Post by thinkbig on Mar 22, 2007 11:09:08 GMT -5
From the start, when we started to plan this trip, almost everything that could have gone wrong did.
The group
We started planning this trip in January with 6 Jeeps. Over the last few weeks, the numbers started to drop. The first to drop out was due to timing. He just bought a house and the closing date was the day before our departure. Then one of the guy's garage burnt down with his Jeep in it. Jeep is still functional but financially it did him in for this trip. Then one week before the big day, contestant #3 has a suspension bracket tear off the frame of his Jeep. Without enough time or money to fix the Jeep quickly, he also had to bow down. We started to wonder??? Are the Jeep Gods trying to tell us something??? Nahhh 5.....4......3.......After all, we still have 3 Jeeps and that is plenty for a trip like that...and the night before....bam! down to only two crazy adventurers! Our third member just lost his transmission. Yes only two of us could make it to the run. But did that stop us? No way!
The Weather Forecast
Expecting 20-25 cm of snow overnight followed by 10-15mm of rain at times heavy (They weren't kidding about the heavy part ) Did that stop us? No way!
So we got the last minute supplies we needed since we had just lost one of our fellow Jeepers who was suppose to bring lots of tools and a bit of food.
Saturday morning weather
For once the forecast was right. We woke up to a snow storm/ freezing rain for my friend Dan coming from Moncton. Did that stop us? No way!
Dan and his dog Jake met my client and I at the Fraser Burchill road around 11:15am and we started off on our adventure shortly after. I don't think my client knew what was coming.
The main road leading to the trail wasn't plowed with about 20 cm of fresh snow. We didn't get too far before we got to a section of the main road that wasn't plowed for quite some time. There was a snow bank across the road so we had to air down to get better flotation and traction much sooner than expected.
We made it to the trail entrance sometimes after 12o'clock. Probably closer to 1pm. The first stuck of the day occurred about 5 ft into the trail when the nose of my Jeep just sunk. That was a sign of what the day was going to bring us. We had driven all this way for a challenge...WE FOUND ONE!
The ultimate goal was to reach the top of the mountain...which we didn't even come close to achieving this year. I think we made it up about 1 km up the trail at most. It was the most difficult snow conditions I have ever encountered. Lots of snow ~3-4 ft on a heavy rainy day with no bottom. It was slow progress to say the least. Did that stop us? No way!
Because I was only running about 3psi in my tires in order to be able to move in this stuff, I had my first tire coming off the rim 50 ft into the trail, then another 100ft later, 3 more flats, Dan's on-board air compressor stopped working. (It's a good think I had my scuba diving tank as a spare air supply) His winch was making funny noises and then it started to rain very heavily! Talk about fun! ;D
Then came time to setup camp! Remember, it's pouring rain and we have to setup the tent and the cooking area in 4 ft of snow where we sink up to our waist. 1.5 hours later, we are sitting under a canopy waiting for the steaks and potatoes to be ready. The food was great. Especially when you've been working hard all day in the rain and it's now almost 9pm.
After supper we lit up a fire starter log that we just set in the upside down BBQ cover that we took apart from the BBQ. That log kept us warm under the canopy until almost 1am when we called it a night.
It poured heavily all night and somehow we stayed dry. I slept like a baby and so did everyone else.
So from some of these facts, you may think that this trip wasn't really a success. Especially since our goal was to reach the top of the mountain and we didn't even reach the 1km mark. Think again!!! It was a really great trip with tons of challenges that tested our ability to think and find solutions to keep going.
Now what was the real reason to go on this camping trip?
1) Be with some good friends and enjoy the company. 10/10
2) Experience some extreme challenges with our Jeeps. 11/10
3) Camp out in the snow and have a great time, eat great food and again enjoy the company. 10/10
4) Test ourselves against adverse wheeling and camping conditions. 10/10
So all in all I would say that this was a definite success. The reach for the top of the mountain was the goal, but it is the process of getting there that we actually enjoyed the most. So in reality, we get much more from the journey than the destination.
Isn't this very similar to what life is all about? How many times do we look past the journey and miss all the great times we have because we are too focused on the end result that isn't always reachable. This trip was the perfect example of appreciating the moments for what they were as they were progressing. We had 3 great guys and a great dog having a great time in spite of one of the worst day of our winter season weather wise. There was almost 2" of rain that fell from Saturday ~3pm to Sunday morning around 9am. But we still managed to set up camp, have a couple of awesome meals and sleep like babies. What more could we possibly want?
This was an awesome experience once again. I've learned more about winter camping and the gear that is mission critical to having a great time.
The right clothes, the right camping gear (tent, sleeping bags, tarps, etc) is what made this trip the success that it was. And of course we can't forget the shear happy go lucky attitude of our group of 3.
I had a very memorable time and I look forward to my next expedition.
Eric Landry
The group
We started planning this trip in January with 6 Jeeps. Over the last few weeks, the numbers started to drop. The first to drop out was due to timing. He just bought a house and the closing date was the day before our departure. Then one of the guy's garage burnt down with his Jeep in it. Jeep is still functional but financially it did him in for this trip. Then one week before the big day, contestant #3 has a suspension bracket tear off the frame of his Jeep. Without enough time or money to fix the Jeep quickly, he also had to bow down. We started to wonder??? Are the Jeep Gods trying to tell us something??? Nahhh 5.....4......3.......After all, we still have 3 Jeeps and that is plenty for a trip like that...and the night before....bam! down to only two crazy adventurers! Our third member just lost his transmission. Yes only two of us could make it to the run. But did that stop us? No way!
The Weather Forecast
Expecting 20-25 cm of snow overnight followed by 10-15mm of rain at times heavy (They weren't kidding about the heavy part ) Did that stop us? No way!
So we got the last minute supplies we needed since we had just lost one of our fellow Jeepers who was suppose to bring lots of tools and a bit of food.
Saturday morning weather
For once the forecast was right. We woke up to a snow storm/ freezing rain for my friend Dan coming from Moncton. Did that stop us? No way!
Dan and his dog Jake met my client and I at the Fraser Burchill road around 11:15am and we started off on our adventure shortly after. I don't think my client knew what was coming.
The main road leading to the trail wasn't plowed with about 20 cm of fresh snow. We didn't get too far before we got to a section of the main road that wasn't plowed for quite some time. There was a snow bank across the road so we had to air down to get better flotation and traction much sooner than expected.
We made it to the trail entrance sometimes after 12o'clock. Probably closer to 1pm. The first stuck of the day occurred about 5 ft into the trail when the nose of my Jeep just sunk. That was a sign of what the day was going to bring us. We had driven all this way for a challenge...WE FOUND ONE!
The ultimate goal was to reach the top of the mountain...which we didn't even come close to achieving this year. I think we made it up about 1 km up the trail at most. It was the most difficult snow conditions I have ever encountered. Lots of snow ~3-4 ft on a heavy rainy day with no bottom. It was slow progress to say the least. Did that stop us? No way!
Because I was only running about 3psi in my tires in order to be able to move in this stuff, I had my first tire coming off the rim 50 ft into the trail, then another 100ft later, 3 more flats, Dan's on-board air compressor stopped working. (It's a good think I had my scuba diving tank as a spare air supply) His winch was making funny noises and then it started to rain very heavily! Talk about fun! ;D
Then came time to setup camp! Remember, it's pouring rain and we have to setup the tent and the cooking area in 4 ft of snow where we sink up to our waist. 1.5 hours later, we are sitting under a canopy waiting for the steaks and potatoes to be ready. The food was great. Especially when you've been working hard all day in the rain and it's now almost 9pm.
After supper we lit up a fire starter log that we just set in the upside down BBQ cover that we took apart from the BBQ. That log kept us warm under the canopy until almost 1am when we called it a night.
It poured heavily all night and somehow we stayed dry. I slept like a baby and so did everyone else.
So from some of these facts, you may think that this trip wasn't really a success. Especially since our goal was to reach the top of the mountain and we didn't even reach the 1km mark. Think again!!! It was a really great trip with tons of challenges that tested our ability to think and find solutions to keep going.
Now what was the real reason to go on this camping trip?
1) Be with some good friends and enjoy the company. 10/10
2) Experience some extreme challenges with our Jeeps. 11/10
3) Camp out in the snow and have a great time, eat great food and again enjoy the company. 10/10
4) Test ourselves against adverse wheeling and camping conditions. 10/10
So all in all I would say that this was a definite success. The reach for the top of the mountain was the goal, but it is the process of getting there that we actually enjoyed the most. So in reality, we get much more from the journey than the destination.
Isn't this very similar to what life is all about? How many times do we look past the journey and miss all the great times we have because we are too focused on the end result that isn't always reachable. This trip was the perfect example of appreciating the moments for what they were as they were progressing. We had 3 great guys and a great dog having a great time in spite of one of the worst day of our winter season weather wise. There was almost 2" of rain that fell from Saturday ~3pm to Sunday morning around 9am. But we still managed to set up camp, have a couple of awesome meals and sleep like babies. What more could we possibly want?
This was an awesome experience once again. I've learned more about winter camping and the gear that is mission critical to having a great time.
The right clothes, the right camping gear (tent, sleeping bags, tarps, etc) is what made this trip the success that it was. And of course we can't forget the shear happy go lucky attitude of our group of 3.
I had a very memorable time and I look forward to my next expedition.
Eric Landry
