A few of us wanted to do a quick run to Walker Valley Sunday, Nov 27, 2016. We planned to meet at the Lake Stevens Frontier Village, then convoy up to WV. As I approached the last stop light before entering the Village, my brake and Alternator lights suddenly came on, and I could see and smell something burning…. HURRY UP light!
Got into the parking lot to find Josh T., and candidate Tim Carpenter already there, and Corrie Gowland just pulling in. As I shut down the Miss Creant and popped the hood, Gary jumped out and cousin Pat, (who originally started the build of the Miss Creant) jumped under the hood. They quickly found that the alternator belt was broken. Well, we have extras so popped another one one….but, of course forgot to even check to be sure the alternator was rotating, which of course it wasn’t. I ran to the parts store for a new alternator and belt, while the others stayed behind to remove the offending part. Of course, all of this was taking way longer then intended, since the super charger belts are ahead of the alternator belt, and way more things needed to be removed as well as finding replacements for a broken bolt. So, Tim and Corrie went on and headed up to Walker, and we hoped to meet them up there soon.
Finally, we are on the road…only to find that now, when my RPM’s are over about 1800/2000, all the dash lights come back on….grrrr. Apparently this alternator is working a bit too well, and over charging, so I turn on all the lights I can, and this keeps the voltage down to a moderate level, and we head out. I arrived at WV around 12:30, quickly aired down and headed up to Split Rock, as that was where we planned to have lunch. We called out to Tim and Corrie many times, hoping to hook back up with them…. As we climbed higher and higher, the weather got nastier and nastier, then we found snow, then it was snowing, then it was windy, and after making the 18 minute trek up to see the phenomenom known as Split Rock….only to find it completely clouded in clouds. We ate lunch there huddled behind vehicles and warming our hands on Josh’s 12 volt oven! (note to self, get oven for Miss Creant).
We quickly headed back down the mountain to the warmer climate, hit the Humps and Bumps trail, did the Around the Sound trail, then headed to the upper mainline. A few hundred yards in, we found the trail blocked by large trees, and no chain saw with us. We backed out…OK, Josh backed out, I don’t back up well, so had lots of problems with that, then Gary and the little Samurai just turned around on the trail. We headed to the next entry point, which would be the expressway, and not too far in, there is another tree over the trail. Hmmmm, I think the Samurai will fit under as it drops down just as you go under, then Josh, he makes it….here I come and being a bit taller would not make it, unless we folded the top lights back, but then had a few inches to spare. We did several of the lesser traveled trails in this area, that shoot off of the Upper mainline and Expressway. By this time it was quite dark, windy, raining sideways and just plain miserable! At the last gate keeper, I killed the engine, only to find that running the lights all day, to keep the voltage down, has now killed the batteries, so we had jump it, and tone down some lights.
We made our way back down the mountain, and to the staging area, where we aired up, and headed out. By this time my nose was running and throat was killing me, and sneezing regularly, that I realized it must be time for my 5-year Cold, and I was ready for this day to be DONE!
I later heard from Corrie that they did the TT Trail, EZ Valley, Ridge Ram, lower part of Ron’s run, Around the Sound then headed back after Tim broke his front stabilizer bar, and they pulled a stuck Yota off a rock.
Thankful that club mates were able to put my truck back on the trail, at least for it’s final run of the season (I don’t do snow) and she is heading to the garage for some upgrades and maintenance during the winter months. We apparently pushed her one run too many, but all is good!
Keep Wheeling, Stay safe, Carry a Chain saw, always check the alternator for spin.
Casey
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