AdventureTaco - turbodb's build and adventures

How deep was that swimming hole? Any current?

 

You would be my favorite poster, but my jealousy is preventing that from happening. Looks awesome as usual.

 

I hear it depends on the time of year. Right now there wasn't a ton of current, and there was actually quite a bit of algae growing in there, which wasn't awesome.

Thanks man, appreciate it.

. Glad you're enjoying.

 

Gotta love the fuking 'ol guys.

 

I'm sure it's been posted before, but there's a lot of pages to look through, and I'm easily distracted by the great shots.... But what's your camera setup? I have an ok setup, but can't take great pics....so I'm just hoping it's because of your fantastic gear that makes them better than mine

Also, go Mustangs! BRAE major from '09

 

Sierras Part 3: We Adventure Out!
July 10-11, 2018.

There was plenty of relaxing around our camp in the Sierra's - and it was great. The way I see it, most of us live in the world running from one thing to the next, attention spans of a cricket. To really be able to relax, disconnect, and not worry about "doing something all the time" is an ability that's being lost.

Not every trip lends itself to this kind of relaxation, but every trip does have moments where this can be experienced. Relish - even look for - those moments; they are grand.

Even so, even this trip had a couple of excursions worth mentioning - one a fun 4WD road with spectacular views; the other an annual hike with a fun twist at the end.

Finally Some Off-roading - Let's Go to ****** Mountain

I don't remember if it was the second or third day we were there, but at some point, Pops suggested that we take the Tacoma for a spin up ****** Mountain. He'd been up this road once before, years ago and thought it'd be a fun trip - challenging even.

Of course, I knew he really just wanted a ride in the truck - having traveled his fair share of Jeep trails in previous decades, but now the owner of a Jeep limo that rarely gets dusty.

Not to be rushed, we set off just before noon, delicious sandwiches and freshly picked cherries packed for the end of the trail. Our first stop was the ***** ****** Ranger Station, where Pops went in to say hi to the ranger (they're buddies after all these years) and I marveled at the only other vehicle parked outside - another Tacoma of course.

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In good time, and after a bit of birding in the nearby meadow, we were off - along a nearby dirt spur looking for ****** Mountain Road. Our first few attempts at finding it were unsuccessful, Pops memory clearly fading over the years! But, after some exploration (fun in itself!), we eventually stumbled upon the right road and headed up.

Most of the road was dusty and bumpy, but still relatively mellow as roads go. It was clearly well-enough traveled, but not so well traveled as to be extremely wide or have the grass between the two tracks beaten down. And, there were a few spots that had some nice granite rocks and ledges that we could climb over.

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And then, as we neared the end of the trail, finally getting up around the treeline and to the top of the ridge, the trail really got fun. Steeper grades, some narrow sections, and a few off-camber moments kept us on our toes.

Not to mention the views!

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We continued up - Dad popping out of the truck for a moment to take a few photos, and then me doing the same thing! It was a great time that I think we both really enjoyed.

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Eventually of course, we got to the top - and the 360º views were splendid. To the north we could see the pass to ******* Valley. To the south, the ************* river and watershed.

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And of course to the west, we could see Little Bear Hill and our camp site in the midground.

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We parked the truck in some of the only shade we could find, the spot reminding me of @Blackdawg's plunge on The De-Tour, and then sat in the shade of a nearby tree to enjoy the deluxe sandwiches we'd brought for lunch and the sights all around.

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Eventually of course, we realized that we should get back - we had an important swimming at 5:00pm schedule to keep, so we climbed back into the truck, released the parking brake, and headed back along the ridge and down ****** Mountain Road.

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It was a great excursion and fun to get in the truck with Pops - something he doesn't generally get to do on these trips any more. But it's hard to say if it was more beautiful than a hike we went on the following day...

The Annual Trip up Lost Knife Knoll

The trip up to ****** Mountain was fun, but there was true hype around our hike up Lost Knife Knoll. Big grins would come over Dad and his buddy's faces when they talked about the knoll, but I had no idea the reason behind that.

At any rate, we headed out one morning - well, around 11:30am really - to enjoy the height of the summer heat on our few mile, couple thousand foot climb. "Awesome."

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And, since we were going up, we started by going down - down to a pretty major bridge that was part of the ****** Trail, and which crossed ****** Creek a quarter mile upstream from our swimming hole.

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From there, we meandered through the forest on the trail for what was maybe only a mile or so, enjoying the wildflowers blooming by small streams, the pine-filtered light on the forest floor, and the grand trees all around.

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Eventually, we turned off the beaten path and headed, essentially, straight uphill towards the knoll. Along the way passing several very old Junipers, clearly special trees in their own right.

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As we made our way up to the tree line, the views started to open up. Granite peaks near and far. Passes in the distance. I knew I was in for a treat as we'd stop to take in the surroundings.

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Eventually we reached the top - and it was there that I heard the story of Lost Knife Knoll - a location where, years ago a knife was lost and never found. Where a second knife was placed to commemorate the first but was later taken by explorers unknown. And then, where a third knife had been left - waiting for the next curious adventurer.

The question of course on everyone's mind - was it still there?

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And, as the rock was lifted - YES! The knife was still there. What a fun story, and now something I'll remember each time I return.

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But the lost knife isn't all that made this place special. Once again, we had 360º views and everyone took advantage, spending a few quiet moments alone enjoying the grandeur of the place.

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Once again, we had views of Little Bear Hill and our camp site in the midground, the ************ river and watershed to our south, and the pass to ******** Valley to the north.

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(I couldn't resist with this rock in the foreground)

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We hung out of quite a while, but lunch was on all our minds and we eventually headed back down, enjoying the sights again on the way down - the light slightly different than it'd been on the way up. In the end, the bridge marked our entrance back to camp area, where we enjoyed amazing sandwiches and ice cold drinks.

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So,****** Mountain Road and Lost Knife Knoll were quite the outings - highlights in the trip for sure. But perhaps the most excitement would come on what was to be our last day...

There's more to the story; check out previous installments
[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3]​

 

Nice.
Turks Cap Lily.

 

Those views are amazing. I used to live out that way and that area is so fun to explore. That river below looks refreshing.

 

my motto is, if you take enough pictures you're bound to get some good ones! Lol.

I use a Canon 80D, with an 18-135 USM lens.

In 09, you're so young!

Thanks! Never heard them called that before, sometimes called a leopard lily... Always good to get the right names.

Thanks, it is a great place!

 

My wife says it is a different flower, but similar. My error.

 

There are a few places in the pacific northwest that are very special. I have had the good fortune to visit a few of those places. After seeing this place, I feel I have a strong, strong need to visit it.

 

Sierras Part 4: The Incident
July 12, 2018.

"Dan?" I only half heard Pops say, rousing me from my afternoon nap.

"Yeah?"

Well, I can tell you that getting awoken to that kind of news really gets your heart pumping. Especially with the type of afternoon we'd had so far. But, as is often the case with my stories, I'm getting ahead of myself... let's back up for a moment.

Our day had been relaxing as usual - I forget the specifics of what we did, but it was mostly around camp and likely involved plenty of reading and taking in of the nature. As lunch rolled around, we of course placed our "orders" and thoroughly enjoyed the sandwiches when they were presented to us.

And, as we ate them, we watched a lightning and thunderstorm in the distance.

This of course wasn't the first such storm to be seen at ********** Creek - in fact, we'd seen others in the late afternoons and evenings a canyon or two over - but it was the first one we thought might make it's way up our canyon.

As it approached, I figured it'd be a good time to go close the windows and sunroof on the truck - you know, just in case. And of course, I took a couple photos, one as I went down to the truck, and one as I headed back to camp. Clearly this thunderstorm was coming our way.

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Back in camp, we all settled in to read a bit more. I believe a communication was authored (to be sent later when cell reception was momentarily available on a hike to a summit or some such) along the lines of "Rained a bit this afternoon, it was pleasant."

And then, it started to pour. A torrential downpour. Maybe half an inch of rain in 15 minutes. A bolt of lightning struck not too far away - not measured in fractions of a mile, but in hundreds of feet.

We scrambled, as you can imagine. Electronics were gathered up; the kitchen was put away; things that needed to be covered, were. Mostly.

We climbed into Dad's Jeep, all wet (but still warm - it was still a balmy 85ºF) and commenced more relaxation - reading our books, and having a generally good time.

As the downpour let up, we ventured back to outside - ready to commence our normal activities. And for me, that meant looking out at the weather and figuring there was a good chance we'd see another downpour or two - so I headed down to my tent to read and take a nap.

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And, if I'm honest, the reading lasted about 15 minutes - and then it was just nap.

A good 90 minutes later, I was roused from my sleep - "There's been an incident in camp, and we're pretty much all packed up." Turns out that after the second downpour, Dad and his buddy decided to move their sleeping bags into the tent they'd setup the night before. See - generally, they each lay a large tarp on the ground, then several pads and sleeping bags on top of that, and then fold the tarp back over everything during the day to protect their "under the stars" sleeping arrangements from dust, rain, and the like. But when they went to move their gear, the tarps hadn't done their job.

And not just by a little bit - everything was soaked, through and through.

Now, one could argue that perhaps like the fogies, 25-year old tarps may not be at the top of their game. But we were all polite enough not to bring that up on the trip itself. Instead, we commiserated about the bummer (given the blue we could now see in the sky) and I set about packing up my tent and getting the truck outfitted for the drive out.

Of course, we needed a few final photos, and so we maneuvered the trucks into position for our parting shots!

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And with that, we were off! Another trip to ********** Creek in the bag - my first, and all of us hoping there were many more to come.

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July 13, 2018.

Back in the Bay Area, I picked up @mrs.turbodb and we headed north - one more night of camping to cap our three weeks of adventure. We were both looking forward to it, knowing that we'd be near Mt. Shasta and Castle Crags right around the time we'd want to setup camp.

We weren't sure exactly where we were going to camp for the night; we only knew that it wouldn't be at Castle Crags State Park, our allergy to campgrounds and their associated noise strong on our last night. So, as we neared the area, we decided to explore up a forest road towards Girard Ridge and see what we could find.

Initially of course, we found Girard Ridge Lookout. This is a cool place with great views, and not your standard fire lookout. This one's been decommissioned from that duty and is now rentable ($75/night) on a first come, first serve basis.

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Somewhat surprised to be the only ones there, we figured we could probably do better if we set out for something a bit more off the beaten path, and so with an hour or two before sunset we started exploring. We were pleasantly surprised with the roads we found, a couple of them looking promising - lightly traveled, along ridges, and dead ends that meant we wouldn't see any through-traffic.

Then, we stumbled on a logging platform above a clear cut. And, while I don't generally love the concept of clear cuts, they do make for some great views. And this logging platform made for a great camp site.

As we high-fived our good fortune, a bear ran across the road! So cool.

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With both Castle Crags and Mt. Shasta in the background, we'd totally scored; the view out of our tent one that commercials are made of.

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Having already eaten, and tired from a long day of driving, we decided it'd be a good evening to just read, relax, and enjoy the sunset and view out the tent window. Well, as usual - for me at least - the reading led to sleeping, and I nearly missed sunset!

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Luckily the camera was already in the tent, so a quick click of the lens and I went right back to sleep. A bit of rain fell overnight, but the air temps were warmish, and there was a bit of a breeze - so by morning the tent was dry again; always nice on the last day of a trip.

Oh, and sunrise. Yeah, it was pretty nice too from the tent - complete with a rainbow.

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By 8:00am we pulled ourselves out of bed - another long day of driving in front of us to get home. And as the sky cleared and the sun lit up Castle Crags, we folded up the tent for the last time. It'd been a great three weeks on the WABDR, in Idaho with friends, and exploring the Sierra's in California!

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Love this thread. Your pictures are simply amazing and never fail to inspire for that next trip.

 

Awesome man.

 

"...there's been an incident in camp" Lame.

Great storytelling. Great photography.

 

Thanks guys, appreciate it. Glad you're enjoying.

Sort of lame, but at the same time, I'd have not wanted to sleep in those wet bags, with wet pads. Was still a really fun trip, and now like all trips, I want to return!

...and it sounds like perhaps there might be some tag-along at some point by a red truck.

 

Good stuff! Every time I see ******* in your posts I substitute "shit" and it makes it more fun to read.

 

Welcome to The De-Tour Trip report. This trip took place nearly a year ago now, and we've shared many of the photos already - but now it's time for the story that goes with those photos!

The presentation of this story is going to be a bit different. I was far from the only truck on the trip - @Blackdawg was there as well; the organizer in fact. As usual, he took his own notes, and together we decided it would be fun to post them simultaneously. That way we won’t influence each other's memory and take on the story.

Each of Monte's chapters will be linked from mine (and vice-versa) so you can read a different perspective of The De-Tour. I highly recommend checking them both out.

The De-Tour

As told by @turbodb: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]
[Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13a] [Chapter 13b]

As told by @Blackdawg: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]
[Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13]​

Now, on to the story!

The De-Tour (Sep 2017)
September 17 - October 1, 2017

As @mrs.turbodb and I returned from the OBDR, we were already wondering what our next adventure would be. And, at least I assumed that it would be next year.

Boy, was I wrong.

You see, 10 days before we'd left for Oregon, an unassuming post had been made on TacomaWorld. The Tour was going to be a two-week long trip through Montana and Wyoming, with a group of guys who seemed to have a similar approach to exploring and taking in the sights as we do.

But we weren't even considering it - we'd just taken a week of work, and there was lots going on. So, we'd have to wait until next year to join and adventure such as that. In fact, I even said as much to Ben at one point:

But then in early September, the work situation "worked itself out," so to speak and I hoped there was still a chance I could get in on the trip.

The welcome couldn't have been warmer, and I knew that it was going to be a blast. There was a bit to do to get ready - I needed a CB radio for instance, and I had my concerns (mostly well-founded ground clearance concerns) - but it was clear to me that we'd have a blast.

Little did I know that this was going to be a trip like no other. Monte (@Blackdawg) had done an amazing job planning it - perhaps "the most well-planned trip ever," he later said, with two full weeks of amazing trails, views, and points of interest. Pre-run GPS tracks for the whole thing.



But the thing I appreciated the most were the "rules."

Those are basically the rules we should all live life by, so I was jazzed. And that jazz was only slightly tempered by the "important notes":

"OK, I get it," I thought, I'll bring some pants.

Luckily, I brought more than just pants…because snow and cold was exactly what we got. And rain. And mud. And oh yeah, lightning and thunder. But now we're getting ahead of ourselves.

But only just barely.

The De-Tour: Day 1 - We are now a caravan of four
September 17, 2017

The morning was an early one. I'd spent the last couple days wrapping up things as work and getting ready to go. By 10pm Saturday, my checklist was complete:

• CB radio installed
  
• Warm clothes and extra sleeping bag (just in case) packed
  
• Two weeks of breakfast, lunch, and dinner gathered (and pre-cooked in the case of dinner)
  
• Truck fueled, loaded, and waiting in the garage for an early morning start

My target go-time was 4am, and with an actual on-the-road time of 4:30, I wasn't doing too bad. I pressed the skinny pedal as I got onto I-90 heading east and monitored aprs.fi for the rest of the crew that had left the night before. By 7:00, I was crossing the Columbia River, happy to see that Mike (@Digiratus) was still beaconing from the Spokane area.

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As I neared Spokane, my gas gauge neared empty. I knew it was time to pull over and refuel, and to fill up my auxiliary fuel containers as well - there were a few points in the trip where we'd be away from gas stations for a prolonged period, and I didn't want to be that guy bumming gas.

As I completed my fill-up and got back on the road, it was about 9:30, and I noticed that Mike, Zane (@Speedytech7), and Dan (@drr, with his dad) were back on the road; they were ~20 minutes ahead of me. I pushed that skinny pedal just a bit further, which combined with the weight I was carrying for a two-week trip wasn't going to be pretty for my MPGs.

As I reached Coeur d'Alene, I was just minutes behind. I fired up the HAM and called out to Mike, since I knew he'd be monitoring. Little did he know at the time, it was my first HAM contact - I'd done a lot of listening to that point, but no actual communication. He confirmed that they'd stopped for gas, the exit they'd just passed, and that they'd continue along at 65mph while I caught up the final two miles. And soon, we were a caravan of four.

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Four loaded Tacoma's heading down the road looks pretty bad-ass, and as we stopped throughout the day at rest stops, gas stations, and the like, we were constantly approached by various folks to chat about the trucks. Of course, being new to the group, there was also a bit of checking out my truck that went on, and I got my first look at Zane's new ride after he recently rolled his last (and did an amazing job in a short time getting the new one trail-worthy)!

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Around 6:15pm, we pulled into Iron Star Pizza in Big Timber - only 75 minutes after our scheduled dinner meeting time. Luckily for us, and apparently as usual, Monte was running late and wouldn't show up for another hour. We used the time to tune our CBs with Mike's SWR meter, and enjoyed a few appetizers as we got to know each other.

When Monte arrived just after 7:00, we did a quick round of intros and got straight to ordering. We still needed to eat, refuel, and find a camp site for the evening, so we knew it was going to be a late one. Around the table, we ordered only two items: The Supreme and The Iron Star pizzas, at Monte and Devin's recommendation. We were not disappointed.

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Full (and with leftovers in most cases), we headed out to find camp. Monte knew the general direction but without a specific spot in mind, he sent Mike down a side road to quicken the search. In the end, we found a large, flat spot with a fire ring and setup camp, which mostly consisted of deploying RTTs and pulling out Mike's propane fire pit since there was a stage 2 burn ban in Montana (no wood fires, even in established rings).

We chatted until 1am - about each other, past trips, the (anticipated) trip to come, and the plan for the following day. Eventually, two things happened: first, we got sick of the seemingly hundreds of daddy-long-leg spiders that seemed to be dropping on us from the surrounding trees, and second, the propane ran out and we all realized we were going to need some sleep. Tired from our long drives, we all climbed into out tents, eager to see what the following day would bring…starting with what our camp site looked like!

The De-Tour: Day 2 - Off to a Rough Start
September 18, 2017

Close to the gravel road, we were awoken at first light by traffic, including 18-wheelers. And as we climbed out of our tents, we got our first look at the site we'd called camp the night before.

It was glorious. In that "it worked" kind of way.

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We each investigated in our own way, discovering the second site (occupied) next to us, the source of the daddy-long-leg spiders (the fire ring where we'd setup, not the trees), and of course the warnings to be careful. 18-wheelers or not, we were in bear country. (Note that we never saw a bear.)

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After a bit of exploration and breakfast (which ranged from coffee to granola bars to a breakfast sandwich with fruit), it was time to get going, so the tents came down (dry!) and we all piled into our trucks, glad to be on the road and headed to our first planned adventure.

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By 10:30 we reached Natural Bridge & Falls, where we all climbed out of our trucks, and aired down for the first time, in anticipation of the dirt to come. Then, we made the short trek over to Natural Bridge to check it out before continuing.

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And then we were off to Independence Pass, our first trail of the trip. I was excited as well as nervous - not sure if my little (compared to the others) truck was up for the task - though I'd have to wait a little longer to find out, because as we neared the trailhead we were greeted by a friendly road flagger.

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As we all photographed and chatted around the trucks, Monte got the low-down from the flagger. We had about another 30 minutes to wait here, and then an hour further up the road (where they were installing a culvert). And then, we'd have to stay on the trail that night because they were closing the road at 5pm.

Seriously. Closing a Forrest Service road. Can they even do that?

Discussion followed. Should we wait, get in some wheeling, and camp up the road for the night (where there might be snow), or should we look for another trail and not get stuck behind the construction?

Not wanting to throw off the schedule for the entire trip, and thinking we could avoid the snow (!) we decided to turn around and look for another option. Of course, much to our dismay, that meant airing up just 30 minutes after we'd aired down.

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And with that, we headed back into Big Timber for fuel. On our way out of town, Monte came over the CB, "Devin found us a Jeep trail …depending on the reviews, it's either easy or really hard …it's hard to tell if the reviews are from trucks or ATVs." This wouldn't be the last time that Devin worked her Google-fu for us on the trip!

What more could we ask for?

But then, over the CB, @drr called for Monte to pull over at the next exit for a quick discussion. He'd gotten an email that we all knew could come but had hoped wouldn't - an email that said he had to be back to work at 9am the next morning. Such a bummer - to have driven from Seattle for a night of camping, no trails, and then the drive back to Seattle!

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Goodbyes shared, we parted ways and soon found ourselves at the Benbow Trail, airing down and looking forward to some bumps.

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And with that, we headed up the trail. There were lodgepole pines, rocks, mud, water, and eventually a bit of snow. For each of us, the experience was a bit different. On 35's, Monte and Devin were floating and choosing any line they liked. Zane and Mike on 33's were moving a bit more slowly, but were still quite comfortable. On 31's (with what turned out to be near no-lift), I had to be more careful picking lines, but was still doing just fine.

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And then, trouble. It was trouble that we'd heard about. It was trouble with a name. Frankenstein.

As we pulled up to the top of the hill, we saw Frank in the middle of the road, hood raised. Monte was on the CB telling us that he had diff fluid on the ground and that his auxiliary battery was boiling.

"This is why I hate Frank," could also be heard.

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To everyone else, this was pretty much par for the course - Frank breaks. This time, Monte wasn't super happy - he'd just had the front diff rebuilt, and it was still under warranty. So, as he pulled off the skid to get a look, and discovered that the tube for the diff breather had become dislodged, he was both pissed and relieved. The trail fix was to be a couple strategically placed zip ties, but it was too hot to fix immediately, so we waited.

And we ate cookies.

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And eventually, Monte got Frank buttoned up enough to head back down the trail - because not only was it starting to get late, but it was also starting to snow, and we weren’t sure of the trail conditions or when we'd reach camp if we continued on. All we knew was that it the snow and mud were getting thicker.

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And then, we were on our way to camp. We'd arrive at dusk, having driven past the two campgrounds (that had been open just a couple weeks before on the trial run) to find a large spot on the side of the road that easily fit our rigs.

We all got to fixing dinner. Having prepped mine before leaving, I feasted on chicken and mushrooms and a fresh salad. And this of course got me a bit of ribbing. But it was all in fun, and frankly totally worth it… 'cause I was the one eating chicken and mushrooms.

Mike broke out two things this night: the propane fire ring of course, but also some of his homemade salsa - a favorite amongst the group, for obvious reasons - it's delicious! We'd have the salsa during several meals on the trip, each time just as tasty as the last.

With dinner behind us, we again chatted around the fire late into the night, all the time hoping that the light rain would stop - if not before we went to bed, at least before morning so that we could put our tents away dry. The conversation (perhaps obviously) centered around trucks and trips and got especially lively when Mike and Monte recalled different details of the same trip, some 5 years earlier.

"Five years," I thought to myself, "I can't remember details of 5 weeks ago."

In the end, the discussion of "facts vs. what's in trip reports" went unsettled - perhaps on purpose. Because really, everyone just had a great time with the fun-loving debate! Plus, by leaving it unsettled, we were able to bring it up many times over the remainder of the trip, any time there was a disagreement about just what unfolded some time ago.

Of course, that will never happen with the De-Tour - since it went so perfectly to plan, I'm sure we'll all remember it identically. And if we don’t, we'll all know that this trip report is fact.

As we wrapped up around the fire and climbed into bed the rain only got heavier, lulling us to sleep.

And it rained all night.

 

I did the same thing:

"We headed down to shit creek..."

 

The De-Tour: Day 3 - Weather
September 19, 2017.

Hoping the rain would stop, we all stayed in bed until 8:30am. Or at least, that's why I stayed in bed - I'd later realize that 9am was the general wake-up time. Once again, morning provided a clearer view of our campsite as the rain let up slightly I headed out to take a look and get started on breakfast.

Next to the creek, everyone was dry in their tent - but Zane was clearly in need of a new rain fly.

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Once again breakfast was sausage, eggs, and strawberries but on this morning I had the bright idea to cut down on dishes by cooking the sausage in the egg pan, and then scrambling the eggs in the sausage fat (rather than using butter).

It was a disaster. The sausage cooked just fine, but there wasn't enough fat, and scrabling the eggs in the buterless pan just meant that the (sticky-from-protein) egg whites could stick to the pan before the yolks were mixed in.

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Tastiness was reduced, and dishwashing time was at least doubled - which meant that by the time I was done, everyone else was up and had finished (or nearly) their breakfast. Smarter than me, they had no dishes to wash.

And then, the rain started turning to snow.

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At first it was relatively light snow, but it was enough to get us all moving with the tents. They'd go away wet, but wet was better than snow-covered.

Within minutes, the snow picked up. By the time we pulled out of camp and got back on the road, it was thick and sticking. Monte's warning in the prep-post was definitely coming true - it was gonna be cold!

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Out of the woods, we headed for Roscoe where we'd air up and evaluate our next move.

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While airing up, we decided that our best bet would be to head into Red Lodge, where we'd planned to eat lunch anyway at Mas Taco, in order to get a new battery for Monte, some propane for the fire, and of course food for our bellies.

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Mas Taco was good (more 'meh taco' when your bar is California), but food and propane were all we could find - there were no batteries for Frank. So, after a bit more discussion, we decided that the best plan was to head south - to Powell, WY - where we could regroup and repair before heading out again.

Knowing we had a few hours of driving in front of us, we settled in for the haul by turning up our radios and setting our cruise control (at least, I set mine).

That of course meant it was time for a pit stop! We checked out the view of-and-around the Smith Mine, a ghost town/mine the result of the worst coal mining disaster in Montana (74 people killed in 1973).

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From there, it was back on the road, where the tunes and cruise control were put to good use. By early afternoon, we arrived in sunny (to our joy) Powell where we all immediately unfurled our tents in front of Monte's house to dry them out.

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Then, Monte, Zane, and Mike got to work on various repairs - a battery for Frank, a fix to the camp table on the Red Head's swingout, and a new taillight for the grey truck.

But I had the hardest job of all (eventually shared by Monte) - talking to the neighbor (character!) across the street.

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At 3:45, Mike stopped laughing long enough (from across the street - he was smarter than to actually engage) to excuse us from the neighbor so we could pack up our tents and get back on the road - still eager to "stay on schedule," which - unbeknownst to us - we were just about to scrap entirely! Destination: Cooke City and Goose Lake.

As we drove up the Bear Tooth Highway, we headed up and over Dead Indian Pass, where we got an amazing view of the road down to the valley below

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Little did we know that we'd be back relatively soon, for one of the most memorable moments of the trip!

From there, we headed on to Cooke City for fuel, and up to the Lulu Pass road and Goose Lake, hoping that the snow in Cooke City wasn't an indication of what we were about to run into - a thousand feet higher in elevation!

Of course, we had no such luck. Not only did the snow get deeper, but as we reached the trailhead, it was clear that we'd be breaking trail. It was time for a pow-wow.

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Monte of course wanted to continue - afterall, Ben (@m3bassman) and Kirsten were to meet us after midnight at our camp near Lulu Pass - but Mike, Zane, and I reminded him that he was on 35's and we weren't. In the end, given the time (6:30pm), we decided that the smart move was to head back to Sunlight Basin and text Ben the new location - we might arrive after dark, but at least it would be warmer and dry.

At least we were right about the arriving after dark part.

As we drove up Sunlight Basin, we once again realized that the weather wasn't on our side - what had been dry a couple hours earlier was already covered in snow - beautiful, but wet.

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We thanked the weather gods as we pulled into camp that while it was dark, it wasn't snowing. And, since we were now in Wyoming, it meant we could have a real fire! Monte got on it right away, and within minutes had cleared a spot from the snow and built one of his trademark log-cabin fires.

The rest of us made our dinners.

The weather gods giggled, and let loose the snow.

Perfect.

Determined, we tried - for a good 15 minutes - to keep the fire going, but the snow got heavier and heavier, and in the end it was clear that even if Monte kept the fire alive, no one was going to stay out in the snow to enjoy it. We all wrapped up our dinners and dishes and buttoned down the hatches.

By 9:30 it'd been snowing for an hour and we'd gotten 2+ inches of fresh powder. That was enough for Zane, Devin and I to called it quits - we were ready to get warm and dry and we retired to our tents. Monte and Mike stayed up for another 15 minutes or so discussing the plans for the following day - should we attempt Goose Lake or not? - and it was at this point that Mike titled the trip "Weather." Then they too were ready to get out of the snowstorm.

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Monte's last two acts of the night were to sweep the snow off everyone's tents, and leave a sign for Ben in the snow on the main road - both of which would be completely undone by the snow that would continue to fall throughout the night and into the early morning hours!

But Ben and Kirsten would still find us. It would be 2:38am, and they would have driven several extra hours through white-out conditions, but they would.

- - - - -

Enjoying the De-Tour story?
There's more - @Blackdawg also wrote up a version. Check out his version of this chapter here:
Chapter 2: Out of the fire, into the frozen pan

or, check out the full story with these links:

As told by @turbodb: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]
[Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13a] [Chapter 13b]

As told by @Blackdawg: [Chapter 1] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapter 7]
[Chapter 8] [Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11] [Chapter 12] [Chapter 13]
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