This is what I don't like about all of the new crossover utes - they have no low range. I had a Subaru Outback that had enough clearance to get up and down mildly rutted forest service trails but with a stick and no low range, you had to charge up grades to avoid stalling/clutch slip, which was not the way to do it. It was Ok going down, unlike your situation, but I still wish just one of these little SUV's would be made with a low range like the old Toyota AWD wagon from about 15 years ago. Or maybe it was an earlier Subaru. One of 'em had a real low range.

Thanks for the post - very informative.