What have you seen on the trail? What kind of trouble have you encountered

That's kind of like when you call your insurance agent to tell him that you hit an animal.
… "What kind of animal?"
… "A fish"

Last summer I was on the Old Nipissing Road and Colonization Trail when I came across a picturesque opening and camp site next to a small lake. There were 3 pickup trucks, 2 tents and a beautiful early 20's blonde in a bikini all by herself. I instinctively stopped to say "hi" and she freaked out. She calmed down when my wife, who she didn't see sitting in the passenger seat, leaned forward and waved.

About 5 minutes later a deer jumped out of the bush about 3 car lengths in front of us. This is the second year in a row that this has happened. I told my wife if we slowed down we might see some bears. She calmly put her arm inside of the half doors … like that would have helped.
Anytime I find a pretty young lass in a bikini when I'm out Jeepin' it's a gooood day. Know what the wife calls a tent? A bear "sandwich baggie". Not sure I disagree, though we've never had a problem...yet.
 
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Anytime I find a pretty young lass in a bikini when I'm out Jeepin' it's a gooood day. Know what the wife calls a tent? A bear "sandwich baggie". Not sure I disagree, though we've never had a problem...yet.
We spent 2 weeks up on the Rubicon in tents. They have a population of bears and anything edible is kept in bear proof enclosures at the Springs. One of our group slept in what we called a bear burrito. Soft on the outside, a bit crunchy on the inside.
https://www.campingcomfortably.com/kamp-rite-original-tent-cot-with-rainfly.html
 
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What kind of tools/equipment has been the most useful and what kind of repairs have been needed?

Go on a few club runs, most groups have a minimum set of required equipment which is a great starting point. A winch in NEVER on the list.

Here is a great example:
https://justruns.com/test/813-2/

Ronny Dahl has some great videos on the subject if you are a visual person:

Seriously, forget the winch until you have everything on both of these lists.
 
We spent 2 weeks up on the Rubicon in tents. They have a population of bears and anything edible is kept in bear proof enclosures at the Springs. One of our group slept in what we called a bear burrito. Soft on the outside, a bit crunchy on the inside.
https://www.campingcomfortably.com/kamp-rite-original-tent-cot-with-rainfly.html
That's a good point. No food or food smells in the tent. Not Just for bears. Our bears are shy and lazy. Raccoons go nuts chasing food smells. Raccoons are smart too. And destructive. That's funny, bear burrito. I've seen those at Cabelas in town. Do they work? Hammoks are getting really popular around here now. Lot's of add on stuff for those to make them work. Over quilts, under quilts, Bivvy covers, the list is endless. David at work has more into his hammok setup than I do in my Marmot tent, sleeping bag and sleeping related gear. Says it works though.
 
New bear door installed by Blackie
new bear door.jpg
 
On top of gear, in my mind It's not a bad idea of getting a Technical ham radio license, getting a VHF and knowing your local repeaters in case you need to call for help. I know in NorCal there's pretty active recovery group where people drive a long way to help out other 4x4s.
 
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On top of gear, in my mind It's not a bad idea of getting a Technical ham radio license, getting a VHF and knowing your local repeaters in case you need to call for help. I know in NorCal there's pretty active recovery group where people drive a long way to help out other 4x4s.
What is the law regarding use of a unlicensed ham radio in the event of an emergency?
 
What is the law regarding use of a unlicensed ham radio in the event of an emergency?

If life or property is at risk you can use any frequency without the proper license

I also have an emergency beacon (PLB) that connects to satellites that I use when I go hiking/backpacking. If activated it broadcasts my gps with sos to official S&R if I ever get into deep shit. That just needs registration with noaa (I believe it uses their satellites)
 
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A good quality first aid kit
Water, or a way to properly make it safe for consumption (thousands of options)
A trip plan prior to leaving
Beer
Mammal flesh to char on the flame pit
The wife and kids
Fishing poles

Recovery gear, traction boards, and shovels along with my winch. Most times I can get out with the boards before stringing out the winch.
The high ends boards have a shovel side built into them so that would eliminate carrying one.

These items are for my style of jeeping. I dont harcore off of rocks and things like some here. I also change my load out depending on where I'm headed. But that's the basics.
 
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I blew up my rear u-joint straps and dropped my rear drive shaft. Had I had a spare set of straps I probably could've salvaged the u-joint and gotten out of there with all 4 wheels. As it was I had to turn around and limp out with only front wheel drive. There were a few hills to climb on the way out and it was challenging with only the front wheels spinning.

What I really learned though was more about my own driving skills. It was a steep rocky hill climb and I panicked a bit. Gunned it in first gear, 4-low and about half way up - POW! Clearly a wrong gear/skinny pedal mistake. Backing down that hill and turning around on the trail with no power to the rear was also a little challenging.
 
A good quality first aid kit
Water, or a way to properly make it safe for consumption (thousands of options)
A trip plan prior to leaving
Beer
Mammal flesh to char on the flame pit
The wife and kids
Fishing poles

Recovery gear, traction boards, and shovels along with my winch. Most times I can get out with the boards before stringing out the winch.
The high ends boards have a shovel side built into them so that would eliminate carrying one.

These items are for my style of jeeping. I dont harcore off of rocks and things like some here. I also change my load out depending on where I'm headed. But that's the basics.

The only thing I would add to this is sharing the trip plan with someone else - who isn’t on the trip, just in case. An alternative would be a GPS tracker with an SOS feature (Spot, garmin, etc), but a decent radio may be enough unless a situation is dire.