[Az-Geocaching] RRTW
Brian - Team A.I.
listserv@azgeocaching.com
Wed, 9 Jun 2004 15:43:33 -0700
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This is my log from a very interesting adventure yesterday. The rest of =
the logs for the day (night) are filled with scorpions, and a rattler I =
discovered coiled to strike under a rock I was going to search.
But this is the start of the day, and a very long one at that.
Thumb Mesa (by the seat of your pants)
GCEF4D
1018hrs (but my adventure in this began about 1:40PM)=20
Ok, so Scott did a pretty good job of telling the story, but I'll add my =
.50 to it as well.=20
I was getting ready to head to the Mesa Ranger office to modify my =
permit for a drive through Bulldog Canyon when my cell rang. Call 1. =
Normally, this is a fax message (I hate that spam crap), so I rejected =
the call. A few minutes later my heart sank when I listened to the voice =
mail. It was RTW calling for help. He said he'd try me back so I had =
phone in pocket while I started to prep for the drive up to BCC. He =
called about 10 minutes later, and I agreed to come up and help. About =
30 minutes later, I had the truck ramps, floor jack, jack stands, water, =
GPS, PowerAde and was backing out of the driveway to begin Mission: =
Rescue RopingTheWind (or RRTW for short).=20
A little over 90 minutes later, and I pulled off the road to a waiting =
RTW. I drove him back to his truck, we unloaded my equipment and worked =
to get the u-bolt pieces out to get to a shop for matching. For 10 =
minutes he worked on the bolt, but the u-bolt itself kept spinning, =
giving him no bite to get everything loose. (light bulb). Scott realized =
that since he u-bolt was in two pieces, there was nothing to remove, so =
he just pulled the pieces out. Between his tiny hydraulic jack, my =
2.5-ton and the ramp we used for added height, we just couldn't get the =
control arm in place. Off we head to BKC in search of another floor jack =
and some tow rope. In the process of trying to back down for a more =
secure place to work, he backed the rear tires into a wash and became =
stuck. Normally, this would suck, but it provided a perfect rest to keep =
the truck from sliding while underneath it working. The other jack, and =
second ramp worked in getting the control arm in place. Yay!=20
Scott had a pair of u-bolts in his truck, but they were significantly =
larger than the one that broke, and wouldn't fit. Sooooo, off to Phoenix =
we go in search of an auto parts store that had something we thought we =
didn't have. Autozone, Checker, Napa and even a wrecking yard didn't =
have the u-bolt to match up. We drove from I17/MP244 to 101/59th ave all =
the way to 7th ave/union hills. A mechanic kindly let Scott in =
after-hours to look for the part, but all the u-bolts were the exact =
same size as what we already had. Hmmmm....=20
Ok, one of the sides would slide into the hole, but the other wouldn't. =
It was just a hair shy. Off to HomeDepot for a 7/8 deep socket, socket =
wrench and a round file. After stopping for some refueling at the =
TacoBell/Pizza Hut, we headed the 35 miles back up to the truck, and =
Scott began filing the holes. About 10 minutes later, he was able to fit =
both side in, and hammer it in place for a perfect fit! Time? 2150hrs. =
It turned out that we had the right part afterall, but just needed to =
gap out the hole a hair for the threads to pass.=20
After torquing down the bolts, and put everything away, we hooked up the =
tow rope and I performed my first vehicle tow to pull a stuck vehicle =
out (only having the Jeep 36 hours, I'm certainly breaking it in....). =
We backed out vehicles to more level ground and Scott took another look =
at his suspension to make sure everything was ok, and we =
hiked/fell/hiked/fell our way to the cache. I slid 2 or 3 times, the =
most about 30' down the hill on my feet, but cutting up my hands pretty =
good from the rock contact. Guess that's what happens when you don't =
plan for such an adventure and only have one flashlight. My headlamp was =
in the Camelbak at home. But after being that close to the cache for 7 =
hours, I wasn't going away without a find.
10 minutes or so later, and Scott made the find, as only one of us could =
search with a single flashlight. The views were great, and I told my =
wife to have the search crews look for us at the bottom of the mesa on =
the west side in case we didn't make it home by morning. =20
Thankfully, I found a much easier way down, just a few feet away from =
where we found the cache. A couple foot shuffles later and we were down =
the hill and on the way back to the vehicles. Ironically, we found a =
wash that we followed out and ended up about 10' from the road, and only =
180' from our vehicles.=20
This was certainly one my most interesting cache adventures, and not one =
I'll soon forget. It felt good being able to help out in a situation =
like that, and to now have a vehicle that would make it back there. My =
Nissan 4x2 had neither the power nor the clearance to get to his truck.=20
Brian
Team A.I.
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<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>This is my log from a very interesting =
adventure=20
yesterday. The rest of the logs for the day (night) are filled =
with=20
scorpions, and a rattler I discovered coiled to strike under a rock I =
was going=20
to search.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>But this is the start of the day, and a =
very long=20
one at that.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN id=3DCacheName><STRONG><FONT face=3DVerdana size=3D4>Thumb =
Mesa (by the=20
seat of your pants)</FONT></STRONG></SPAN><SPAN=20
id=3DLargeMapPrint></SPAN><BR><FONT face=3DArial =
size=3D2>GCEF4D</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>1018hrs (but my adventure in this began about =
1:40PM) </FONT>
<P>Ok, so Scott did a pretty good job of telling the story, but I'll add =
my .50=20
to it as well.=20
<P>I was getting ready to head to the Mesa Ranger office to modify my =
permit for=20
a drive through Bulldog Canyon when my cell rang. Call 1. Normally, this =
is a=20
fax message (I hate that spam crap), so I rejected the call. A few =
minutes later=20
my heart sank when I listened to the voice mail. It was RTW calling for =
help. He=20
said he'd try me back so I had phone in pocket while I started to prep =
for the=20
drive up to BCC. He called about 10 minutes later, and I agreed to come =
up and=20
help. About 30 minutes later, I had the truck ramps, floor jack, jack =
stands,=20
water, GPS, PowerAde and was backing out of the driveway to begin =
Mission:=20
Rescue RopingTheWind (or RRTW for short).=20
<P>A little over 90 minutes later, and I pulled off the road to a =
waiting RTW. I=20
drove him back to his truck, we unloaded my equipment and worked to get =
the=20
u-bolt pieces out to get to a shop for matching. For 10 minutes he =
worked on the=20
bolt, but the u-bolt itself kept spinning, giving him no bite to get =
everything=20
loose. (light bulb). Scott realized that since he u-bolt was in two =
pieces,=20
there was nothing to remove, so he just pulled the pieces out. Between =
his tiny=20
hydraulic jack, my 2.5-ton and the ramp we used for added height, we =
just=20
couldn't get the control arm in place. Off we head to BKC in search of =
another=20
floor jack and some tow rope. In the process of trying to back down for =
a more=20
secure place to work, he backed the rear tires into a wash and became =
stuck.=20
Normally, this would suck, but it provided a perfect rest to keep the =
truck from=20
sliding while underneath it working. The other jack, and second ramp =
worked in=20
getting the control arm in place. Yay!=20
<P>Scott had a pair of u-bolts in his truck, but they were significantly =
larger=20
than the one that broke, and wouldn't fit. Sooooo, off to Phoenix we go =
in=20
search of an auto parts store that had something we thought we didn't =
have.=20
Autozone, Checker, Napa and even a wrecking yard didn't have the u-bolt =
to match=20
up. We drove from I17/MP244 to 101/59th ave all the way to 7th ave/union =
hills.=20
A mechanic kindly let Scott in after-hours to look for the part, but all =
the=20
u-bolts were the exact same size as what we already had. Hmmmm....=20
<P>Ok, one of the sides would slide into the hole, but the other =
wouldn't. It=20
was just a hair shy. Off to HomeDepot for a 7/8 deep socket, socket =
wrench and a=20
round file. After stopping for some refueling at the TacoBell/Pizza Hut, =
we=20
headed the 35 miles back up to the truck, and Scott began filing the =
holes.=20
About 10 minutes later, he was able to fit both side in, and hammer it =
in place=20
for a perfect fit! Time? 2150hrs. It turned out that we had the right =
part=20
afterall, but just needed to gap out the hole a hair for the threads to =
pass.=20
<P>After torquing down the bolts, and put everything away, we hooked up =
the tow=20
rope and I performed my first vehicle tow to pull a stuck vehicle out =
(only=20
having the Jeep 36 hours, I'm certainly breaking it in....). We backed =
out=20
vehicles to more level ground and Scott took another look at his =
suspension to=20
make sure everything was ok, and we hiked/fell/hiked/fell our way to the =
cache.=20
I slid 2 or 3 times, the most about 30' down the hill on my feet, but =
cutting up=20
my hands pretty good from the rock contact. Guess that's what happens =
when you=20
don't plan for such an adventure and only have one flashlight. My =
headlamp was=20
in the Camelbak at home. <IMG=20
src=3D"http://www.geocaching.com/images/icons/icon_smile_sad.gif" =
align=3Dmiddle=20
border=3D0> But after being that close to the cache for 7 hours, I =
wasn't going=20
away without a find.</P>
<P>10 minutes or so later, and Scott made the find, as only one of us =
could=20
search with a single flashlight. The views were great, and I told my =
wife to=20
have the search crews look for us at the bottom of the mesa on the west =
side in=20
case we didn't make it home by morning. <IMG=20
src=3D"http://www.geocaching.com/images/icons/icon_smile_wink.gif" =
align=3Dmiddle=20
border=3D0> </P>
<P>Thankfully, I found a much easier way down, just a few feet away from =
where=20
we found the cache. A couple foot shuffles later and we were down the =
hill and=20
on the way back to the vehicles. Ironically, we found a wash that we =
followed=20
out and ended up about 10' from the road, and only 180' from our =
vehicles.=20
<P>This was certainly one my most interesting cache adventures, and not =
one I'll=20
soon forget. It felt good being able to help out in a situation like =
that, and=20
to now have a vehicle that would make it back there. My Nissan 4x2 had =
neither=20
the power nor the clearance to get to his truck.=20
<P>Brian<BR>Team A.I.<BR></P>
<P><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT> </P></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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