2015-01-24 42 -78

Location

In a field, South of Cuba, NY

Participants

Pedalpusher (talk)
Simon the dog
Myka the dog

Expedition

What a disaster of an expedition.

Things started out ok when I took the dogs to McCarty Hill forest for a run. I figure, if I'm going to drive over an hour to a hash, I like to turn it into a multi-purpose trip. So at least the dogs got a run in.

We parked in a different spot than normal because I didn't think my car would make it up the steep section into that parking lot. My first sign of trouble was when I went to let the dogs out of the car and discovered I forgot to bring their collars. They were going to have a naked run today. We found a snow-mobile trail where we parked and walked there, meeting a surprising number of people walking their dogs. I even recognized a dog I met at Delaware park a few years ago when I lived in the city (Buffalo).

Getting back to the car, we made our way to Cuba, NY and found the roads to get to the field. However, I was nervous because the first road was quite narrow and a bit steep. I was going to have to look at alternate roads out of there. Finding the field, I was able to turn around because Davis Rd looked to be similar. As I went to park next to the field, I touched the snowbank with my wheel and immediately felt a sinking sensation. Unfortunately, it was not just my stomach and I knew I was stuck.

At this point, I hadn't seen the Posted sign on this side and wanted to at least get to the hash before dealing with the car. I figured it wouldn't take too long to get the hash so I started walking up Davis only to find the posted signs on the Telephone poles. I sadly got my pictures and went back to the car where I attempted to jam a large stick under the tire in the hopes of gaining some traction and simply back out. When that failed miserably, I walked down the road to the closest buildings which turned out to be uninhabited stables/storage areas. I was getting ready to call AAA for a tow when I saw someone coming down the road. I jogged back to my car and waved them down.

They stopped and the father was a bit tipsy and asked if I had a chain. I didn't so he had his son (I forget his name) drive them back home to grab one. The son asked if they should try pushing but seeing what it took to get pulled out, a push would not have worked. Thankfully, they were back in a short bit and pulled me out. After thanking them profusely for their help, I was on my way home. I had looked at my map while I was waiting for them, and found that I could stay on this road I was stuck on to get me back to the main route into Cuba. The drive home was uneventful if you don't count the freezing sleet/rain that then froze to the windshield. The defroster was working hard to keep up and keep things clear to see.

Allegany county hashes (This is now failed #2) seem to give me the most trouble and I will have to VERY carefully consider future hashes in this area.

The only good thing, I guess, is that this expedition pushes my home graticule into the top 100 for most expeditions.