Story and images by Dan Grec

When I drove 40,000 miles from Alaska to Argentina I wasn't really into four-wheel driving, and I didn't spec my vehicle to get seriously remote. In fact, the little 2-door Jeep Wrangler I drove was completely stuck, and it took me everywhere I wanted to go. On a few occasions, I was forced to turn back or alter my plans due to my lack of recovery equipment and four-wheel drive experience.

I knew Africa would be a different story, and because I was planning to circumnavigate the entire continent, dealing with the equatorial mud in the Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, and Nigeria was simply not optional. On top of that, I knew I'd encounter river crossings of unknown depth, deep sand in the Sahara, Namib and Kalahari deserts, and of course a hundred scenarios and conditions I couldn't even dream up while planning in North America.

For that reason, I knew my vehicle had to be better equipped for self-rescue, and I had to gain the knowledge and skills to use that equipment. For the latter, I took training courses at Overland Expo and other off-road events, and for the former, I bolted a WARN ZEON 10-S to the front bumper of my Jeep and carried the equipment to increase its versatility like a snatch block, soft shackles, and a flat link.

From the minute I hit nasty road conditions in West Africa, it was evident my Jeep was too heavy. Try as I might to only add light things, it still wallowed from side to side in the endless potholes and mud pits dished up in Senegal, Mali, and Ivory Coast. With endless hours to ponder how I might counter this situation, I often daydreamed about how to shed weight. Besides filling the interior with helium balloons, I struggled to see any solution besides leaving some equipment behind. My mind would often wander to the winch, and though I had yet to put it to good use, I reminded myself I should think of it like an insurance policy. Extremely good to have, and worthwhile even if you never use it.

In just the first hours in the Congo, I knew I made the right decision. The slick and rutted clay was treacherous, and in the no-mans-land between countries, my German friends came within an inch of rolling their extremely heavy Sportsmobile. Using my winch I anchored the Jeep to a small tree, and the Sportsmobile used its WARN winch to move forward extremely slowly so progress could be monitored. Both WARN winches were put to the test in the intense conditions—they'd been underwater all week in the numerous river crossings, the temperature was well over 100 F and the humidity was skyrocketing. Not to mention the extreme dust and vibrations they'd already both been subjected to during just the first 20,000 miles in West Africa.

As the months rolled on I used the winch numerous times to rescue stuck locals, always a fantastic way to break down barriers and receive warm handshakes and invites for food and lodging. While it only took five minutes of effort from me (let's be honest, the winch did all the work), I was saving local men from hours of hard digging and pushing under the always-intense Africa sun.

In remote Uganda, the unthinkable happened and after not using my brain I managed to roll the Jeep onto its side. After only 45 minutes, I was able to right my house on wheels with the support of a nearby tree and some friendly locals. Again, my WARN winch proved absolutely essential, and I gave it a tap of thanks while re-spooling the line—"Good winch."

I shudder to think how many days I would have been stranded if I had not had the winch, not a single other vehicle was within 50 miles.

Less than a week later a freak rainstorm turned an innocuous slope in rural Kenya into a slick ice-skating rink, and in very short order, I slid the Jeep into the ditch beside the road. Happily, I was never in any danger of rolling, though with four-wheel drive out of action thanks to a broken front driveshaft, there was no hope of driving the Jeep out under its own power. With the horribly slick surface, a recovery from a passing vehicle would also have proved difficult or impossible, and a small army would have been needed to push the dead weight out of the ditch.

As I unspooled the winch line, I again couldn't help thinking how reliant on the winch I had become. When the conditions turned nasty, I was extremely happy to have that insurance policy. In short order, the Jeep was out of the ditch, and after carefully reversing down the incredibly slick incline I took the advice of a local farmer and found a different route through his field.

Getting stuck in a local off-road park or when out wheeling with other vehicles is one thing, but getting your entire house stuck while tens of thousands of miles from home is an entirely different—and intense—experience. These memories are so vivid in my mind I'll never again question the value of a quality winch, and I know it will always be one of the first additions to my future overland vehicles, wherever I venture throughout the world.

Because of the WARN ZEON winch, a few minor mishaps along the way didn't derail the whole expedition, and I was able to successfully complete the circumnavigation of the entire content of Africa, exploring the remote corners of 35 unique countries.

For more tales of faraway travels, follow adventurer Dan Grec on Instagram, YouTube, and his website, The Road Chose Me.