I was up on another hunt at the poultry farm, it's not as big as dave's ranch but it has access to the overpass where the highway sits and seems to have more yote problems so there I was with the owner's sons sitting in a blind when the sky OPENS UP ITS JAWS and pissed down rain on us that turned from a sprinkle, to rain to rain with high winds and then to hail and then to drenching rain. We huddled up under the blind but even that nylon fabric crap started leaking and before you know it I was asking if it was worth it to even try to tuff it out. The guys agreed- lets go sit it out in truck.
Rain lets up for just a brief bit so we get to walking. We walk up the trail and hear this crash like a long slow crash of sticks breaking and the rain picks up again. We get down to the truck and my ATV and holy shit for real- there was a flash flood. Branches, sticks trash pine straw leaf litter it was a big old ball of it about the size of a Volkswagen had pushed all up against the dually and my ATV was nowhere to be seen.
I'm like shit! The rain comes back hard, we got into the truck and sit there discussing just how screwed we are more than a mile from the farm down in a gulley off the road in a thunderstorm sitting in a half blockaded pickup. A literal RIVER was forming nearby so I said hey maybe we should move to higher ground. He starts the truck, eases into drive and starts on the gas.
The truck BURIED its back tires. I get out have a look. Old tires, never was any real tread on there for off road to begin with. I go to call their dad- nothing. No bars, no 4g lte. Shit.
We decided yeah- right now with all this water we're not getting the truck out anytime soon. We start looking for the ATV.
We're getting soaked, can't find marks where the 4 wheeler should have slid and then it dawns on me- what stopped that ball of storm surge shit from going down the creek? YEP. My atv was under there.
At this point we didn't have much misery left to give, rain seemed to be there to stay so we get digging. Branches, dead humus stinking nasty god knows what sticks, litter pine straw and finally...I see orange.
Yep I says, this is shitty. Finally pull all the brush and glop off it, thing is 8 shades of filthy and sogged. We're wet to the boxers. The devil is somewhere in hell wheezing in laughter.
It gets better.
So there we are up shit creek literally without a paddle. The rain pulls back a BIT and I was like let's run for it. We pile on the atv 3 deep- one riding on the sissy seat one on the front rack. We get out to the road everything seems ok we're doing about 20 and the goddam rain BAM comes back on like gangbusters. Going 20. triple soaked, wet to the cards in my wallet, and now it's chilling us.
As we rolled up defeated to the farm to beg his dad for a rescue I got to thinking hell- this was a good dose of reality for when SHTF. It kind of did. What would I do different? Not park by what looked like a dry creek in the low lying areas near the highway where I should have known the storm drains would cause a surge. Bring rain gear standard. Maybe said something about the boys parking there too. Maybe some food too. In hindsight some ramen noodle cups and a hexamine stove would have done us right and gave us reason to wait it out.
People talk about EMP and koreans invading like red dawn but nobody is talking about what goes down every so often right here in our own lives. I mean it wasn't a tornado but it still sucked pretty bad.
Rain lets up for just a brief bit so we get to walking. We walk up the trail and hear this crash like a long slow crash of sticks breaking and the rain picks up again. We get down to the truck and my ATV and holy shit for real- there was a flash flood. Branches, sticks trash pine straw leaf litter it was a big old ball of it about the size of a Volkswagen had pushed all up against the dually and my ATV was nowhere to be seen.
I'm like shit! The rain comes back hard, we got into the truck and sit there discussing just how screwed we are more than a mile from the farm down in a gulley off the road in a thunderstorm sitting in a half blockaded pickup. A literal RIVER was forming nearby so I said hey maybe we should move to higher ground. He starts the truck, eases into drive and starts on the gas.
The truck BURIED its back tires. I get out have a look. Old tires, never was any real tread on there for off road to begin with. I go to call their dad- nothing. No bars, no 4g lte. Shit.
We decided yeah- right now with all this water we're not getting the truck out anytime soon. We start looking for the ATV.
We're getting soaked, can't find marks where the 4 wheeler should have slid and then it dawns on me- what stopped that ball of storm surge shit from going down the creek? YEP. My atv was under there.
At this point we didn't have much misery left to give, rain seemed to be there to stay so we get digging. Branches, dead humus stinking nasty god knows what sticks, litter pine straw and finally...I see orange.
Yep I says, this is shitty. Finally pull all the brush and glop off it, thing is 8 shades of filthy and sogged. We're wet to the boxers. The devil is somewhere in hell wheezing in laughter.
It gets better.
So there we are up shit creek literally without a paddle. The rain pulls back a BIT and I was like let's run for it. We pile on the atv 3 deep- one riding on the sissy seat one on the front rack. We get out to the road everything seems ok we're doing about 20 and the goddam rain BAM comes back on like gangbusters. Going 20. triple soaked, wet to the cards in my wallet, and now it's chilling us.
As we rolled up defeated to the farm to beg his dad for a rescue I got to thinking hell- this was a good dose of reality for when SHTF. It kind of did. What would I do different? Not park by what looked like a dry creek in the low lying areas near the highway where I should have known the storm drains would cause a surge. Bring rain gear standard. Maybe said something about the boys parking there too. Maybe some food too. In hindsight some ramen noodle cups and a hexamine stove would have done us right and gave us reason to wait it out.
People talk about EMP and koreans invading like red dawn but nobody is talking about what goes down every so often right here in our own lives. I mean it wasn't a tornado but it still sucked pretty bad.