Helping a Friend!
Creek Near Albert's Cabin
The Truck
The Dozer
Albert, The Argo, and the Truck I helped a friend this past weekend . My friend Albert who lives off the grid above Marysville, Montana in American Gulch ran into a little trouble. Albert usually lives at the cabin year round but this year he planned to travel in his RV to visit family and friends in California. He was in the process of ferrying supplies from the cabin to the RV sitting at a local RV park in Helena when the first major snowstorm in the Helena area hit. Albert started making a few trips in his Jeep Grand Cherokee- which is the vehicle he tows behind the RV- with supplies and thought he would have a few days to get everything to the RV and be on his way before the snow and snowdrifts blocked his way.
As (bad) luck would have it, the storm came in faster and brought more snow then expected and put a damper on his travel plans. During one trip to the RV in the Jeep with snow chains on, the rear tires slid off the road and got stuck in snow and he could not get it out. Albert then had to walk the 3+ miles back to his cabin... in the dark... in a snowstorm.
The next day he returned to the Jeep with his Chevy 4X4 equipped with chains on all four tires and a winch in hope of getting the Jeep unstuck. After a few tries he put the Jeep in gear and then hopped in the truck and pulling forward with the truck, the Jeep got back on the road. When he stopped the tuck he had to jump out and chase the Jeep down, hop in and stop it! With the Jeep free and back on the road, he decided to drive further up his road in the chained-up Chevy in hopes of clearing anymore obstacles. He got to the top of his road and crossed the Continental Divide. At the Divide he has two options as to where to go. From living at the cabin for over 5 years he knew the regular route was already drifted too much to pass so; he opted for the alternate route. He got a little over two miles and got the Chevy high centered in a 4ft snowdrift. After a few failed attempts of getting out of the drift with the winch and darkness falling he quit and had to hike to the Jeep then drive back to the cabin.
The next day, he started out for the truck with his dozer with the intent of getting the truck free and also plowing the road to Marysville where the roads would be cleared and maintained. He got to the truck and tried a few times to free the truck, but the truck and snowdrift is angled at a steep slant so that every time he pulled on the truck the dozer slid down the mountain side and into some trees. On his last attempt the dozer started to slide and when he tried to turn quickly one track popped off and rendered the dozer useless. Without proper tools, which were at the cabin, he had to quit and leave the dozer and truck where they sat and hike 5+ miles in a snowstorm and blowing wind back to the cabin.
The next three days the temperatures plummeted to 20 degrees below zero and he could not work outside in that weather.
As I stated earlier, Albert lives off the grid, and he relies on a Generator and batteries for his electricity. The electricity operates the lights, satellite TV , Internet, and the water pump supplying water from the nearby creek. Albert also uses propane for his stove, hot water heater and refrigerator. The last thing he uses is a wood stove for heat the cabin. On one of the sub-zero nights, the main generator froze up and quit. Albert had no choice but to go out to the generator shed, unhook the frozen generator, and hook up the back up generator with nothing but a flashlight. The back up generator uses more gas then the main one.
When he stays all year he keeps one vehicle at a friends house in Marysville and uses an Argo ATV with snow-tracks to go from the cabin to the vehicle in Marysville. He had not planned on staying all winter at the cabin this year so he did not have the snow tracks on the Argo or a vehicle in Marysville.
While waiting for the temps to get above zero so he could put the snow tracks on the Argo he used up a lot of wood in the stove and gallons of gas in the the generator. He also began to run low on medication. Being that he didn't plan on staying the winter he didn't have a lot of wood cut and split for the wood stove or gas for the generator.
We had been trading e-mails throughout the days and he asked me that if he could get the tracks on the Argo and make it to Marysville would I come up to the cabin, stay a few days and help him with the dozer and truck. I said of course I would.
Late this past Friday he e-mailed and said that after 5+ hours he got the tracks on the Argo and would try and get to Marysville On Saturday afternoon. He could bypass the long route where the truck is stuck and go cross country making the trip to Marysville faster. He also said that when he got the Continental Divide he would be able to get cellular service and would call and let me know he made it. Albert called about 4pm Saturday, said he made it to the divide, and was heading for Marysville. He asked if I could pick up a few things including something to mix up some adult beverages before heading up to meet him. While I ran into town to get some gas for the generator, and other things he requested, Michele packed a box of leftovers and canned food for the couple of days I'd be there.
After stopping at the house and grabbing my cold weather clothes and the box of food, I headed to Marysville. Albert was waiting at his friends house when I showed up. We transferred the supplies from the truck to the Argo and headed back to the cabin. It took us a few tries in some spots and we even had to get out and dig about 10ft in order to get to the top of the Divide. Once at the top it's all down hill to the cabin. What is usually a 20 minute drive in the summer ended up being close to 2 hours in the Argo and digging when we had to.
We got to the cabin, had some dinner from Michele's box, went over our plan for the next day, then headed to bed for a good nights rest to be ready for the coming day!
We got up Sunday around 9am, had breakfast, and, after short time on the Internet letting people know our plans and our expected return to the cabin, we got our cold weather gear and tools and headed out in the Argo. We encountered our first drift about 500ft off the short cut on the main road. Both Albert and I got out and had to shovel a 15ft length. We had to shovel the top 3ft off the drift so the Argo could go over the bottom 4ft. After that one, we ran into some drifts we could barely get over. After a few more roller coaster drifts that we had to make numerous attempts to get over, we almost passed the truck and dozer because we were in a white-out! Once we saw the truck and the dozer we knew we could not get them out at this time. Albert accepted it, but he wanted to get all the items out of the truck in case it got vandalized over the winter. We tried both doors on the truck and could not unlock or open them. We decided we needed a propane torch which was back at the cabin. Since we had a few hours of daylight left we decided to head back, get the propane torch and give it another try. After retuning to the truck and using the torch to melt the snow around the doors and locks we managed to get the passenger side open. Albert climbed in and after a few kicks and some more torch we got the driver's side open, which was on the side the Argo was on, which would make transferring items easier. While transferring items Albert decided to see if the truck would start after being in minus 20 degree weather for 3+ days. To our surprise it started and we let it warm up while we finished transferring the cargo. After we finished loading the Argo Albert shut off the truck, locked it, and removed the battery to take it to the cabin so it wouldn't freeze. We stopped at the dozer and after digging down about 3ft we retrieved it's battery, too, before returning to the cabin.
At the cabin we unloaded the Argo and went in, got out of our winter clothes, and started a fire before fixing dinner, an adult beverage, and emailing friends and family to say that we're safe and home.
Discussing options over dinner I offered my truck for Albert to use since he can get to Marysville in the Argo, but we didn't get any of his vehicles there. With the use of my truck, he can get to get to town for Food, Gas, and meds. I am staying at Michele's for now and we usually go places together in one vehicle... and if I needed to go somewhere by myself, I could use Michele's car. I really don't need my truck right now and Albert can use it!
Monday morning we headed down to Marysville in the Argo which was filled with empty gas cans and boxes for groceries. After having to shovel a bit in one place, we made to my truck. We got it loaded up and headed to Helena. I had Albert drop me off and he visited with Michele before heading off to get his supplies. Albert called a few hours later and invited us to Macaroni Grill for a late lunch before he headed back to his cabin.
Albert is feeling a lot better knowing he can get to town and get supplies. He thanked me for all my help and use of my truck. I said that I was glad to help and that's what friends are for.
He has decided to stay the winter and Michele and I will continue to help him get squared away and help him through.
Will keep you updated on the truck, dozer, and of course Albert.
As (bad) luck would have it, the storm came in faster and brought more snow then expected and put a damper on his travel plans. During one trip to the RV in the Jeep with snow chains on, the rear tires slid off the road and got stuck in snow and he could not get it out. Albert then had to walk the 3+ miles back to his cabin... in the dark... in a snowstorm.
The next day he returned to the Jeep with his Chevy 4X4 equipped with chains on all four tires and a winch in hope of getting the Jeep unstuck. After a few tries he put the Jeep in gear and then hopped in the truck and pulling forward with the truck, the Jeep got back on the road. When he stopped the tuck he had to jump out and chase the Jeep down, hop in and stop it! With the Jeep free and back on the road, he decided to drive further up his road in the chained-up Chevy in hopes of clearing anymore obstacles. He got to the top of his road and crossed the Continental Divide. At the Divide he has two options as to where to go. From living at the cabin for over 5 years he knew the regular route was already drifted too much to pass so; he opted for the alternate route. He got a little over two miles and got the Chevy high centered in a 4ft snowdrift. After a few failed attempts of getting out of the drift with the winch and darkness falling he quit and had to hike to the Jeep then drive back to the cabin.
The next day, he started out for the truck with his dozer with the intent of getting the truck free and also plowing the road to Marysville where the roads would be cleared and maintained. He got to the truck and tried a few times to free the truck, but the truck and snowdrift is angled at a steep slant so that every time he pulled on the truck the dozer slid down the mountain side and into some trees. On his last attempt the dozer started to slide and when he tried to turn quickly one track popped off and rendered the dozer useless. Without proper tools, which were at the cabin, he had to quit and leave the dozer and truck where they sat and hike 5+ miles in a snowstorm and blowing wind back to the cabin.
The next three days the temperatures plummeted to 20 degrees below zero and he could not work outside in that weather.
As I stated earlier, Albert lives off the grid, and he relies on a Generator and batteries for his electricity. The electricity operates the lights, satellite TV , Internet, and the water pump supplying water from the nearby creek. Albert also uses propane for his stove, hot water heater and refrigerator. The last thing he uses is a wood stove for heat the cabin. On one of the sub-zero nights, the main generator froze up and quit. Albert had no choice but to go out to the generator shed, unhook the frozen generator, and hook up the back up generator with nothing but a flashlight. The back up generator uses more gas then the main one.
When he stays all year he keeps one vehicle at a friends house in Marysville and uses an Argo ATV with snow-tracks to go from the cabin to the vehicle in Marysville. He had not planned on staying all winter at the cabin this year so he did not have the snow tracks on the Argo or a vehicle in Marysville.
While waiting for the temps to get above zero so he could put the snow tracks on the Argo he used up a lot of wood in the stove and gallons of gas in the the generator. He also began to run low on medication. Being that he didn't plan on staying the winter he didn't have a lot of wood cut and split for the wood stove or gas for the generator.
We had been trading e-mails throughout the days and he asked me that if he could get the tracks on the Argo and make it to Marysville would I come up to the cabin, stay a few days and help him with the dozer and truck. I said of course I would.
Late this past Friday he e-mailed and said that after 5+ hours he got the tracks on the Argo and would try and get to Marysville On Saturday afternoon. He could bypass the long route where the truck is stuck and go cross country making the trip to Marysville faster. He also said that when he got the Continental Divide he would be able to get cellular service and would call and let me know he made it. Albert called about 4pm Saturday, said he made it to the divide, and was heading for Marysville. He asked if I could pick up a few things including something to mix up some adult beverages before heading up to meet him. While I ran into town to get some gas for the generator, and other things he requested, Michele packed a box of leftovers and canned food for the couple of days I'd be there.
After stopping at the house and grabbing my cold weather clothes and the box of food, I headed to Marysville. Albert was waiting at his friends house when I showed up. We transferred the supplies from the truck to the Argo and headed back to the cabin. It took us a few tries in some spots and we even had to get out and dig about 10ft in order to get to the top of the Divide. Once at the top it's all down hill to the cabin. What is usually a 20 minute drive in the summer ended up being close to 2 hours in the Argo and digging when we had to.
We got to the cabin, had some dinner from Michele's box, went over our plan for the next day, then headed to bed for a good nights rest to be ready for the coming day!
We got up Sunday around 9am, had breakfast, and, after short time on the Internet letting people know our plans and our expected return to the cabin, we got our cold weather gear and tools and headed out in the Argo. We encountered our first drift about 500ft off the short cut on the main road. Both Albert and I got out and had to shovel a 15ft length. We had to shovel the top 3ft off the drift so the Argo could go over the bottom 4ft. After that one, we ran into some drifts we could barely get over. After a few more roller coaster drifts that we had to make numerous attempts to get over, we almost passed the truck and dozer because we were in a white-out! Once we saw the truck and the dozer we knew we could not get them out at this time. Albert accepted it, but he wanted to get all the items out of the truck in case it got vandalized over the winter. We tried both doors on the truck and could not unlock or open them. We decided we needed a propane torch which was back at the cabin. Since we had a few hours of daylight left we decided to head back, get the propane torch and give it another try. After retuning to the truck and using the torch to melt the snow around the doors and locks we managed to get the passenger side open. Albert climbed in and after a few kicks and some more torch we got the driver's side open, which was on the side the Argo was on, which would make transferring items easier. While transferring items Albert decided to see if the truck would start after being in minus 20 degree weather for 3+ days. To our surprise it started and we let it warm up while we finished transferring the cargo. After we finished loading the Argo Albert shut off the truck, locked it, and removed the battery to take it to the cabin so it wouldn't freeze. We stopped at the dozer and after digging down about 3ft we retrieved it's battery, too, before returning to the cabin.
At the cabin we unloaded the Argo and went in, got out of our winter clothes, and started a fire before fixing dinner, an adult beverage, and emailing friends and family to say that we're safe and home.
Discussing options over dinner I offered my truck for Albert to use since he can get to Marysville in the Argo, but we didn't get any of his vehicles there. With the use of my truck, he can get to get to town for Food, Gas, and meds. I am staying at Michele's for now and we usually go places together in one vehicle... and if I needed to go somewhere by myself, I could use Michele's car. I really don't need my truck right now and Albert can use it!
Monday morning we headed down to Marysville in the Argo which was filled with empty gas cans and boxes for groceries. After having to shovel a bit in one place, we made to my truck. We got it loaded up and headed to Helena. I had Albert drop me off and he visited with Michele before heading off to get his supplies. Albert called a few hours later and invited us to Macaroni Grill for a late lunch before he headed back to his cabin.
Albert is feeling a lot better knowing he can get to town and get supplies. He thanked me for all my help and use of my truck. I said that I was glad to help and that's what friends are for.
He has decided to stay the winter and Michele and I will continue to help him get squared away and help him through.
Will keep you updated on the truck, dozer, and of course Albert.
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