At one point, the pathway narrowing and banked inward as it turned to the left and plunged downward, corkscrew-like, at an

At one point all I could do was to give way to gravity, inching ever so carefully downward, keeping an eye on the right-side mirror, which was canted downward so that I could pay attention to the outside rear tire in its quest to find the rightmost edge of the road. (Photo: Catherine Lemieux, Land Rover Canada)

alarming incline, a large tree planted right on the edge of the roadway, on the inside where it could easily tear a less attractive window into the LR3's passenger compartment, I truly hesitated, a lump forming in my throat and deep concern over damaging this top-line Land Rover, let alone any personal body parts, on my mind. Refocusing, I gave way to gravity, inching ever so carefully downward, keeping an eye on the right-side mirror, which was canted downward so that I could pay attention to the outside rear tire in its quest to find the rightmost edge of the road, left-side mirror canted upward to where the thick tree was ominously towing overhead, leaning out over the road and just narrowly missing the upper portion of the LR3's body structure, paint fortunately still glistening, sheetmetal unmolested and windows still fixed in place, knowing that a slip of my throttle, brake combination might cause a slide either way, popping the right rear wheel off of its track and into never land, or

No off-road trail is ever the same twice, as both 4x4s and natural erosion make the path different every time. (Photo: Catherine Lemieux, Land Rover Canada)

slightly less disconcerting, scraping up Land Rover's SUV. Needless to say, we made it, thanks to Catherine's good judgment and my faith in her.

While she first gave me confidence that she knew the road like the back of her hand, so to speak, I knew and she later admitted that no off-road trail is ever the same twice. You see, as soon as four tires stir up previously embedded rocks, trudge through swampland or spew out dirt and gravel, the road's surface has changed. Add to that nature's own erosive processes, such as rain, snow, rock slides, etc, and no one can be sure what to expect from one time to the next. Such is one of the adventurous aspects of off-roading, and if like me you've never traveled a particular road or path before, the adventure is all that more exciting.