The Big Ride Dux!...

Yesterday the Quadsters took to the Mountain once again in pursuit of the ever-elusive “Big Lou’s Watering Hole”. As you may recall, earlier this month the Squad tried but failed to find the elusive wet spot. But this time it would be different since we had a plan, a Google earth printout with coordinates and fresh batteries in the Weave’s GPS thingy…. Excitement was in the air!
We took off at 8:00am passed the Man Hut, Burning Bush and to High Point in under a half hour. First time I’ve been back since we conquered the mountain back in February (I was sick last time). It’s really beautiful up there. After a brief break we took off to complete phase two of our trip; getting to the water. Note the photo of a confident Big Lou pointing due west as he examines the coordinates and we get ready to go.
We get going and all of a sudden as we pass through some light brush on top the summit, my trusty 1986 Honda Fourtrax 350 just dies. I mean really dead. It just would not turn over. With no success foreseeable I start contemplating the hassle of towing the quad down from the highest point and toughest terrain on the Mountain. On closer inspection Lou notices a wire hanging from below my seat. It was the wire from the spark plug. A branch had inadvertently pulled the wire from the stem and luckily had not broken it. A quick reconnect and the machine turned right over and we were off again. Ten minutes later we were at the lean-two’s and then off to the power lines where all the homework, maps and coordinates would payoff leading us straight to “Big Lou’s Watering Hole”. After a few minutes we get to what we believe to be the pre-determined point that indicates a sharp right turn to go due west. Unfortunately this turns out to be the roughest brush, mud, streams and ruts we have ever encountered on this mountain. After about 45 minutes more of map, GPS and compass checking we end up at a large swamp (see lower right photo). We name the swamp Gore Bog since I insisted that we do not violate the pristine condition of this wetland (I am a tree hugger). As it turns out we had headed west too soon and were a considerable distance north of the watering hole…. IT HAD ELUDED US AGAIN!
It was around 10:30 and since the Weave had an appointment with a dental drill that he had to keep, we decided it would be best to try again another day. We got back to The Manhut, enjoyed a refreshing beverage and plotted our next journey.
Cheers!