Sunday, June 19/2011

In the beginning 

There was a nice trail

Then it turned to this!

Push boys!

More pushing

Jace and Kimmy having fun!

Tori and Bailey in the back

When a tree falls in the forest

You hear it!

Tight squeeze!

I found it!

Water in belt

This water was not there 10 min ago

Time to head back to camp!

I awoke early and to my surprise actually felt pretty decent which was a good thing since I had to get over to the nursing home to pick up an insulin syringe for Jim, get breakfast for the kids, get the Sami packed and get back to the other kids in the Clearwater Campground so we could get back onto the trails.. Today we are supposed to be doing the "Chitek Loop" which historically is pretty muddy and wet in some places. Great - more wet!!
With all the various quads being broke down, there was some scrambling that needed to be done as to who was riding with who but eventually everyone was accommodated and off we went.  Tori and Bailley would be riding in the back with John and I (no dogs allowed today) and Casey would be either in the box of the rhino or riding behind Lance.

We were definitely not disappointed as we came to the first of three mud holes in the trail and I am sure that  the pictures will tell the story of Sami's journey through them!!  The holes were ugly to say the least and several of the quads got stuck.  Once they were cleared off the trail, it was time for us to try getting through.  The first hole, got the girls wet as we stopped with the tail gate in the water!!  The girls were screaming (like girls do) and John was getting a kick out of their silliness.  Neither John nor I are used to the "girly" squealing and carrying on.  It was fun listening to it and as the day progressed, their antics became even more funny.  Funny how a little alcohol can loosen one up!!
Our best "stuck" moment was when we were traveling through an ugly hole and caught a root which  threw us into the bank, burying the winch cable.  Jace managed to get to it and we hookied it up to what we thought as a pretty sturdy tree.  After a few pulls. we adjusted the rope and tried again only this time the tree snapped off and landed on the Sami covering all but the rear of it!!  The girls really screamed at that!!  We took lots of pics and eventually were able to extricate the sami from the fallen tree.  Thanks to the boys and their pushing power!!  We had a lot of laughs over this episode and eventually carried on getting stuck several more times and having the girls get even wetter.  The back of the Sami is definitely NOT water proof.
The quad Scott and Jill were riding got a bit of water in the belt so had to be tipped on its end to drain it as there was no drain plug to be found.  That being done, we were off again.  The kids were having a ball but soon were going into water that was way too deep and ultimately their machines suffered.
I just don't see the point in trying to swamp your ride!!  Lance ended up swamping Chris's rhino as we went around him  on the much shallower water trail.  Once through the water, we continued up the trail pulling over to see what was up with Scott's quad.  It was having issues with overheating.   After some tinkering, it was decided that we would tow it for a while to allow it to cool down and hopefully it would be drivable again.   We decided to continue towing Scott down the trail leaving the other fools to get Chris's rhino out of the deep water and dealing with it.  We towed for quite a ways eventually stopping and waiting for the other kids.
While we were waiting, we heard quads coming from the other direction.  It turned out to be two young men who were soaked to the skin, one riding in bare feet and totally lost.  They had no clue as to where they were.  They stopped and chatted for a while and decided to hang with us to get back to the Village of Chitik Lake.  The way they were headed would have got them lost in the forest for the night - definitely NOT a good thing.  I always marvel at the sheer stupidity of people.  Do they not realize that although it is a beautiful forest, this is nature at its best and worst - one can die in this forest and it is not to be trifled with or disrespected.   Stupidity and ignorance kills.
Eventually, our boys made it to us and now Chris's quad would only go about 20 kpm - which is probably not a bad thing since he is a bit drunk and silly!!  The guys tried cleaning out his clutch and belt but once that fine Chitik sand gets into the machine, it is tough to get it out on the trail.  One can not hurt himself or anyone else when you can only drive 20 kpm - Now doesn't God work in mysterious ways!!!
Scott's quad had time enough to cool down and was running good again and we eventually made it into Chitik Lake. We started heading down the highway to the EauJace and Scott headed to camp riding the only two quads that still ran to get the trailer and bring it back to the junction.  The girls (all four of them) and Jim stayed with us.  It is a good thing I brought my BIG ASS umbrella with me as that is what Jim, Kim and Jill stood under to get out of the rain.  Tori and Bailey did not come out of the back of the Sami!!   Chris and Kellen decided to continue on down the road and would trailer the quad when they met the boys.
Eventually the rain stopped and Scott's quad had cooled down enough to be drivable again and we too continued down the road packed into the Sami like sardines.  Kim got me wet - the little bag!!  We met up with the trailer and we all made it home safe and sound.  The fire was raging and the frozen little girls huddled around it until they were warm.
Supper was great, the boys cooked again and Father's Day was a success for yet another year.