Well it started out as a beautiful day, not at all like our first attempt where we got turned back by snow and ice and almost lost the drone to the wind. This time it was warm and calm. The kind of day where nothing could stop us, or so we thought.

We started out from Madras with a full tank and some snacks and we headed for the Ochoco National forest just north of Prineville, Oregon. Enjoying the sunshine as we turned onto McKay rd. and headed north into the mountains. We were trying to get up to Foley Butte for the second time in as many weeks, though this time we had sunshine and warm temps and we were taking the low road to avoid the majority of the snow along the ridge.

We were having a great time as we turned off the main road and started for the top. Patches of snow here and there but nothing serious. The previous weeks warm weather had done it’s job and we had little trouble making the vista.

It was on our way down that the adventure truly began. As we made our way north to the main road we encountered some snow drifts that had not melted yet and we were having fun driving through them and splashing through the puddles left by the melting snow. But when I came to the last and deepest of the snowy spots, I heard a banging noise from under my jeep. The kind of noise that you don’t want to hear when you are in the mountains in deep snow. Yep my front drive line had come off the transfer case and the caps from the universal joint had been transported to another dimension (forever lost). Well Damn!

I could still drive just not in 4WD. I had my friend Jim with me in his Jeep TJ and we both had winches and recovery gear so I knew I was not stranded, but there was another problem. There was a blue PU truck stuck in the middle of the road that we would have to rescue first before we could head down out of the snow.

So we set about getting unstuck from the snow drift we were both in, then getting the blue PU out so we could all get down.

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