Hangover Run 2009

Yesterday, Terry and I went on the annual Hangover Run with our 4-wheel drive club.  This year, we decided to go to Tonga Ridge which is a forest service road just east of Skykomish on Hwy 2.  On the way there, it was raining really hard and so I started dreading the trip.  I don't mind wheeling in the snow, but I wasn't looking forward to wheeling in downpour.

We stopped in Sultan and picked up Mike Jones who was going to be riding with us for the day.  From there, we headed up to the trailhead where we left the truck and trailer and unloaded the Jeep.  Greg V. and Wyatt showed up at the same time as us and we all got ready to hit the trail at the same time.  As we were leaving, Mark, Mike and Greg S. pulled in and started unloading their rigs.  We decided to start up the road and let the others catch up with us.

As we drove, the snow started to get deeper.  It was nice being in the front of the group.  Eventually, Mark and Gary caught up to us and Mark took the lead.  Finally, we got to a point where we were all getting stuck, so the five of us decided to turn around.  On the way back, we rescued Greg S. from a little slide into a ditch and eventually made it to where a lot of the Tamers were stopped and relaxing.  We hung out with the group there for a little bit before continuing down the hill.

We made it back with perfect timing.  By the time we got the Jeep back on the trailer and were heading back to the main road, it was just getting dark.  After we dropped Mike off in Sultan, Terry and I decided to stop in Monroe for dinner.  We were lucky that we did since when we pulled into the parking lot we noticed a strange noise and it turned out we had blown a trailer tire.  Lucky we had a spare.  Unlucky for us, we had a slight malfunction with the hi-lift jack.  Lucky once again, Terry was able to use a screwdriver to replace a missing bolt and change the flat tire.  Unlucky for us, as we were changing the trailer tire, we noticed a tire on the Jeep was also flat.  At least that one could wait until we got home for further investigation, so we just added some air to it and so far it is doing good.  After spending some time in the rain changing the tire, we headed home.  Overall, it was a fabulous day with some great friends.  Now, we are just looking forward to our next snow trip to Denny Creek later this month!

First Snow Shoe Adventure

Today, Terry surprised me by saying that we would be taking our first trip up to Mt Rainier with the plans of doing some snow shoeing.  Since last summer, we have talked about going snow shoeing.  I had looked online and noticed that Mt Rainier gives ranger led trips twice a day in the winter and even have snow shoes available for use (they ask for a $1-$4 donation only.  Check it out at http://www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/winter-recreation.htm#CP_JUMP_142395 for more information).  We had talked about it for a long time and finally, today was the day we decided to try it out.

We left our house around ten o'clock and made it to the ranger station in Paradise in time to sign-up for the 12:30 trip.  Terry noticed a sign advertising the ranger led walk and it described it as "moderately strenuous".  At reading that, I began to freak out.  I suddenly became weary of the walk and wasn't sure that we should be attempting it.  However, I decided to give it a try and figured that a 2 hour walk that was only 1.5 miles should be very doable.

I am sure glad that we went.  We had such a blast!  Since it was ranger led, we stopped every so often and she talked about the area.  There was one hill that we had to go down and since I had my snow pants on, I went down on my butt like a sled.  The walk took us to the Nisqually Glacier overlook and it was very neat to look down at the glacier.  Then, we headed back to the visitor center.  We had a really good walk and both really enjoyed it.  We can't wait until we are able to get out and try it again!

Elbe Work Day

Today, Terry and I headed down to Elbe OHV park to do some trail maintenance with our 4-wheel drive club, the Timber Tamers.  The morning started great by breakfast with our friends Mike and Claire Jennings.  It was nice to start the morning with a good breakfast among friends at our house.  From our house, we headed down to Elbe hoping for snow. 

There was a little snow on the grounds when we got to the parking lot, but not too much.  There was definately more mud than snow.  We had a small showing of Tamers, but enough to get done what we needed to do.  Rudi, Dirtball, the Jennings, Greg, Terry and I were all there.  We spent the first part of our day doing the usual trail maintenance.  We opened up some of the water traps to help drain water off the trail and fixed some by-passes.  We also had to fill in some rock in a few areas where the slickness of the trail was causing people to decide to make by-passes, which is a problem.  The trail is much easier now than when we got there this morning, but until people stop making by-passes, we have to have one easier route for people to choose. 

The trail was quite busy today and we saw a lot of interesting people pass us as we were working.  We had to help several out who broke, or had other issues making it to the top.

After some trail repairs, we decided to do a little wheeling.  It was really pretty out with a light dusting of snow, but not too much that made the trails any more difficult.  After a short trail run, we headed back to try and make it home before dark.  Overall, we had a great day and a good start to Terry's birthday weekend!

Elbe Camping Trip

Terry and I spent the night at Elbe with some other Timber Tamers on Saturday night. The plan was to meet up Saturday morning, do a little maintenance on our adopted trail and then spend the night in the camping area. We ended up getting a late start as one of the members from our club, Ann, hit black ice soon after she left her house and ended up with her truck, trailer and Jeep in a ditch. Luckily she wasn't hurt and there doesn't seem to be any major damage on the vehicles. Some of the Tamers were able to head up to Monroe and help with the recovery so she was able to limp home. So, instead of meeting at 9:00am, we were a couple hours late.


Terry and I left the house around 8:00 and met up with Mike Jennings for breakfast in Eatonville. By the time we were done, Rudi, Karl, Chad, Penny and Tom were only about 15-30 minutes behind us. We arrived at Elbe first and unloaded while we waited for them. As soon as they arrived, we realized no one had the gate code to get into the camping area. Karl had tried to contact Nancy with the DNR earlier in the week to no avail. Chad and Karl drove into Elbe to see if anyone knew the code. We also tried the "there is only 10,000 options, just start and 0-0-0-0 and work up to 9-9-9-9 and we will find it." After meddling with the lock for an hour or so and putting some calls into the DNR and friends, we decided to hit the trail.


Terry and I haven't really wheeled Elbe before and weren't too sure as to what to expect as there was still some snow on the ground. We started with our adopted trail first, but with the snow on the ground, we couldn't do any work so decided to wheel on. We didn't have too many issues, but did pull out the winch once to pull the Jeep away from a tree to prevent the roof hitting hard against it. Luckily, the winching worked and the Jeep just got a little kiss from the tree and no body damage from it. After a several hours on the trail, we stopped for a quick break around 4:30 or so. From there, Terry and I decided to depart the group and head back to camp and relax for a bit. We realized while on the trail the rear shackles hit the new back bumper and were getting annoyed hearing the clank.

A flexy section

Zeus watching the action

Where we decided to winch and prevent hitting the tree too hard.

A sticky spot on the trail.

The group (minus Chad & Karl)

To our luck, as soon as we got back to camp, a guy approached us asking if we could help recover his truck. Apparently, a Toyota truck got stuck on the top of one trails (coincidentally our adopted trail) so this guy backed his 2007 1-ton Ford down the trail 100 yards or so to try and recover the Toyota. However, in the process he slid off the trail. So, Terry and I hopped into the Jeep to see what we could do to help. We were able to get the Toyota our of the way first with some winching. Luckily, I was able to get a hold of fellow Tamers on the CB and by the time we got the Toyota out of the way Tom was there in his CJ-5 to help with the Ford. We snatched off a tree and hooked up to the front of the truck while Tom snatched off a winch point and held up the rear. After a few minutes, we were able to get the Ford back on the trail and onto the main road. From there, Rudi drove his Jeep down to the Toyota to help plug some tires and air him up as the rear driver tire on the Toyota was flat.
When we got back to camp, we decided that the locked gate wasn't going to ruin our fun. Rudi headed home, but the rest of us stayed the night. Terry and I had planned on sleeping on the bed of the truck under the camper shell. So, he found a level spot and I got our bed ready. In the meantime, we also carried our firewood into the camping area to the nearest fire pit and got a fire going. We also set up small kitchen area on a nearby picnic table so we could BBQ some T-bones and asparagus for dinner. After we ate, we all sat by the fire and chatted until bed time. Zeus was exhausted after the long day and fell asleep inside my jacket until we headed to bed.

On Sunday. we woke up to a beautiful day. We took our time making breakfast and packing up our gear. I made too much food for breakfast so was able to feed Mike, Tom and Chad (well, Tom and Chad had already eaten, they just had a little of our food as a snack). We had all our gear loaded and the Jeeps on the trailers around noon and headed home. Terry and I stopped for a quick bite to eat in Graham and got home around 2:00. He is now doing some maintenance on the Jeep and cutting where the shackles hit the bumper. We had a great time with our club and can't wait until the next outing in a few weeks!

Denny Creek Run

On Saturday, Terry and I loaded up the Jeep and headed to Denny Creek to go on a snow run with our 4-wheel drive club, the Timber Tamers. We got amazing weather with blue skies and just a slight wind. It was very pretty on the trail with a creek running on one side that it was hard to believe that we were actually on a trail between east bound and west bound I-90. Everyone had a blast and we can't wait until our next run. Now, here are some pictures which I know you have been waiting for.

To see all the pictures I took, click here.