Tricity Herald article on stuck truck discussion

[OldGreen]

Do we know the condition of the truck? Does it have a broken axle or anything like that? If we get permission do to this, we'll need to do recon first and see what's what, then make a plan, then execute. If it just has one flat tire and other than that it runs, it sure would be helpful to have the brakes and steering up and running, not to mention the tires turning.

I volunteer to drive said Chevy.

Also.. .will 37s fit on it? We could bring a Generator and a sawzall to make sure they will.

[Peanut]

Ok, so bobracing and I decided to go for a little hike this morning and all I have to say is.......

I'm really out of shape!!!! That is one hell of a climb!!!

So I took the camera with me to get some pics so we know a little better what we are looking at.

The truck is roughly 1/4 of the way up the ravine from the entrance of the trail at the bottom. From the way it looks (we couldn't get close to the truck with out "leaving the trail") it looks like someone has gone through the truck. The windshield is busted, the drivers door window is possibly broken - we couldn't tell if it's broken or just rolled down, and the back slider window is open. It looks like the seat back has been pulled forward for someone to look behind it. We don't know if anything has been removed from the truck. There is a high lift jack on the "roll bar". Getting this thing out from the top will be way too much work and cause too much damage - and has the possibility of damage to the recovery truck(s). And in my opinion the ground being so sandy makes it too dangerous. Down the ravine will be the way to go. There is only one spot towards the entrance of the trail that has large rocks that we would have to worry about. Everything else is pretty much rock free although we can't see the bottom of the ravine due to tumbleweeds. So on to the pics so everyone can see what I'm talking about......lol.

This would be the spot to enter to the trail head - there are already tracks across from who ever brought in that pile of gravel.


The trail head entrance and where we would have to enter the ravine. This is going to be the tricky part and where there will probably be the most repair after removing the truck.


These small rocks will probably have to be put back after getting the truck out.


Looking down on the trail entrance from a short distance up the trail.


The rocky section. It doesn't look like much from the pics because they are taken from above - but they are going to cause a problem for getting that truck through there. The rocks range from basketball sized to 1/2 the size of a mini cooper...lol.


Above the rocky section. As you can see it gets pretty easy, no major rocks that we can see.


Further up the trail - we still have a bit to get to the truck at this point. It's up around the corner


Still higher...... and you can see the truck at this point.


And we still haven't got to the truck yet. It kind of disappears from view in this pic, but you can still see the roof if you look real close.


I'm not sure how many of you have seen this. Trashy told me this had been put up there. But this sign has been posted on the trail right above the truck.


The truck.....


Close up....


another.... and as you can see there is not really an "easy" way down to the truck from the trail above - there is a little bit of a "trail" but the ground is real steep and very sandy.


Looking up the ravine from the truck


Looking down the ravine from the truck


This is from the other side of the ravine.


close up...


This is looking up the hillside at where he must have come over the top. There are several sets of tracks up there so it is very hard to tell what this guy was doing. James and I had several ideas to what he was trying to do.


We know the truck has a flat tire. Other than that we have no clue - the guy says he lost his brakes - but that might mean he blew a line, blew the master cylinder - or even just overheated them. Trashy brought home a tire/wheel that will fit the truck to get it out of there.

[Grumpy]

All I can say is... This ain't gonna be easy if we do decide to take it on. And, according to the owner, he didn't lose his brakes We need to have a serious talk on this about liability, etc. Dunlap needs to understand that he may not get his truck back in one piece no matter how carefull we are...

[Peanut]

In all honesty this guy should really be happy that he is alive and has people volunteering to help him fix a royal f*ck up.

I really don't think the County and "Friends of B. Mtn" have many other choices in removing that truck if we don't go in and do it. If someone was going to volunteer a helicopter they would have done it by now. I would also venture to say most of the helicopters in this area are going to be too small to lift that size of truck. Bringing in a backhoe or bulldozer will cause way too much damage.

We are providing them pretty much the only choice they have besides bringing it out piece by piece.

I am really interested in hearing this guys explanation as to how he ended up where he did. Seeing all the tracks that are up there he was possibly all over that hillside.

I am really hoping that we can get something positive about wheelers in the press because of this situation.


So who plans on going to the meeting???

[Grumpy]

Me, obviously, since I opened my big mouth sams88 said he may be interested in showing up. He also has been up there. The owner is planning on being there, and he best be ready to hear some truth about things Dunno, we'll see. I don't want the Putters in a bad spot, and if I get some serious reservations from the group at large, I'll suggest leaving it up to the county to get the truck out.

[Roman]

Too big? I think it's just about right!

[White trash]

No problem... It'll be a fun recovery. if the rig runs it shouldn't pose much of a problem to get it up out of that gully and back to where it can go under it's own power.

I've got a couple hundred feet of cable and strap at my house plus another 100' of high grade chain... Winch him up the ravine with the truck in low and slight throttle and it'll damned near drive itself back out of there.

Tell me when to be there and I'll bring the equipment...

[Danny]

I say the Peak Putters drop this like a hot potato. I see no good coming out of this at all....fun recovery is one thing, restoring what you tear up is going to be another thing.....I say leave it to the Benton County Sherrif and Friends of Badger Mountain to figure out.....sorry

Sorry, but this is not fun....this is serious!

If this is going to be a club activity than the club should have a discussion on the ramifications of this project and vote on it as MEMBERS to decide the outcome of the project......Sorry again but I'm a voting member of this organization.

[SPR]

I agree with Dan. This project could blow up in our face.

[OldGreen]

I completely disagree. We should do it if they will sign a "hold harmless" agreement with the county that says that we are not responsible for any damage that happens as a result of the extraction. We come in to it saying that we will do our best to do the least amount of damage possible, but that it will still be a big effort for the Friends of Badge Mountain to go up there and fix it after we get the POS out. Very clearly state that we are doing this as a service to the community and we will NOT come anywhere near Badger Mountain unless we have an agreement in writing. We do the recovery and someone else does the cleanup. If individuals want to volunteer to help with that, then that is a separate issue.

Having had personal experience with an least one recovery on Badger Mountain, this is something that is difficult, but possible. The rocks at the bottom WILL be an issue for the Chevy, but it would be OK. This is probably not even the most difficult recovery that we have done this year.

[OldGreen]

One more thing. . .and an agreement from the owner of the Chevy that we are not responsible for ANY damage to his truck. It is very likely that it will come out with pieces detatched.

[Grumpy]

All of the above is currently being discussed with Adam Fyall at the county. I have also made the owner aware of this. I don't care who does the work, us or the county, it's going to leave damage behind, and The "Friends" need to get that in their pointy little heads!

[Grumpy]

From this morning's Herald Op-Ed page:


How to clean up a mountain
We're not sure why anyone but James Dunlap is wondering how to pay for restoring Badger Mountain after he tore up the popular park with his pickup.

The concept of drivers being responsible for the cost of repairing the damage they've caused goes back to the horse and buggy.

We hope Dunlap steps up and takes responsibility for the full cost of his off-road rampage through the park, including the cost of safely removing his stranded truck from a mountaintop ravine.

But we're not holding our breath.

How should Benton County officials spell relief? G-a-r-n-i-s-h-m-e-n-t.

[OldGreen]

We should probably withold our decision until we know where we stand with the county.

Also, we are not helping this guy out just for the sake of helping him out. He doesn't deserve any help at this moment. We are considering removing his junk and turning it over to the authorities because it is the right thing to do. He should be responsible for EVERYHING.

If terms can be agreed upon, I feel that doing this recovery is the right thing. It helps the preserve, it provides positive PR and it helps the community. Part of our club's mission is to do just that. If we are able to keep the truck in the very bottom of the ravine, we can also highlight the fact that we can do a recovery and cause minimal damage to the area.

We simply cannot be afraid of the opposition and let them dictate our ability to do good.

[Lud]

I'd still really like to go out and help. I've got all this week off and nothing better to do until the weekend anyway.

[Grumpy]

Won't be this week. We'll need to wait for things to wend their way thru the "system"... ...Gathering top of Shockley Rd. Wednesday at 10. County, Friends of Badger Mt, The owner of the truck, me, and Peanut. Anyone else?

[iaccocca]

Probably me...

[Grumpy]

That would be good...

[OldGreen]

If I can skip out of work for a while I'll head up. It isn't far for me.

[Grumpy]

That would be much appreciated...

[Grumpy]

More from the Herald:


Truck to stay on Badger while options considered
By Michelle Dupler, Herald staff writer
A truck stuck on the side of Badger Mountain will remain in a gully while officials discuss how to get it off the hillside without doing more damage.

Adam Fyall, Benton County community development coordinator, said he'll meet with the truck owner and representatives of the Friends of Badger Mountain on Wednesday, but no decisions will be made this week.

"We want to get this taken care of, but poor planning on your part does not make an emergency on my part," Fyall said of the owner's desire to retrieve his truck.

The '85 Chevy pickup was stranded on the hill below Canyon Trail early Oct. 18 when James Dunlap, 30, of Kennewick, decided to do some "hill climbing."

He said he didn't know motor vehicles were prohibited, or even that Badger Mountain was a Benton County park.

Dunlap said the brakes went out after he crested the hill and turned to come back down. The careening truck gouged lines in the soil, tore out native vegetation and dislodged boulders from the hiking trail maintained by Friends of Badger Mountain.

Jim Langdon, Friends of Badger Mountain trailmaster, said he noticed Friday that someone had broken windows out of the truck, and pleaded with park users to leave the pickup alone.

"Just be patient; it's going to leave," he said.

Fyall said the county is considering four options to remove the truck.

Officials could use a winch to hoist the truck back up the hillside the same way it went down, using the tracks already cut into the soil.

"But that would take some ingenuity on our part," Fyall said.

Another option would be to find a way to bring it downhill from the gully, but that would damage more of the hillside and require permission from the city of Richland to bring the truck through its Badger Mountain Park below.

The least-damaging option would be to airlift the truck with a commercial or military helicopter, but Fyall said that likely would be the most expensive option.

The fourth option would be to declare the truck a total loss and cut it up into pieces to be carried out on foot.

Whichever option the county picks, Dunlap will have to pay, Fyall said.

"I have instructed (Friends of Badger Mountain) to log all of their volunteer hours and new materials -- boulders, gravel, all of that stuff," Fyall said. "I want them to account for it, and we will value it and pass the bill along."

He said the truck isn't obstructing use of the trail, where Friends of Badger Mountain has scheduled a family fun hike at 1 p.m. Saturday.

w Michelle Dupler: 582-1543; mdupler@tricityherald.com


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And some comments:

AtHomeDad wrote on October, 28 8:21 AM:
This is hilarious: The fourth option would be to declare the truck a total loss and cut it up into pieces to be carried out on foot.

What, are you going to cut it up with a pair of scissors? Do you realize what kind of welding equipment it would take to cut up something that massive in size? Are you going to hire Superman to carry it all up there? I guarantee a welding truck would weigh much more than that pickup. And this isn't even taking into consideration the biohazardous materials (fluids, grease, gases, etc) that would permeate into the soil there.

This just goes to show how asinine this whole thing is--the solution is simple...


HORSE wrote on October, 28 6:56 AM:
come on you all are you makeing to big a deal of this? the land will recover and in a month after the wind and snow and rain come you wont even know that the truck was there this is rediculess that you all are wasting all this time on this

horse