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Bob led to the trail head and proceeded in so we could air down out of sight. 10 feet into the trail Joe’s jeep slides off the trail into the trees. Somehow going over the snow bank the front sway bar flipped under bending the still connected links and jamming in the steering. Airing down there in the rut was enough to let jeep climb up and over the ridge. So much for a smooth entry! Once we were all in we stopped, aired down, disconnected, and had a drivers meeting.
Rain the night before along with snow and ice made for some slick conditions. About 100 yards in Bob made a left to avoid a narrow section of trail. We scouted the area and all decided the best thing to do was to cross a little creek and a short snow area then climb the hill. Our fearless leader entered the creek, climbed over the berm then plunged up to the headlights into a mud pit covered by the snow. With the nose in the mud, high centered, and a rear shackle inverted Howler was stuck. John coordinated the pull. First the shackle was righted using a crow bar and Joe’s winch; then the beast was winched out using Marks truck to anchor Joe’s.
While all this was happening a bunch of Toyotas tried the ice hill; the narrow section was passable. They entertained us for a while with some really ferocious attempts, most of them successful, although some turned toward the alternate route. While they pulled one rig up the other up route Bob decided to watch from the top and climbed the hill easily. Some jaws dropped then they continued on their way. Every truck in our group, locked and open made the ice hill with John taking the ruts, only needing a quick winch pull. Sorry Toyota guys but it did happen this way.
A short time later we stopped so Bob could change the oil in Howler. Somehow water entered the engine creating some noise. The rest of the trail was rocky, muddy, and icy. The group did well with only a couple of minor pulls needed until Trevor’s jeep broke a bead. With no spare he needed to reseat the tire. Jacking the truck up the bead reseated, but mud and water had made its way in. It made for some death wobble for the ride home.
The hill on the other side of the street was iced up. Trevor and Mark tried it anyway, each only making it up to the turn then sliding back down. We ended the day at that road airing up and heading home. I think we all had a good time. Andrew drove all day and Jordan drove most of the day adding to their expirence. Good job boys.
P.S. We should all examine what we bring in the way of spare parts, jacks, liquids, and so on. Without a winch, crowbar, tow straps, oil, ratchet strap, bottle jack, high lift jack, oil and empty bottles, and a jack base this day could have been very long.
