TSF 3/5
Met up with Aaron, and Jason at McDonalds in North Plains. We convoyed to Rogers from there.
There was quite a bit of snow on the sides of 6 on the way up. Rogers had been plowed, and a good 4 foot wall surrounded the parking area. We aired down, picked up another rig, and headed off for Powerline to get a feel for the conditions.
Once we got off the plowed road, the thick oatmeal snow quickly got interesting. There wasn't much on the ground maybe a foot, but it was very wet and heavy. I was breaking trail, and I could feel a good amount of resistance coming off the front end.
Once we got on Powerline, the real fun started. We all took some time to get adjusted to the conditions. It took some wheel speed to get around a few corners, but once we got out in the open, it was all about flotation.
Jason's first time to TSF. What better way to give him the tour than in the snow?
After a good fight to get out of the trees some pressures were adjusted. I went ahead and broke trail.
After waiting for a bit, I decided to hike back and check on them.
Progress was slow.
Once everyone regrouped at my position, some pressures were once again adjusted. That seemed to make a big difference, and the "wheel speed" tactic was changed to "crawl" tactic. Together both seemed to make a big difference. I let Jason pass me at the end of the first section, and let him take a shot at breaking trail just for the heck of it. For being on 32's and locked in the rear, he did really well.
Eventually just before the second section started we came to a downed tree. At that point Aaron's Jeep randomly died on him. While some created a path around the tree, a few of us tried to get his Jeep running with no luck. It was decided that we had better get him turned around and back to Rogers.
The ditch seemed to be a magnet for some.
It took a bit of winching, a few tugs, and four hours, but eventually we got him back to Rogers. I got to commend everyone for staying calm. We took our time, tried a few options, but eventually got a plan together that worked out quite nicely (Aaron perpendicular to the road, I winched the back side, while Jason winched the front, and it spun his Jeep perfectly).
After a trip to NAPA, we had a CPS, and went to work changing it out. Two nicely built Early Bronco's rolled in, and must have heard Aaron cussing like a sailor at the CPS. After a bit of chatting Aaron had found his Jeep a ride home.
Very cool of the guy to let Aaron drive the tow rig home, while followed in the trail rig. Maybe give him a shout out on his clubs
Facebook?
All in all, in 13 hours we managed to drive to TSF, complete one section of Powerline, and drive back. Definitely, a memorable trip. I still had fun though playing in the snow.
