... it was time to GTFO. I put the in-laws on an airplane at 1200hrs on Saturday, and immediately hitched up the Donkey and headed West. OG was about an hour in front of me, but I made no efforts to catch him as I set the cruise control at 62mph and proceeded to thoroughly enjoy the sunny afternoon drive:- IMG_6726.JPG (1.21 MiB) Viewed 42 times
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We met up on NF-19 generally in front of the Kaner Flat campground, and we both took note of the bevvy of smaller engine noises all around us. It was clear the motorscooter contingent was out in full force, and we wanted nothing to do with places like Long or Lost Meadow on this weekend... Thankfully our WABDR-specific trailers are intended for just such occasions, and we headed up NF-1901 to seek out a suitable location far from the noisy scooters:
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With camp properly established, we got an itch to explore and decided to take another run at the back way to Moon Rocks. We rapidly made our way up in elevation on NF-1705, but were temporarily slowed by a fallen tree:
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A couple of minutes later we had the tree sliced down to size thanks to OG's DeWalt chainsaw, and we were back on our merry way:
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The going had been good, a legit spring time run for sure with a mixture of dust, mud, and rotten snow. However, as we made the hard left turn toward the hillside that had claimed OG's brake line a few months prior (http://www.peakputters.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7314), the going stopped being so good... I was in the lead and took a few tries at the steep and narrow track, with zero success for what appeared to be no good reason. There was simply NO traction to be had whatsoever:
I backed, or rather slid, my way down the hillside and let OG take a crack at it:
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Finding a similar lack of forward progress, OG started his return back down to flat land but ended up getting very sideways on the hillside and ended up in a pretty sketchy position. Luckily there was a well-placed tree a few yards up the trail, and we were able to hook up his winchline and get the nose of Ginger pointed back up the trail where it belonged so that OG could make the rest of the bobsled ride down the hillside... We are now 0-2 with this particular hill, which is heretofore known as Mt. Walrus with a nod to the absolute walrus snot conditions that literally ooze from within:
Back down at the bottom of the hill, we took a minute to collect ourselves and decided to head back to camp, as it was getting pretty late:
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We made the quick descent back down to pavement, and swung into Whistlin Jack's for an attempt to get some last minute sundries, but found they had already closed shop for the evening
No biggie, we weren't exactly short on grub... Taking the turn on NF-19 we spotted some deer on the grassy knoll:- IMG_6755.JPG (1.58 MiB) Viewed 42 times
Back at camp, we proceeded to cook steaks and partake in some adult beverages deep into the evening, with the breeze and intermittent rain keeping things brisk as you stepped away from the campfire. The following morning we had some coffee and once again got the itch to explore, so we headed up Fife's Ridge and eventually found pretty good snowpack:
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Similar to the night before, the going was good right up until it wasn't. This particular snow cover was troublesome, because there was a crusty layer that offered pretty good traction, but once you broke through the crust there was bottomless sugar below that was akin to desert silt beds. It was completely devoid of moisture and therefore would not support weight or pack in any way/shape/form, and it was deep enough that you'd sink to the belly of your rig and end up turtled on the crust layer between the tire tracks. I ended up stuck in such a manner, and OG had to turn around and come back down the hill to try and recover me. We setup a rearward pull using the party pulley on a tree back behind the Donkey:
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Creative as it was, this unfortunately didn't work as the Donkey was beached pretty good
OG was forced to make his way around me and ended up directly behind me, after another winch session to get him out of the ditch, and we gave the kinetic rope a try at recovery. What ended up happening was exactly worst case scenario, in that as soon as the rope got tight, OG broke through that crust layer and was similarly beached, and we now had a tight rubber band between us 
Resorting to the absolutely barbaric act of shoveling, we eventually got the crust layer broke out enough from below OG that he could back up juuuuuuust enough to get the kinetic rope disconnected, and we then spent a few more minutes with the shovel busting up the crust layer for a few yards up and down the trail, hoping to allow OG to give the rope another good yank and not end up turtled... Mercifully, this worked and the Donkey was finally free 
With our bellies telling us it was time for breakfast, we beat feet back to camp for some eggs and another shot of coffee before breaking down camp and heading for home. 
