A battle for survival: boulders stranded on the expressway.
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 4:59 pm
Went to HP40 this weekend, fun, fun. But sending boulder problems wasn't the crux.
We got stuck in all that traffic where I-75 was shut down this weekend due to the collapse of I-75 South around the KY/TN border. We left Lexington at 7:15 p.m. on Friday night for a nice 5-6 hour drive to HP40. We arrived at our campsite at 5:15 a.m. Yeah, that's not a typo, our 5 1/2 hour trip turned into a 10 hour enduro run.
That, however, was not the crux either. The most challenging part of the weekend was when we were stuck in traffic, decided to take a leak on the side of the road and, afterward, tried to close the mini-van sliding side door. It came of its track making it impossible to close or lock the door, with the ass end bent down to within 6 inches of the road and very difficult to drive down the expressway. Probably dangerous as well.
One hour later, with the use of four climbers, one pocket knife, a seat belt, a biner and a back pack strap (as well as detailed recollection of the MacGyver episodes) we rigged to door to the front and rear passenger seat because we were not getting it back on its track.
After that epic, bouldering was the easy part of the weekend. Fortunately the door and the patchwork held the remainder of the journey. Had it gone, at 80 miles an hour, we would have lost a seat, and with it the guy sitting in it.
Congrats to all who made the journey and to a safe and happy return. Well, except for poor Stewy911 who has to return the minivan to his mom. . .
We got stuck in all that traffic where I-75 was shut down this weekend due to the collapse of I-75 South around the KY/TN border. We left Lexington at 7:15 p.m. on Friday night for a nice 5-6 hour drive to HP40. We arrived at our campsite at 5:15 a.m. Yeah, that's not a typo, our 5 1/2 hour trip turned into a 10 hour enduro run.
That, however, was not the crux either. The most challenging part of the weekend was when we were stuck in traffic, decided to take a leak on the side of the road and, afterward, tried to close the mini-van sliding side door. It came of its track making it impossible to close or lock the door, with the ass end bent down to within 6 inches of the road and very difficult to drive down the expressway. Probably dangerous as well.
One hour later, with the use of four climbers, one pocket knife, a seat belt, a biner and a back pack strap (as well as detailed recollection of the MacGyver episodes) we rigged to door to the front and rear passenger seat because we were not getting it back on its track.
After that epic, bouldering was the easy part of the weekend. Fortunately the door and the patchwork held the remainder of the journey. Had it gone, at 80 miles an hour, we would have lost a seat, and with it the guy sitting in it.
Congrats to all who made the journey and to a safe and happy return. Well, except for poor Stewy911 who has to return the minivan to his mom. . .