Author: Martian Joe

A weekend excursion for fresh produce was planned, having been up here for a while. I thought I could get out, so let’s get out while the getting is good. The night before departure, my mountain top was in the clouds, so rising was mired in an icy coating unlike any I’ve seen. The rubber seals, now fully sealed, refused to yield and allow my cargo trailer to open; had I planned to take the quad, the trip would have ended right there.

Moon Bug had detached door trim upon opening, the ice too thoroughly infesting every possible path, and was rampant. Perhaps I left too early, the sun was upon the horizon, but not yet visible, nor able to offer any assistance to break such icy bonds.

Excited to go, I ventured down the mountain and the trip was uneventful, although one must steer adamantly with tracks to keep one’s way. Both hands on the wheel? Mandatory, not optional.

With too much snow, and too many drifts to take the Jeep all the way down, Moon Bug traversed the park for the first time, fully, on tracks. The truck was still there and started readily. Much scraping and a second full round of de-icing ensued.

The trip into Alamosa was uneventful yet bountiful. Upon the return run, I discovered the winds had been steadily, slowly, blowing upon the aforementioned snow-that-refuses-to-bond. Parts of my tracks, four hours later, were simply gone. This below image is Schierl Road, just past the Ortega Cabin, before the drop to Beck Place. Not much evidence I had crossed this ridge a few hours earlier.

I made it home, quite uneventfully and with many smiles, and was quite pleased over all. Salad now for two days in a row and a fresh organic stir fry planned for dinner.

Life is good.

Yesterday the sun was bright, but it’s been steadily below freezing since the last big storm. This is not snow I am familiar with; billions of particles that refuse to bond. If it does warm and build a crust on top? Danger of sinking will become prevalent. From what I’ve been told by many on the mountain, the solution is to maintain a track up and down, packing a base upon which you won’t sink further into.

The Jeep is parked nearly halfway down the park, at the junction of Kline and Borman. The ride down was interesting, a bit new, so the camera stayed in the bag, deciding to focus upon arrival without getting stuck. Arrival was easy, and loads of fun. I guess I left the Borman sign in the background as proof I arrived. Eight inches of snow there, compared to the three feet on the ground at home.

The way home will always be more challenging, being several hundreds of feet of elevation gain from Borman and Kline (it’s a four hundred foot climb simply from the Ortega’s cabin), but there was still time for photography.

The drifts are deep and daily active in places. Moon Bug didn’t seem to care.

Heading back up Schierl now, past the Geiser Cabin.

Now the steepest part of Schierl, just below the Mitchell Cabin, where the sun barely shines this time of year. The walls are quite deep, but this shows how likely one may be to sink into a crust were there no tracks packed beneath.

But Moon Bug is a treat to ride around in. I feel safe. I feel in control of the vehicle. Its tracks actually prefer power to hard pack and she moves quite well.

A small storm predicted for tomorrow (let us see how many factors we must multiply this one by), but I hope to venture out over the weekend for fresh produce and eggs.

The prior snowstorm yielded nearly seven times the forecast. This weekend’s storm tripled expected, thus expected is a relative term for my local weather folk. The snow also consistently blows sideways versus down, building and drifting in ways that I am still getting my mind around, but am optimistic that I will.

It is sugar snow too; way too cold to pack, stick or bond in anyway. It is literally billions of individual objects freely formed and fully independent upon the ground. Yesterday was a test run for Moon Bug – taking it out back into the fields where a foot of snow already existed to see if I could get stuck (better here than half way down the mountain). It was time to test the limits and see how she moves.

Nearly 30 inches of mostly sugar snow, the skid panels were bottoming out, but she moved quite normally.

Steering in this fluff is a bit enigmatic; it is hard to get a bite with the front tracks at times.

I monitor the weather here far more closely than anywhere I have ever lived. This time of year, one must. The inside wood bin is stocked with an extra pile near the stove. Over night rounds are added this time for the temperature is going to drop thirty degrees in the next twenty four hours. Wood piles are covered for they are predicting snow (up to eight inches and the last time they were off by a factor of five, so buckle up).

The machines are gassed up. Moon Bug is ready for a down hill run if required, but hopefully I just watch the storm blow through. Three big storms now, so much has been sorted out and now feels familiar, albeit primitive and more connected than prior routines. Access will be when access will be. For a man who thrives on control, acquiescence has a welcome place.

A herd of elk passed a bay window during breakfast. Bulls and cows, slowly moving, seemingly in no hurry to be anywhere. First large herd I’ve seen over here, happy to share the park with non-humans this time of year.

There are more folks here than you might think – had company two days in a row this week, and three visitors this week overall. Tracks from at least four machines riddle the park. Not a traffic jam, but not pure solitude either.

Busy long weekend at the ranch; let Moon Bug run some tracks down Schierl to test out the machine’s performance in 18 inches of untouched fresh powder. She performed perfectly, so another fresh produce/dairy run to Alamosa was done this weekend.

Met a neighbor (visible from home, through the trees) with a side by side, also tracked with the exact tracks Moon Bug has. Five years he has had them, both issue free and in regards to never having been stuck. No promises, but not bad news in the least.

It is quiet here, peaceful, a perfect place for me to be.

We all monitor the weather up here, not for any other reason than necessity. The week’s snow estimates had been tracked and studied, and was to amount to a mere “inch or two” overnight. I awoke to 18 inches of fresh powder, not including drifts. Pretty much missed the mark on that one. The sun was back by nine, and the batteries fully charged before one, so power is plentiful and the snow blower fared far better in the powdery fluff.

Moon Bug loves the snow, eats through it and seems to be impervious, at least in yard tests. I am sure it will not be so in the field. Tomorrow is my first adventure down the mountain with her, seeking a couple more hardware items before locking in for the winter.