It's was a snow wheeling day. Eric has Oscar taken apart, waiting for new parts. Today was an easy fsr day so I decided to do my first group event in Onyx.
Eric loaded firewood, the toilet and recovery gear. I packed snacks to share and a picnic lunch for us.
I was a bit nervous in general but not freaked. It was going great until we hit snow and Eric had to put Onyx in 4x4 because the lever is too hard for me. She immediately lost power, I couldn't find a gear and she was binging and words like clutch is hot and transition needs servicing and need an oil change all started flashing through the screen. Yikes.
On a hill with 10 or so rigs behind us, 10 ahead of us. I stopped and we switched places. I'm certain Eric thought it was operator error ;) It wasn't. He didn't do any better. We finally limped to a spot to pull over. Announcing on the radio that we were the problem on the hill and had clutch issues so would just turn around and head home.
It was sad to not join in the fun. Especially since it was my first try at playing with the big kids.
Friend Jen was going to bring her truck but ended up with her Jeep, I said "oh good, I don't have a winch, you can rescue me". I was kidding. Not realizing how close we were to actually needing a rescue.
I had asked Eric in the morning if people would laugh at Onyx out there without a winch. He didn't answer me but three minutes later had a winch in the Amazon cart. That answers that question.
We parked in a nice sunny spot and enjoyed the snow, the view, the fresh air and ate our lunch. Another Jeep from the group I came down, he stopped and visited for a while. He reported that more than half the group were stuck on the hill and he just wanted to avoid the shit show. It sounds like it was a good day for us to duck out.
It did take a couple hours to limp home. Eric isn't sure what happened or what the actual problem is. He stayed out investigating and giving her a bath. At this point he thinks the issue is electronics.
This might be the dirtiest she has ever been. Home two seconds before he was already underneath looking for anything hot.
We're home, Finn was eating kibble again and when Coco barked at Eric's sounds outside Finn joined her and howled. Coming back slowly. I tried to force some water in him and he fought me with some strength.
Eric and I are off to Nanaimo to join friends for an evening visit.
