First, the truck is sitting pretty (when we left it), and the family is fine...
Short version: truck is 'abandoned' in the woods on a private road (to which we have rights) and as long as I can make it back before tresspassing ATV'ers make it there to steal my contents/tools, all should work out.
Summary: went to a family plot of land near the WV/VA border. this access road parallels the ridge and state line (so runs N/NE) and heads up and down a series of draws and bluffs that are off shoots of the main ridge. On the north side of the draw's (downhill when heading north) there can be snow patches when ridges the uphills (south side) are clear. We've been there before with stock XJs and 4runners with a dusting, and like those, there's plenty of fire-road sized trail to grab good traction. yes, some of the up/downs are truly very steep fully requiring 4-lo and lockers, but as long as you find rock/dirt/shale you're good.
Well, on the descent of the 4th bluff into that northside draw, the 'patch' of snow was different than the 3 previous ones, even crawling in L in low/fully locked, truck got sideways and off camber, in a pinch, knew enough to use the drainage gully on the up hill side to keep from going offcamber downhill, but had to release teh front locker and give it gas to stop the understeer and stay pointed in the right direction. cheers of 'whee' from my boys in the middle row were a small consolation in thinking "i'm not sure we're going to make it back up that way" (the only way in/out). sure enough, after a snack/picnic for them (that i spent pacing wondering if it was as bad as it felt) we cut lunch short and headed back.
heading S/SW into the bottom of the draw i see the fully snow covered uphill north facing road ahead of us. I park and walk it. ****, shocked, fully 8" of snow, nothing we tested and scouted on the previous miles was like this section. not sure if it was built up drifts from the previous windier than normal storm, but this didn't look good. any combo of L or 2, with momentum or not, made no difference. there simply wasn't enough friction, and the angle/pitch going up was way too steep. no dice. at this point, I call the spouse (umm, come get us, meet us at xyz, bring warm clothes for A and B, i'm going to drive it back up and over this bluff to put it in a spot that less nosey nellies will come upon it, and maybe see if anyone connected the road at the other end in the year's since we last visited).
Nope. So, we hiked up and out, my boys did 750' vertical on more snowy trails (these sections were snowier than the first 3) and 4 hrs of uphill until we could meet the spouse at the ridge/fireroad.
I've now got huge 37x12.5x17 truck grade snow chains on order. looking at the weather (warmish week with possible flurries sunday) means we're going to drive me as close as we can to the coords of where i left it and i'll hike with 100# of chains and a snow shovel to the LC.
Hindsight: when on the hill in question, before stalling out less than a 1/4 way up, i noted that if i had had a front winch, a remote control so i could control from inside the rig, and 75-80 yards of line, yes 200+' (or a series of tow straps then line) there's a chance i could have made it up, not sure with the off camber left/SSE, i may have needed to snatch it right/SW. Further, f i had not been alone, and i had been able to grab a CB and yelled at the buddy behind me not to follow when first descending this 4th draw- that this was a much deeper drift - and they'd been able to stop, and had a winch that could've allowed us to reverse back up to them on the bluff's ridge, that may have saved us.
In short, brutal hike out for a couple of little ones. I had fire/food/water/shelter/snacks for us to make the night if we had to (I also packed out the cb, gps, camera to reduce the motivators for a break-in), and the wife had fire/rescue on dial incase we didn't make it out, I had gps and google maps so could see exactly where we were and needed to be - and knew the area so it wasn't a question of being lost - but of walking out.
Since everyone is safe, now it's just nerves hoping that when I do make it back to the LC it's not only undamaged but hasn't been stripped to the point of it being undrivable.
So, i won't be able to meet you'all on Saturday's event at IPOR as i'll be testing my ability to put huge chains on it while it's at the snowy base of a hill, after hiking with a snow shovel strapped to the outside of my pack hoping I don't have to use it
Short version: truck is 'abandoned' in the woods on a private road (to which we have rights) and as long as I can make it back before tresspassing ATV'ers make it there to steal my contents/tools, all should work out.
Summary: went to a family plot of land near the WV/VA border. this access road parallels the ridge and state line (so runs N/NE) and heads up and down a series of draws and bluffs that are off shoots of the main ridge. On the north side of the draw's (downhill when heading north) there can be snow patches when ridges the uphills (south side) are clear. We've been there before with stock XJs and 4runners with a dusting, and like those, there's plenty of fire-road sized trail to grab good traction. yes, some of the up/downs are truly very steep fully requiring 4-lo and lockers, but as long as you find rock/dirt/shale you're good.
Well, on the descent of the 4th bluff into that northside draw, the 'patch' of snow was different than the 3 previous ones, even crawling in L in low/fully locked, truck got sideways and off camber, in a pinch, knew enough to use the drainage gully on the up hill side to keep from going offcamber downhill, but had to release teh front locker and give it gas to stop the understeer and stay pointed in the right direction. cheers of 'whee' from my boys in the middle row were a small consolation in thinking "i'm not sure we're going to make it back up that way" (the only way in/out). sure enough, after a snack/picnic for them (that i spent pacing wondering if it was as bad as it felt) we cut lunch short and headed back.
heading S/SW into the bottom of the draw i see the fully snow covered uphill north facing road ahead of us. I park and walk it. ****, shocked, fully 8" of snow, nothing we tested and scouted on the previous miles was like this section. not sure if it was built up drifts from the previous windier than normal storm, but this didn't look good. any combo of L or 2, with momentum or not, made no difference. there simply wasn't enough friction, and the angle/pitch going up was way too steep. no dice. at this point, I call the spouse (umm, come get us, meet us at xyz, bring warm clothes for A and B, i'm going to drive it back up and over this bluff to put it in a spot that less nosey nellies will come upon it, and maybe see if anyone connected the road at the other end in the year's since we last visited).
Nope. So, we hiked up and out, my boys did 750' vertical on more snowy trails (these sections were snowier than the first 3) and 4 hrs of uphill until we could meet the spouse at the ridge/fireroad.
I've now got huge 37x12.5x17 truck grade snow chains on order. looking at the weather (warmish week with possible flurries sunday) means we're going to drive me as close as we can to the coords of where i left it and i'll hike with 100# of chains and a snow shovel to the LC.
Hindsight: when on the hill in question, before stalling out less than a 1/4 way up, i noted that if i had had a front winch, a remote control so i could control from inside the rig, and 75-80 yards of line, yes 200+' (or a series of tow straps then line) there's a chance i could have made it up, not sure with the off camber left/SSE, i may have needed to snatch it right/SW. Further, f i had not been alone, and i had been able to grab a CB and yelled at the buddy behind me not to follow when first descending this 4th draw- that this was a much deeper drift - and they'd been able to stop, and had a winch that could've allowed us to reverse back up to them on the bluff's ridge, that may have saved us.
In short, brutal hike out for a couple of little ones. I had fire/food/water/shelter/snacks for us to make the night if we had to (I also packed out the cb, gps, camera to reduce the motivators for a break-in), and the wife had fire/rescue on dial incase we didn't make it out, I had gps and google maps so could see exactly where we were and needed to be - and knew the area so it wasn't a question of being lost - but of walking out.
Since everyone is safe, now it's just nerves hoping that when I do make it back to the LC it's not only undamaged but hasn't been stripped to the point of it being undrivable.
So, i won't be able to meet you'all on Saturday's event at IPOR as i'll be testing my ability to put huge chains on it while it's at the snowy base of a hill, after hiking with a snow shovel strapped to the outside of my pack hoping I don't have to use it
and I came up with. if I accept the offer for the "drive in" i guess worst-case, it would be to the peak at 'snow hill' so you wouldn't get stuck too, and we hike to the LC to see if i can get out with chains - seems like that would be 1/2 a mile and possibly laterally not uphill. hmmm.
