Spring Run

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further real world testing of the "glue" job Mike did on the hart top fabrication.
Mitch tried and tried to get the rope free but between being jambed into the silt bottom and criss crossed :whoops:acidentally during removal it became clear that something else will be needed.

 

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Mitch decided the only way to free the rope was to remove the tire
so
with a big grin he stripped down and lowered himself into the recently ice covered ball deep water. he removed the rear tire, freed the rope and once attached to Matts HJ60 it was a gentle tug to freedom.
note to self: time to design a different rope holder.

 

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the silt was resting on the frame and running boards.
i left the truck idling away to keep the water out of the bell housing, sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't but the one thing you DO NOT want to do is rest your foot on the clutch while in a water hole. the water will enter between the clutch and the flywheel and the pressure plate. when you release the clutch the water will remain and no friction, no action.

 

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the rescue truck, Matts very capable HJ60 with twin lockers and no turbo.
so on the way back to camp we had a bit of a speed run and the little PZ'ds temp started to rise so i pulled off the trail and checked the air box. it had some serious moisture in there and i decided to check the catch can to see what was there.
not only was it full of water but it also was filled with ....





silt.

nasty deep silt

but the inside of the air filter was completely dirt free, there was some moisture in there which was expected but no contamination. Toyota engineers did a good job designing the air system.

 

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back at camp Dave and Brad had the fire going and Mitch enjoyed warming up. we had a good supper, some fun chatting and, for me, off to bed since i suspected tomorrow was going to be a serious Chit Show ...

and it was.

 

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the rough highway into the start of the ... fun.

 

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and then we are there, at the beginning of where it gets to be fun.
the pics don't do the trail justice, the washout is deep, the drop to the creek below on the other side of the washout is long and steep, the rock face on the other side is slippery, rough and steep.

only one way to go, if you can't stayout of the rut then you MUST use the rut.

 

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the PZ getting into possition.
Brad in his Toyota skinned Chevy was the first to head down. the rocks were sharp, the side angle was steep enough to make a person nervous as well as the washout was steep enough that if you rolled a rock it would keep moving.

 

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moose surveying the situation.
Brad moving on down...

 

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Neil showing how deep the rut is
and then getting out of the way so Brad can finish the course.

 

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next was "no fear" Moose, no matter what obstacle is put in front of this truck he just walks on through.
Matt was to follow ...

 

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Matt followed by Neil

 

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and last is me

 

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and the rain came down
but didn't dampen the spirits of the group.

 

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and then it is lunchtime at dogleg lake. it was still frozen and the rain still came down but lunch was filling.
i think this is about where Dave and Brad turned around and headed back to camp. when Daves vent line got ripped off he lost a lot of fuel.
i guess that is the advantage of diesel over a gasser. i burnt about an 8th of a tank the entire day and 1/4 of a tank for a gasser is time to be conserned ... just kidding with yah Dave.

 

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submarining the trucks

 

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random shots

 

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just playing around.
i was spotting Matt thought this hole is a similar fashion, he was concerned about flipping so i decided to show that a narrower wheelbased and yet taller truck wouldn't flip.
but he decided that the wise move was to go around it, good decision.

 

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moose stuck (again) and when he gets stuck, he is STUCK.
his frame was on the ground and he had 4 nice deep holes, we tried the tug with my 50 footer, normally this rope gets everyone free but not a chance.
then we tried winching straight ahead, no go
so from a 45 degree we winched it out and even then that winch, which is very powerful, was on its last ooomph.

in hindsight we should of just jacked him up and push it over.

the cement Moose churned up as he dug deeper and deeper.

 

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next was a rocky steepish hill with a couple "steps" to traverse. simple enough
except the rain made the approach slippery, the rocks slippery and with a sense of ... illicit fun i headed to the top.

it was my second run to the top so i had a good idea of what to expect.