Tough trip thru uller

The Iron County Forestry Department and the Rangers worked together today on Uller.

Sometimes, the long trail can get way ahead of us.  It’s there with it’s two water gaps and three wind gaps collecting inches, feet of snow off the Lake while we try to keep our driveways clear and shovel off our roofs.

Then it’s time to try to work our way through it…

It was a roller op today.  Uller had everything on it that the big Christmas storm threw at us.  The storm snow had settled nicely; but after the holidays, another 10” of snow had fallen.  Most of that new snow had the consistency of powdered graphite.  It was going to be a slow, heavy trip.  

And it was.

Roll along, a refusal on a minor hill because of an old drift.  Back up.  Pull the direct drive lever.  Forward again, make another couple of feet.  Back up. Over and over.  We stopped at least 10 times to clear off the windshield and break up the wiper; every twig had a couple of inches of snow on it.  Most of it finds its way onto the windshield.  

Five hours later we’re at Hoyt Rd.  We ended up leaving the track sled down and lifting the compactor bar just to make it through.  Finally, standing on Hoyt Rd where the snow wasn’t thigh deep we found that somehow we’d broken the mounting ears on the track sled assembly.  Ah, some of tracks east of Smith’s Ck might be a little wonky…

We’d have never made it without the expert, experienced ICF forester who drove the machine all day.  We’d have never made it without the Ranger riding with him who’d been stuck in the same place back in the ‘80’s.  “Let me pick up the sled, back up and we’ll pull direct drive.. Give ‘er”.

Uller’s packed.  We can ski it with skinny skis.  Now it’s on to the Krank Spur and tracking the Pence Connection.    

Try it.  Get out there.  Ski it.  ‘Shoe it.  Maybe we’ll see you.  Ski Freely, Z