As we were Westbound and down, I played around with the adaptive cruise, targeting OG's rear bumper, to verify both of our speedometer correction factors with the 37" BFG's rolling along beneath us:
The first signs of sticking snow could be found right around the metropolis of Tampico:
Arriving at the snow park on the Middle Fork we were greeted with a slightly deeper amount of the white stuff:
By the time we reached Eagles Nest, it was looking to be a bonified snow run day
![Cool 8)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
Off topic, those of us with LED headlights know the struggle is real:
Clover Flats had not been visited since the snowstorm, and we were officially breaking trail from this point onward:
Working our way toward the summit of Darland, OG and I traded off the lead position several times:
It was COLD as we approached maximum elevation:
Even with bumper deep snow, the going was easy, right up until it wasn't... OG got marooned in a drift and had to release more of the psi's in an effort to free himself, which ultimately proved futile.
I also dropped a couple more out of my tires but suffered a similar fate:
With the summit in eyesight, we battled for inches on the sketchy sidehill just before the saddle overlooking the Super Bowl:
Somewhere in that stretch, I found what thus far has proven to be the coolest feature on the 6G Bronco - the ability to lock only the front axle. This was a big win a couple of times in the deep snow, allowing the front to pull but keeping the rear from pushing around:
The last uphill section before the summit would prove to be the most difficult segment of the day, with OG laying down hero levels of effort to break trail before finally becoming turtled on several feet of snow:
I was somehow able to sneak beside him and break the rest of the way up the hill, allowing him to winch up to me (after pulling me back down the hill several feet which anchored me into the deep snow pretty darn good
![LOL :lol2](./images/smilies/lol.gif)
From there it was just a hop skip and a jump to the actual summit; unfortunately the view was terrible in the wintery weather:
After a brief BS session at the summit, we continued to break trail down the North side of the dirtpile and eventually made our way to Blue Lake for a late manifold-warmed sammich:
OG took a shot at the climb up Blue Slide but was denied by sheet ice below a very thin layer of powdery snow. The trip back down that first climb was exciting though:
Knowing that darkness was eminent, we beat feet down the North Fork and stopped at the Snow Cabin campground to air back up for the trip home. The tamarack show was in full swing as we dropped in elevation:
We pointed the steeds Eastward in a driving rain that didn't let up until we approached Benton City, although even there it was a pretty decent rain for Eastern Washington standards:
It had been an incredible season opener for snow wheeling, and we very much look forward to more of it as winter rapidly approaches
![Thumb Up :thu:](./images/smilies/thumbup1.gif)