At first glance the mud and tundra looks mild enough that the thought of having to cross the alpine swamp seems a light task compared to some of the rocks we've climbed and outstanding boulders we have tackled. A few of the trails across the mud do seem like they would be less challenging than others, I don't know what exactly Richard was thinking when he plowed his gnarly machine into one of the deepest bogs around, and stopped even quicker than he had driven in. He was stuck so fast that his bodies momentum almost carried him over the handle bars. Luckily one of the four-wheelers we were riding had a wench and we towed his muddy machine out with little problem.
Possibly that saddest part about the ordeal of Richard nearly burrying a machine is that once he was out and we all got across the alpine swamps, we made it to the top of the peaks, hung out a bit and on the way back I had the unfortunate pleasure of swamping my wheeler to the point of not being able to see the wheels. I had even driven back on the same trail that we all made it over on, but with all of us tearing it up and the little machine I was driving, that bog almost sent me over the handlebars when it quickly grabbed me. Then I too was left stranded and open for the scoffs and laughing of my brother-in-laws, even Chuck had to throw in some harassment.
The entire trip was incredible and one of the best four-wheeling trips I have ever been on. This type of boulder climbing and mud slinging on a wheeler is something that I have never really done. The 4x4 capabilities of those machines was pretty amazing and made for some good riding. My only other big riding trip that have been on would have been to the sand dunes in either St. Anthony, Idaho or Southern Utah. The best one being my buddies bachelor party (of sorts anyway) that four of us went to the Dunes in St. Anthony for a weekend and had a great ride, that is until my good buddy Jason launched his wheeler off a ridge cornace and endo-crashed it at the bottom of the hill. It added some real craziness to that trip, but was a great adventure for sure.
I am stoked about getting out more and more here in Alaska and really getting to know so much of the rad terrain that surrounds me. Everything is so big and gnarly here, it leaves a lot of challenges and I am so excited to keep rolling out the adventures.
