Post-Snowpocalypse Exploration 2-17-2019

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tobyw
Posts: 1879
Joined: Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:00 am
Location: Under the hood...

Post-Snowpocalypse Exploration 2-17-2019

Postby tobyw » Mon Feb 18, 2019 9:41 am

With the recent incredible snowfall down here, we were just itching to see what had become of the higher elevation areas. So, we met up at Maverik around 0700 for some fuel and a burrito, and pointed the steeds westward under cloudy skies and over icy roads:

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We stopped at the Ahtanum General Store for a 10-100 and to wash the windshields:

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As we approached Tampico, the clouds were starting to open up:

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The road between Tampico and the Nasty Creek corrals was incredibly sketchy, but it sure was pretty:

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We aired down at the usual spot, and headed up:

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The fresh snow was deep down at the corrals, but got really deep as we inched higher in elevation:

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Notice the use of the word “inched”… You see, the going was great right up until it wasn’t. The very millisecond you lost traction and spun, you were finished. The snow had just enough moisture and the air was just cold enough, that as soon as you spun it immediately turned to ice and there was no traction to be had. The day was a constant battle of floatation, clearance, and steady momentum. All that said, we were making pretty good time:

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And then we arrived at the first significant hill, and for the record this hill has been the stopping point on many such a trip. Try as we might, today was another one of those trips:

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The view from there was fantastic, though:

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So we ate our lunch, and headed back down toward the corrals. I got stuck trying to turn around, but Jim was able to yank me backward a few feet and all was good again in short order. A quick czek of the watch told us we had ample time to go explore, so we headed North on the actual Nasty Creek road:

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At the summit we could see some weather starting to roll in from the South-West:

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Still not wanting to call it a day, we continued on in a generally northerly route which dropped us significantly in elevation, and we eventually got to a point where no one else had broken trail since the significant snowfall event. It was again a battle for inches, and with no real destination in mind, we decided it best to cut our losses and head back toward pavement. I got stuck turning around again :oops: :

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At some point on the trip back toward the corrals, it could be said by some that Jim may have been driving a little too fast for the conditions. I think he was just having fun, or maybe he just needed an excuse to change his shorts:

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As we again approached the summit, I snapped a neat picture of the blue skies being overtaking by ominous dark clouds to the North of us:

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We aired up at the corrals, cleaned the snow off our grills to expose the headlights, and headed back toward civilization. I have to say, I’ve been wheeling Nasty Creek for over 15 years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen snow that deep. We barely made 3,500’ elevation, so I can’t even imagine what it’s like up higher :shock: 8)
Yep, I've wheeled one of those, too...
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OldGreen
Posts: 4502
Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:21 am
Location: coming or going?

Re: Post-Snowpocalypse Exploration 2-17-2019

Postby OldGreen » Mon Feb 18, 2019 10:56 am

Yep, that was FUN!!!


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