B
I have a good story for you all. It's kinda long.
Me and a buddy went out for a ride Xmas Eve Day and, to make a long story short, ended up down a creek off the top of the mountain but could not get back up. Uh oh. We followed it for some time trying to make it to the creek at the valley bottom that my buddies' GPS showed, probably 2 hours. There was no base and no hope. After many tiring stuck episodes we reach a point where there would be no turning back after we crossed it. Huge drops and logs across the creek. We both we suddenly dead serious and I certainly felt a moment of fear I tell ya, realizing what we'd come down and knowing there was practically no way we were going back up.
We didn't have any option at decided to turn back. This was about 10:30am. Immediately we got one sled stuck in the creek bed getting hung up on a huge bolder. This drained us pretty badly and we were definitely concerned and had our worst moments of what can only be described of as fear. Reality hit us pretty hard there. Some prayers were definitely said from this point on.
We both had some spent lots of time outdoors and in the hills and my buddy had taken survival training, plus we had fire starter should an overnighter happen. We know that attitude and positive thinking was KEY and tried to keep each ourselves and each other in check. But I was soaked through, having forgotten my snowpants(!!):doh: and was afraid of staying in a snow cave overnight with wet gear. Anyway, we did eventually get moving again and try as we might we both kept getting stuck as the altitude increased and the creek steepened. At one point, we made it 100m in 2 hours and were getting no where fast. Darkness was approaching. Nearing the end of our willingness to fight it anymore and running out of daylight, we decided to try getting just one sled out so we would at least have one to ride the trail out with, if and when we made it out. Within 20min we were totally stuck again and my buddy said we better start hiking. We discussed and agreed and at 4:30pm started up the steepest, most tiring climb of my life through snow that we constantly fell through, or had to move up on hands and knees.
hwell:
We finally made it up to the peak and it was JUST before dark. We saw the trail below and the path through the trees. If you've ever been up on top of a mountain at dark and the wind and snow is blowing hard, stinging your face and eyes you will know how we felt. Mountains, which had always been places of fun, suddenly looked different and seemed to show themselves to me to be what they truly are. In winter they are huge, remote, rugged, snow-bound places that are in no way human-friendly. I forced myself to see them as the country I was familiar with to control my thoughts, which got me right-minded again. My buddy pulled out his iPhone and used the LED flash to guide us off the mountain which was much easier going down hill. We felt better and the trails were visible. But just the same, we were very alone. There are no groomers in this remote area and the only sleds we heard were long gone. It was up to us alone - the next day didn't promise any help either as it was Christmas Day!
The rest of the 14km hike in darkness (aside from light from the trusty iPhone and GPS screen) was brutal and tiring, but uneventful. My hip flexors were severely fatigued and (as I learned today in a painful manner) severely strained or even torn. That made hiking bad almost unbearable nearing to the end. We passed up a warm-up cabin (snowmobile clubs I will see differently) but decided to keep going. We were determined not only to get out, but to get out in time for Xmas the following morning. With frequent stops to rest aching muscles, joints, blisters and drink the last of our water and food - and as fast a pace as we could handle, we made it over the up and downs of the trail out to the now-abandoned parking lot. Only one other truck had even been there that day.
It was freezing rain, on-and-off wind and it was all we could do to hike the last 3km but at 9:45 we reached my truck! :high5: I was never as happy to see it I tell you. We celebrated with some more water and congratulated ourselves on being friggin awesome determined and looked forward to getting to cell service to notify our worried families and friends.
So lesson learned. Definitely. We knew we made a mistake shortly after we went down through that terrible tree trail into the creek bed but we found the experience very humbling. We weren't close to dying, not yet anyway (thanks largely to an unseasonally warm snap) but certainly will not be putting ourselves into any kind of position like that again. The extraction of our sleds remains, but we are content for now to have escaped alive and thankfully without serious harm - prayers answered there for sure. We also made Xmas morning too which made the push so worth it. Two different parties were headed our way by the time we made cell service and a helicopter flight from my buddies' employer was arranged for the next morning. We are fortunate to have such good people who care enough to potentially ruin their Christmases.
So I share this with you all because you might relate being fellow mountain riders, and because it might help keep someone else from being retarded like us. It's my worst survival-type story and I intend to keep it that way! Enjoy the holidays and your holiday rides guys. Keep it smart. :thumb:
Me and a buddy went out for a ride Xmas Eve Day and, to make a long story short, ended up down a creek off the top of the mountain but could not get back up. Uh oh. We followed it for some time trying to make it to the creek at the valley bottom that my buddies' GPS showed, probably 2 hours. There was no base and no hope. After many tiring stuck episodes we reach a point where there would be no turning back after we crossed it. Huge drops and logs across the creek. We both we suddenly dead serious and I certainly felt a moment of fear I tell ya, realizing what we'd come down and knowing there was practically no way we were going back up.
We didn't have any option at decided to turn back. This was about 10:30am. Immediately we got one sled stuck in the creek bed getting hung up on a huge bolder. This drained us pretty badly and we were definitely concerned and had our worst moments of what can only be described of as fear. Reality hit us pretty hard there. Some prayers were definitely said from this point on.
We both had some spent lots of time outdoors and in the hills and my buddy had taken survival training, plus we had fire starter should an overnighter happen. We know that attitude and positive thinking was KEY and tried to keep each ourselves and each other in check. But I was soaked through, having forgotten my snowpants(!!):doh: and was afraid of staying in a snow cave overnight with wet gear. Anyway, we did eventually get moving again and try as we might we both kept getting stuck as the altitude increased and the creek steepened. At one point, we made it 100m in 2 hours and were getting no where fast. Darkness was approaching. Nearing the end of our willingness to fight it anymore and running out of daylight, we decided to try getting just one sled out so we would at least have one to ride the trail out with, if and when we made it out. Within 20min we were totally stuck again and my buddy said we better start hiking. We discussed and agreed and at 4:30pm started up the steepest, most tiring climb of my life through snow that we constantly fell through, or had to move up on hands and knees.
hwell:We finally made it up to the peak and it was JUST before dark. We saw the trail below and the path through the trees. If you've ever been up on top of a mountain at dark and the wind and snow is blowing hard, stinging your face and eyes you will know how we felt. Mountains, which had always been places of fun, suddenly looked different and seemed to show themselves to me to be what they truly are. In winter they are huge, remote, rugged, snow-bound places that are in no way human-friendly. I forced myself to see them as the country I was familiar with to control my thoughts, which got me right-minded again. My buddy pulled out his iPhone and used the LED flash to guide us off the mountain which was much easier going down hill. We felt better and the trails were visible. But just the same, we were very alone. There are no groomers in this remote area and the only sleds we heard were long gone. It was up to us alone - the next day didn't promise any help either as it was Christmas Day!
The rest of the 14km hike in darkness (aside from light from the trusty iPhone and GPS screen) was brutal and tiring, but uneventful. My hip flexors were severely fatigued and (as I learned today in a painful manner) severely strained or even torn. That made hiking bad almost unbearable nearing to the end. We passed up a warm-up cabin (snowmobile clubs I will see differently) but decided to keep going. We were determined not only to get out, but to get out in time for Xmas the following morning. With frequent stops to rest aching muscles, joints, blisters and drink the last of our water and food - and as fast a pace as we could handle, we made it over the up and downs of the trail out to the now-abandoned parking lot. Only one other truck had even been there that day.
It was freezing rain, on-and-off wind and it was all we could do to hike the last 3km but at 9:45 we reached my truck! :high5: I was never as happy to see it I tell you. We celebrated with some more water and congratulated ourselves on being friggin awesome determined and looked forward to getting to cell service to notify our worried families and friends.
So lesson learned. Definitely. We knew we made a mistake shortly after we went down through that terrible tree trail into the creek bed but we found the experience very humbling. We weren't close to dying, not yet anyway (thanks largely to an unseasonally warm snap) but certainly will not be putting ourselves into any kind of position like that again. The extraction of our sleds remains, but we are content for now to have escaped alive and thankfully without serious harm - prayers answered there for sure. We also made Xmas morning too which made the push so worth it. Two different parties were headed our way by the time we made cell service and a helicopter flight from my buddies' employer was arranged for the next morning. We are fortunate to have such good people who care enough to potentially ruin their Christmases.
So I share this with you all because you might relate being fellow mountain riders, and because it might help keep someone else from being retarded like us. It's my worst survival-type story and I intend to keep it that way! Enjoy the holidays and your holiday rides guys. Keep it smart. :thumb:
