This was the first real camping trip for me this year and I really was looking forward to the event. Despite the little things that went wrong I have to say that in the end it was a good weekend. The family and I got to the campground about 4pm or so to find that Terry and Rock had managed to save enough space for all the Tamers that were coming. In fact Terry actually got there at 7am and I think that I heard Rock had to wake him up when he got there later in the day. Thank you Terry and Rock!
The rest of the Tamers arrived through out the evening until we had the following people all there: Gary, Lori, Mark, Lori, Terry, Amy, Rock, Jeanne, Dan, Juliet, Karalyn, Michelle, Rudi, Melissa, Alex, and Cassidy. Not the biggest group but we made it a good time just the same.
Saturday turned out to be a really nice day and even though we got a late start I have to say that it was entertaining. We ran up and over the top of the hill towards Buck Meadows and it seemed like there were people camping everywhere they could find a space large enough to pitch a tent. There was a little snow on the road here and there but nothing that could stop anyone from getting over the top of the hill no matter what they were driving. Once in buck meadows we headed for the Divide trail. We had seen Mikki earlier that day and said we would run the trail and log it out for here. Everything was going really well until the right front spindle on Rock’s Toyota decided it wanted a break, literally. He was not even doing anything that would stress the part. It just decided to go a different direction. When then spent the next 45 minutes cleaning things up and getting the rig back to a spot where we could get a trailer in and load it up. Then while Rock and Dan went back to came for the truck and trailer Mark, Gary, and I headed out to finish the divide trail.
Well it was not going to be so easy as near the end I caught a tire on a stump and managed to rip a hole about the size of a pop can in my sidewall. The Tamer pit crew had it changed in about 10 minutes and we were on our way again. The rest of the trail was no big deal and in fact there really was only one tree that we removed and most of the reason for that was to restore the trail back to its original line.
With the trail done we headed back to help Rock and Dan. We had really good timing as the Toyota was almost on the trailer. It was just a matter of helping get it on the rest of the way and locking it down. Then it was time to get the truck and trailer out which was not hard but did require a few spot here are there to make sure the paint did not get scratched. With everyone back on the road we pointed rock towards camp and the rest of us did a little exploring. We saw heard a few turkeys and then saw a few more. We got to play in some untracked snow even and I have to say that it was relaxing and fun. As the sun was starting to go down we pointed the rigs towards camp and dinner. Hmmmm Steak!!
Sunday started out like Saturday… Late. No worries. We headed up and over the hill again with sights set on Wells Meadow. There was a lot of snow on the road for this time of year and it made things pretty interesting. The one side hill in the pictures made a few people pucker the first time through but it was not so bade the second time in that we knew what to expect. I lost a bead at one point when I slide into the ditch a little faster than I would have liked. Again the Tamer pit crew came to the rescue and we were moving again in about 15 minutes. where the Wells Meadow trail hits the road you could see that someone else had been there in the last week or so. We followed there tracks ad the trail down the hill a way the whole time driving on snow. Not to far from the bottom things started to get really interesting and we made a decision to eat dinner in camp and not on the trail that night. We turned around and that is when the fun began. No one got out of there with out winching and I do mean no one. I forgot to mention that when we went down the hill you were were sliding no matter what you did. Now we had to go back up the same way. Terry was nice enough to help with winch duties but it did cost some shackle parts dropped in the snow. Oh well. That means that we have an excuse to go back and look for them later this year. In the end the winches one out and everyone was able to make it up the hill and off the trail. With everyone back on the road we motored back to came, stopping here and there to say hi along the way to people we know.
Monday came around and I decided that I would rather head for home at a leisurely pace before the traffic started. Apparently so did everyone else as I think that everyone left by 9:30 and headed for home. we all traveled together just because and it turned out to be a good thing. Just over the top of the pass Gary lost a tire on the trailer. Again the Tamer pit crew took care of it in short order and everyone was on there way again. Not for long though for at the bottom of the pass the other tire on the trailer let go. Well Gary only had one spare so it was time for a little thinking. Good thing that Terry and Amy had come along even though they did not have there rig becuase the spare on there truck was put into service for Gary’s trailer. That was good enough to get him home and I know that everyone else made it home with out further incident also. So like I said. despite the issues I think that it was a good weekend all in all.
Until next time Rudi
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