Itinerant Sisyphus
- Amskeptic
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Itinerant Sisyphus
Went up Hells Canyon or something like that, on my way to Missoula MT from Boise ID. Gorgeous soft rumpled brown siamese-cat-fur-looking hills in the evening smoke-palled light, as the BobD's alternator yowled like one. Saw a pretty little road near the top with a view I cannot describe, the moonlight was just beginning to take on the set sun's remaining glow, and the hills, with the smoke pall, were all soft soft soft.
A little dirt path to my left dropped down severely alongside the road and curved out into the grasses. Perfect, thinks I. Halfway down, I recognize two things in quick succession. One, the path is rocky and throwing the car way too violently for 5 mph. Two, the hill is steeper than I thought. Three, I have nowhere to turn around (four, my math is off).
Tried to back up. Ah no. We are getting trapped way too easily between boulders, and the clutch is not happy. Shut it down. Noted that the right tires were four inches from the drop-off edge. Took a moonlit stagger through the brambles to see if there was any sort of turn around possibility. Nope. See photo. In the night it looked worse. I tried to move that boulder in the middle:
Got tripped by these stupid rocks, what is with these rocks? They were all freshly sharp, crisply cut, wth? Hoped that they did not rain down from above just willy-nilly every time a car passed. That would bash the BobD in a whole new way, and my guilt is already pegged as it is. It was so gorgeous, though. Hells Canyon is a mighty natural sight. That Snake River has cut a deeper gorge than even the Grand Canyon.
Slept pretty well with the sliding door latched open, bathed in smoky moonlight and warm breezes, crammed against the middle passenger footwells due to the slope, wondering about the morrow's clutch-killing tire-eating blind back up. Woke up:
You can't see the steep drop-off right out the sliding door. Good thing I didn't need a break in the middle of the night YAAAAAAAAAAAAA:
This is the distance I did manage to back up until the clutch and I agreed that the rocks were too big:
Millions of these stupid things hiding in the grass . . . :
. . . . and I de-rocked the entire path back up to the main road:
. . . with a good 50% failure rate as they just slid back down. I had a pretty fair stone wall by the time I was done, but the path was a whole lot more negotiable:
The clutch had enough to worry about backing up this hill:
The beauty of the surroundings was at odds with my new career.
"So, what do you do professionally?"
"Rock road, rock hill, rock road, rock hill, rock fall, rock hill again."
"Ohh, that sounds fascinating."
Three of my observers were, I am sure, wondering if the clutch might get damaged from this slow negotiation creep backwards up the hill:
The BobD with its yowling alternator (bearing? electrical sound? don't know) was appreciative of the newly smoothed path, however, and backed up just fine, to this view which the camera once again missed:
(to be cont. must get to WORK)
A little dirt path to my left dropped down severely alongside the road and curved out into the grasses. Perfect, thinks I. Halfway down, I recognize two things in quick succession. One, the path is rocky and throwing the car way too violently for 5 mph. Two, the hill is steeper than I thought. Three, I have nowhere to turn around (four, my math is off).
Tried to back up. Ah no. We are getting trapped way too easily between boulders, and the clutch is not happy. Shut it down. Noted that the right tires were four inches from the drop-off edge. Took a moonlit stagger through the brambles to see if there was any sort of turn around possibility. Nope. See photo. In the night it looked worse. I tried to move that boulder in the middle:
Got tripped by these stupid rocks, what is with these rocks? They were all freshly sharp, crisply cut, wth? Hoped that they did not rain down from above just willy-nilly every time a car passed. That would bash the BobD in a whole new way, and my guilt is already pegged as it is. It was so gorgeous, though. Hells Canyon is a mighty natural sight. That Snake River has cut a deeper gorge than even the Grand Canyon.
Slept pretty well with the sliding door latched open, bathed in smoky moonlight and warm breezes, crammed against the middle passenger footwells due to the slope, wondering about the morrow's clutch-killing tire-eating blind back up. Woke up:
You can't see the steep drop-off right out the sliding door. Good thing I didn't need a break in the middle of the night YAAAAAAAAAAAAA:
This is the distance I did manage to back up until the clutch and I agreed that the rocks were too big:
Millions of these stupid things hiding in the grass . . . :
. . . . and I de-rocked the entire path back up to the main road:
. . . with a good 50% failure rate as they just slid back down. I had a pretty fair stone wall by the time I was done, but the path was a whole lot more negotiable:
The clutch had enough to worry about backing up this hill:
The beauty of the surroundings was at odds with my new career.
"So, what do you do professionally?"
"Rock road, rock hill, rock road, rock hill, rock fall, rock hill again."
"Ohh, that sounds fascinating."
Three of my observers were, I am sure, wondering if the clutch might get damaged from this slow negotiation creep backwards up the hill:
The BobD with its yowling alternator (bearing? electrical sound? don't know) was appreciative of the newly smoothed path, however, and backed up just fine, to this view which the camera once again missed:
(to be cont. must get to WORK)
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles
- glasseye
- IAC Addict!
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Re: Itinerant Sisyphus
Pix #4 (tiny BobD, narrow road, Hell's Canyon) is destined for The Book.
"This war will pay for itself."
Paul Wolfowitz, speaking of Iraq.
Paul Wolfowitz, speaking of Iraq.
- SlowLane
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Re: Itinerant Sisyphus
Er, wouldn't if have made more sense to toss the rocks to the other side of the path (ie. the downslope side)?
Remember, entropy always wins.
Remember, entropy always wins.
'81 Canadian Westfalia (2.0L, manual), now Californiated
"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
- Terry Pratchett
"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
- Terry Pratchett
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Re: Itinerant Sisyphus
Perhaps he threw 50% of them the other way.
- asiab3
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Re: Itinerant Sisyphus
Gotta keep rptaing mass balanced, and the earth is a big rotating mass, you knowJivermo wrote:Perhaps he threw 50% of them the other way.
1969 bus, "Buddy."
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.
145k miles with me.
322k miles on Earth.
- SlowLane
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Re: Itinerant Sisyphus
If so, he's been working on boxer engines for far too long.Jivermo wrote:Perhaps he threw 50% of them the other way.
I can picture it now, adhering to the firing order: "toss left, toss left, toss right, toss right, toss left ... oops, damn, there's a smudge on the hubcap <polish, polish, polish>, toss left, ... hmm, that shock absorber has leaked a little fluid <clean clean clean, wax wax wax>, phew, better take some photos "
Amazing journey, Colin. =D>
'81 Canadian Westfalia (2.0L, manual), now Californiated
"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
- Terry Pratchett
"They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance."
- Terry Pratchett
- airkooledchris
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- jcbrock
- Getting Hooked!
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Re: Itinerant Sisyphus
The snakes will like them stacked like that. Is that an antelope in the last picture? It doesn't look quite right for a deer.
'76 Type II Station Wagon - in the family since new!
Corvallis, OR
Corvallis, OR
- Amskeptic
- IAC "Help Desk"
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Re: Itinerant Sisyphus
Deer! Turned.jcbrock wrote:The snakes will like them stacked like that. Is that an antelope in the last picture? It doesn't look quite right for a deer.
Rocks on the grass will damage the mower blades. The mower blades which probably never have and never will grace that hillside, but I am well-programmed to never throw rocks towards the grass . . . even if they would roll a full mile down the slope.
BobD - 78 Bus . . . 112,730 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles
Chloe - 70 bus . . . 217,593 miles
Naranja - 77 Westy . . . 142,970 miles
Pluck - 1973 Squareback . . . . . . 55,600 miles
Alexus - 91 Lexus LS400 . . . 96,675 miles
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Re: Itinerant Sisyphus
Nice accounting of how foxy bus drivers put in to the adhoc sleeping arrangement du soir.
And undo said foxyness
And undo said foxyness
1975 003 Auto Westy L90D
repair!!!!aug2015
Jan/16 Bumped mixture a few notches richer. finally developing HP.
1.8L/LJet/Pertron DVDA+PertronixCompufire 42/36Ham Heads/AA 93mm pistons/barrels.Porsc.Swiv.Adjusters/CromoSteel pushrds/ Web 9550Cam/55cc chmbr.,035 squish,8.6:1CR/German Supply VWCanadaReman Rods/Schadek 26mmPump/vdo dualOP8/10#low sender/Quart Deep Sump
Backdate Htr bxs,reflanged 914 4into1. Two and three eighths inch collector,magniflow*muffler
repair!!!!aug2015
Jan/16 Bumped mixture a few notches richer. finally developing HP.
1.8L/LJet/Pertron DVDA+PertronixCompufire 42/36Ham Heads/AA 93mm pistons/barrels.Porsc.Swiv.Adjusters/CromoSteel pushrds/ Web 9550Cam/55cc chmbr.,035 squish,8.6:1CR/German Supply VWCanadaReman Rods/Schadek 26mmPump/vdo dualOP8/10#low sender/Quart Deep Sump
Backdate Htr bxs,reflanged 914 4into1. Two and three eighths inch collector,magniflow*muffler