics today in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico, where recent late season snowfall had left the trails in some disarray. The first pic shows my TJU/LJ/whatever after triumphantly conquering one of the many snowbound backcountry trails in the area. Perseverance, a reasonably well-equipped Jeep, and considerable skill and experience brought this off-road effort to a successful conclusion.
Except that's not what happened...
The truth is that all the trails were closed and gated, even though the Jemez Ranger District closure map clearly showed several of the more traveled routes to be open (I checked this morning). Only the paved roads were open, but at least they were well plowed or completely dry. This pic shows the same shot from a greater distance.
Although a serious skeptic would probably find plenty of clues showing the first pic to be a total fabrication (I can pick out several without looking too hard - after all, this was just a spur-of-the-moment opportunity), it is probably good enough, when combined with a reasonably compelling narrative, to convince the average viewer on social media that I did, indeed, have a really fine snow day in my Jeep. I didn't even need to resort to photo manipulation to get the effect I wanted. It is depressingly easy to fake up something that can fool many viewers into believing a completely made-up story. And the world is full of lazy, credulous people who would rather accept a story that fits their preconceptions than make the effort to check out a sketchy narrative. I don't really know why I decided to make my point this way, but I saw the chance and ran with it.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the members of this forum for all the great stories, build threads, how-to tutorials, crackpot comedy and, most of all, the completely accurate and non-misleading photos (right?) of your rigs and the adventures you have with them. As soon as the snow finishes melting I'll be providing a few of my own - no tricks, I promise!
Except that's not what happened...
The truth is that all the trails were closed and gated, even though the Jemez Ranger District closure map clearly showed several of the more traveled routes to be open (I checked this morning). Only the paved roads were open, but at least they were well plowed or completely dry. This pic shows the same shot from a greater distance.
Although a serious skeptic would probably find plenty of clues showing the first pic to be a total fabrication (I can pick out several without looking too hard - after all, this was just a spur-of-the-moment opportunity), it is probably good enough, when combined with a reasonably compelling narrative, to convince the average viewer on social media that I did, indeed, have a really fine snow day in my Jeep. I didn't even need to resort to photo manipulation to get the effect I wanted. It is depressingly easy to fake up something that can fool many viewers into believing a completely made-up story. And the world is full of lazy, credulous people who would rather accept a story that fits their preconceptions than make the effort to check out a sketchy narrative. I don't really know why I decided to make my point this way, but I saw the chance and ran with it.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the members of this forum for all the great stories, build threads, how-to tutorials, crackpot comedy and, most of all, the completely accurate and non-misleading photos (right?) of your rigs and the adventures you have with them. As soon as the snow finishes melting I'll be providing a few of my own - no tricks, I promise!
