Sunday 9/20 - Sucker Pond Trail, Bennington VT

I second that!

 

You all missed a great ride. Sucker pond is almost unrecognizable in the winter. And no ooggha booogha scary Priuses

BTW- That bridge is still out.







Matt getting yanked off:
https://youtu.be/v-VszM1BCsw

Getting over the beaver dam is simple.
https://youtu.be/t-NJu-ZhXdc

Creek Crossing:
https://youtu.be/dcunrZPs_vs

 

"op, forgot to mention the bridge is out" hahaha WHOOPS. Totally different experience here this time around. We had a blast (and left all the jeeps that showed up in our dust )

 

Yea yea but we need pics of the Prius stuck

 

she was a no show

 

The view you don't see in that video hahaha, I'm in the process of editing now so I should have some pics that spare my dignity up soon

 

Realized after the fact I had my iso at 800 from trying out some night sky long exposure these didn't come out as sharp as I'd like but I had a good time so oh well, live and learn

 

Uhh, where are my glamor shots?

 

Distorted to shit because I'm an idiot

 

Apparently we lost the Jeep’s because they ripped the bumper off that red Wranger and others gave up.

 

I had my radio on the whole ride, I could hear chess and Joe no problem but the only time I heard the jeeps was that one radio that wouldn't turn off

 

Ripped off bumper is a pretty crappy day. Were you guys just using CB's?

 

Joe had a 2 way and the three of us had the baofengs on the same frequency

 

I have learned from the last trip that I took to Sucker pond that having the group prepared to communicate with one another before hand is paramount. @BadDNA made the decision to have everyone in the group have GMRS and anyone that couldn't was in between people that did so they could pass along the info. I have gone as far as to get a 6 pack of boefang handhelds to make sure of this for next time.

 

Trail comms are the most important and the least important thing at the same time...

PS I have one of these:

$19 BTECH, BaoFeng BL-5 Battery Eliminator for for BF-F8HP, UV-5X3, and UV-5R Radios

https://www.amazon.com/BTECH-BaoFeng-BL-5-Battery-Eliminator/dp/B00KZ6VGUW

I got a pack of two so if anyone wants one let me know.

 

Those have pretty decent range, even with the stock rubber antenna. Who knows. Glad all the toyota's made it unscathed. Winter wheeling can make even graded gravel roads a challenge with snow and ice involved.

 

I heard they are dropping the licensing cost for GMRS to like $15. Which is pretty nice. I've got an actual Midland GMRS unit hard mounted in my truck, and a handheld Baofeng. The Chicomm radio is nice because you can do FRS/GMRS/2m with it (if one was so inclined..).

 

ooo really? That would be nice. I did hear some mumblings about ham licenses going to be not free too though, so it might balance out. I got my tech and will probably stick there - my only application for it (for now) is trail comms

 

Nothing like sitting in the middle of a convoy and not knowing why you're stopped or what's going on up ahead, or leading a ride and not knowing that somebody halfway through the pack is stuck and needs assistance.