High Mark Attained, What’s Next?
RS 4x4s Attack Colockum Part 3
Well, as mentioned in the last (2nd) installment (over a year ago… It should have only been a week, but I got inundated by life and the idea of completing the editing required to finish the 3rd installment video was crushing me), we made to the high mark of that time and became KOTH or Kings Of The Hill. It was a lot of fun but the snow was still coming down, moderately heavy and wet, and there was plenty of it that we now needed to back track through.
Additionally, we had high hopes of not seeing anybody on our way back. We ran with as much daylight as we had left, then stopped to retrieve GJ’s drone, and have a celebratory beverage (missing Jason), before continuing back out and down unsure what or who we might find.
About an hour and a half or maybe two hours later we could see lights ahead of us, and our fears of having to rescue folks started rising. Sure enough the group of Landrovers were in the exact same spot we had left them some 3-3 1/2 hours earlier. We had summized upon passing them earlier in the day that none of them had any business being up there in deep snow, and that none of them were prepared in the event they had to stay the night…
So we went into auto-pilot (aka rescue mode) and quickly fdorged a quick plan of how we’d get them out. However, as you might notice in the video, our plan changed a couple of times. We initially thought we could just sneak around them and pack a trail anybody could follow, but unfortunately their experience level wasn’t even up to following, and we found ourselves pulling two of the six rigs to safety. It took alot of time and patience as well as handing out our portable radios as none of them had comms.
After another couple of hours we had them off the mountain safely, we were sort of racing hoping to get a bite before parting ways with GJ who had to drive to the west side. We made it in into Ellensburg, just before 9 pm, but they were already rolling up the sidewalks, but we got lucky and found a Mexican restaurant that agreed to feed us, and even better the elder couple in the newest Rover Discovery, came with and shared their adventures in Iceland where they had just spent their honeymoon. They even picked up the tab for dinner as a thank you for getting them off the mountain.
We had left our homes this morning just after 6:00 am, and would return just past midnight the following day. It was a day full of literal ups and downs, but a great day overall. The most unfortunate thing about the day was it would be the last time we blazed trail with Jason as our club President…
RS 4x4s Attack Colockum Part 3
