Pay it Forward

Friday was the last day of the jeep event and I was invited back for an encore ride. I arrived bright and early and promptly at the appointed hour, 18 jeeps headed out of camp for a half day exploration. The lead is someone experienced and knowledgeable about the area. The tail gunner brings up the rear and watches for breakdowns and mishaps. Everyone is connected to Ch 4 on their CB radios. The day before, Paul and Mike watched as the yellow jeep in front of them did a slow fall from grace and turned over on its side in an area of large boulders. No one was hurt altho the passengers had to hang suspended for awhile before they could get out. This type of drama gets everyone's adrenaline going and provides fodder for the campfire chatter and tall tales. Plus they get to use all that expensive equipment of pulleys and wenches (or is that winches) that is bonded to their toys.

Along the way there are always signs that tell us someone has been there before and worked alot harder and with less equipment.

And then there was a problem.

While solutions were sought, the rest of the group continued to a larger area to circle the wagons and have lunch.

Our meager party pondered the situation.........


And enjoyed the views of Georgetown down in the valley. Lovely little historical town along I-70 going west .

And more pondering as they realized that they DID NOT HAVE THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT to fix the problem. !

While all that was going on, I was contemplating the beauty of the ancient and perfect Aspens.

But all was not lost. Necessity is the mother of invention. Other jeeps had gas cans but no gas in them ??? Our jeep had a gas gauge but no one looked at it ???. One jeep had enough gas in its tank. Using a windshield washer fluid hose, a cut up water bottle and a taste of gas, siphoning began.

So that was the excitement for the day, or so we thought. We headed back to camp for lunch and then Mike suggested that we head over to Vail Pass and try a trail he had done last year. Alex opted to stay in the RV and watch golf.

We headed over sedate trails and off in the distance, the highest peak on the right is Holy Cross Mtn. When there is some snow on the peak, it forms a large cross in the crevices. Quite pretty.

The trail continued higher and we jostled along a stream / trail for a mile or so.
Near the top we came across two women looking lost. They had gone for a leisurely 4 hour hike, taken a wrong turn and were now way off course. They had forgotten their maps at the hotel and had no idea where they were. Because Alex had stayed behind, we had room and offered to return them to their car at Vail Pass. They were 15 miles off course.!! I think they were a bit shaken by the situation and realized that they probably would have had to spend the night on the mountain. They were pretty well equipped and were very experienced but still got into trouble.

We understood.