Jeep Grand Cherokee Stuck on Remote Alaskan Trail Needed a Black Hawk Helicopter Airlift

If you go off-road, there's always a chance you're going to get stuck. That's why winches are one of the first mods four-wheelers make to their rigs. That said, a winch can't always save you from wandering 16 miles down a treacherous Alaskan trail in your mostly stock, first-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee without so much as a suspension lift. If you find yourself in that predicament, you might need a helicopter.

That's what happened to the owner of this Jeep ZJ around July 4. They were driving on the Knik Glacier Trail—near the community of Butte, Alaska—when the SUV slid off the path into a pool of glacial meltwater. OnX Off-Road rates the 20.3-mile route at a 6, which means moderately difficult, so it's impressive that the decades-old Jeep even made it that far.

Elite Towing and Recovery out of Wasilla attempted to reach the Jeep twice with their off-road truck but couldn't due to high-water crossings. Rain in the area meant the streams were running swifter than when the Jeep first ventured onto the trail. This left the crew with only one real option: airlifting it out.