I spent a beautiful fall weekend exploring ghost towns in Alpine County, California. Sunday, I attended recovery training; the ongoing joke was wench vs winch.
Alpine County ghost towns
I can’t believe how beautiful the weekend turned out. We had two separate wind storms Friday and I chalked up the weekend to a loss. I woke Saturday to clear skies, calm winds, leaves still attached to trees. I didn’t have plans but knew I needed to enjoy the beautiful fall weekend. I tried to drive into Hope Valley but crowds chased me off.
I headed to Monitor Pass to visit a few ghost town sites in Alpine county. I didn’t take many photos but flew the drone over Monitor, Morningstar and Curtz mines. I had hoped to fly over Mogul and look for remains of the town but people had set up camp in the meadow. Edel enjoyed our day out, even though most of the trip she slept in the back seat.
I find myself flying the drone alternating between the screen and watching the drone but I need to learn to fly remotely only. Good thing it has a return to home feature, I was running low on battery power and got turned around in the burned trees. The drone made it home in plenty of time and I got a few more pics before I ran out of power.
It was fun flying the drone and I got amazing views of the townsite of Monitor. I got a great overview of Morningstar mine and was able to scope out Cutrz without hiking or driving a narrow road with a big drop-off.
Training Day
An off-road group I’m a member of started skills classes. They had a variety of instructors teaching self-recovery including how to safely use your winch and Hi-lift jack. I’ll be honest, the Hi-Lift scared me as I have heard the horror stories of injuries and even deaths. The instructors and more experienced off-roaders were great teachers in class and hands-on training. I used my hi-lift several times and know the best places to lift Honey Badger. I practiced winching including using mechanical advantage with a snatch block. I have a few more items on my shopping list including a second bottle jack and synthetic rope shackles.
10-10-2021
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