Training Log Archive: bigginsIn the 1 days ending May 28, 2007:
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| Mo |
Monday May 28, 2007 #
hiking 2:00:00 [3] 6.0 mi (20:00 / mi)
Back up to Sawtooth Pass, over and up Empire Mt., then back down to the car.
Spring is marmot season in Mineral King, and when they wake up they like to chew on stuff, mostly car parts. So when you get back you always check your engine compartment for fuzzy things, scare them out, and hope they didn't chew out your brake lines. So I scared the one out, picked up the firewall insulation shreds he was munching on, checked the brakes, and drove 90 minutes down the 25 mile windy dirt road to the highway. Not two minutes down the highway, I hear a good thunk, the power steering goes out, and all the lights on the dashboard start blinking. Digging under the hood a bit, the serpentine belt was loose, and after trying to pull it loose a second marmot fell out under the car. Turns out he rode all the way down the mountain (90 very bumpy-windy-dusty minutes) sitting in the engine compartment (probably sitting on the $300 plastic guard piece I just had reinstalled last week...) and then when I got onto the highway he freaked out and jumped headfirst into the belt. The belt wasn't broken (his head was) so it just needed to be wedged back on, but all the mechanics were home or drunk for Memorial Day, and even if they weren't AAA couldn't tow me anywhere because they shut down the highway because of a forest fire. So many hot smokey hours later me and my new marmot friend finally got towed to don quixote's chop shop where somebody managed to pry the belt back on. Then I drove home and promptly got stuck in traffic until midnight.
photos and map.
Spring is marmot season in Mineral King, and when they wake up they like to chew on stuff, mostly car parts. So when you get back you always check your engine compartment for fuzzy things, scare them out, and hope they didn't chew out your brake lines. So I scared the one out, picked up the firewall insulation shreds he was munching on, checked the brakes, and drove 90 minutes down the 25 mile windy dirt road to the highway. Not two minutes down the highway, I hear a good thunk, the power steering goes out, and all the lights on the dashboard start blinking. Digging under the hood a bit, the serpentine belt was loose, and after trying to pull it loose a second marmot fell out under the car. Turns out he rode all the way down the mountain (90 very bumpy-windy-dusty minutes) sitting in the engine compartment (probably sitting on the $300 plastic guard piece I just had reinstalled last week...) and then when I got onto the highway he freaked out and jumped headfirst into the belt. The belt wasn't broken (his head was) so it just needed to be wedged back on, but all the mechanics were home or drunk for Memorial Day, and even if they weren't AAA couldn't tow me anywhere because they shut down the highway because of a forest fire. So many hot smokey hours later me and my new marmot friend finally got towed to don quixote's chop shop where somebody managed to pry the belt back on. Then I drove home and promptly got stuck in traffic until midnight.
photos and map.
