Well I started my 2009 season on Friday the 9th or maybe that should have been Friday the 13th in style. I left town at 4:45 am with trepidation because it was snowing and where I was heading that could be a real bear. Well the main road was wet, muddy and snowy but I was able to turn off the main dirt road where there was about 4 inches of snow, no big deal yeah right. I proceeded up the hill to a spot that allows you to glass several miles of draws and canyons’. When I was about 30 feet from reaching the top I hit a drift in the trail and am stuck. Well I work it a bit and I am able to go backwards and take another run at it. Well this time I slid off into a 2 foot deep rut. Now the shoveling and putting the chains on begins. It is about 30 minutes till full light and since I am in the middle of the trail, I cannot just walk off and come back later. The snow is not coming down to hard and with the breaking light I should get out ok. Well I decide to put the chains on the front since the back is buried so deep it’s getting served tea and I am a coffee man. I have just finished getting one chain on and here comes a guy and his mom (84 years old) in an old 1986 Ford Bronco that I have met several times before. He goes around me after a couple of tries and backs up and says you got a chain. Well I have better than chain I have military towing straps. He hooks on to me and proceeds to pull my 1994 Chevy the last 30 feet to the top where the snow is blown off and only 2 inches deep. YES but, I have no brakes. One of the cross links broke on the one chain and ripped the brake line in two. So we take a bolt I have stick it up the end of the rubber hose add brake fluid the guy had and presto I am ready to go. NOT I also ripped wires loose from the underside of the truck. Well I get them fixed, the chain replaced and the other one put on. I am I ready to kill something no, the storm, fog and win kick in and now the visibility is maybe 50 feet. So I change my cloths and sit in my nice warm dry truck. Well the warm part is right but not the dry. My monster coffee cup turned over in the seat and soaked my ass. After 4 hours of no visibility, a soaked ass, and the understanding that I will be playing mechanic when I get home I headed off of the hill. The elk will just have to wait till next week. If it were easy there wouldn’t be any stories to tell.
olefish
olefish
