Everything went exactly as planned. We managed to escape the hectic lifestyle indicative of college students, and visit all of our desired locations. Beautiful scenery, amazing roads, and friendly people were plentiful. Except... when Bertha almost rolled off of a mountain.
The expectations of adventure oftentimes allow disasters to quickly impair outcomes. In other words, when Bertha almost rolled, we thought she was going to take spring break with her. The initial response to her precarious perch was indicative of hasty minds. The sloppy snow, and the unstable mud foundation suggested that retrieval would be impossible given the warm temperature and shifted center of gravity. However, she is a 'Yota, she cant be stuck! So, in an absent-minded approach, we tried to rock her out.
As defined by the apparent rearrangement of the beast further down the mud-hill and rocks stacked along her tires, moving the vehicle was a poor idea. Upon further consideration, it was tea time. We first dug out platforms in the mud to accommodate the forward path of Bertha. The mud paths were covered with snow in hopes of aiding in the solidification of the mud, with the approach of night. We hiked to a suitable location to hammock and cook, and tried to clear our minds of our precarious situation. After some time in the hammocks, the mountain winds indicated a decrease in the temperature and an increase in our optimism of our ill-found predicament. We hiked down the mountain, just in time to intercept a tacoma coming down the road we were stuck on. They responded by asking if the stuck vehicle belonged to us. Our smiles grew, and our thoughts ran wild with the anticipation of proceeding with our adventure, with the new-found retrieval vehicle. This optimism was quickly quenched after we were told that Bertha had been struck, like a sitting duck. I will abbreviate the second attempt of retrieval. Grant ended up crawling out the passenger side door as we counterbalanced the passenger side of the vehicle by standing on the running bar. Bertha and her contents were destined for a roll. The new-found friends who had hit Bertha, offered us a ride back to town. The ride into town may have been the most awkward hour of my life. The driver struggled to get the brand new tacoma through a muddy ranch road, I listened to the worst music I have ever heard, and maintained my composure as the female passenger professed her beer flavored belches, that quickly fumigated the small cab of the packed tacoma. We had hit rock bottom, Bertha was sure to follow.
The only solution when presented with our situation at the time, is to go to iHop, eat marginal pancakes, then tour Walmart for the inherent sightseeing opportunity that awaits. With our tails tucked, we explored walmart. As the night progressed, a camping location became desirable. Since the dorms were closed for spring break, the obvious solution was hanging the hammocks at the university duck pond, firing up the MSR stove and cooking some delicious mashed potatoes from idahome!
Luckily for us, spring break was going to be an amazing teacher. As we were settling into our hammocks, it began to rain. When it rains, it pours! We quickly packed our stuff and ran to my vehicle. I contacted a friend and found a warm, dry place for us to sleep. True friends are hard to find, however the definition of hospitality and compassion was truly defined that night. Thank you for your hospitality, Sydney! The next morning we prepared for the retrieval mission with a liquid breakfast of moose drool, and set off to redirect the adventure. We coordinated with AAA and met with a tow truck to save Bertha. The man driving the wrecker was suitable for the mission. With determination, we jumped into the wrecker and plowed up the road with ease. As we drew near to the location of Bertha, something seemed off. Luckily, it was only our anxious minds playing tricks and imagining the worst case scenario.
We retrieved Bertha with the expertise of the man driving the wrecker. She was free, and ready to proceed onward for our adventures. Today, was day 2 of springbreak, and up to this point we had not executed any of our plans. The adventure was in control, not us. With no plans, and sustained anxiety, and desperation our thoughts were restricted to the present. We were just appreciative that we now had direction.
Take home message: don't let obstacles in life change the way you proceed. These difficulties are more beneficial when viewed as lessons, as opposed to warnings. Also, be careful when categorizing the threshold magnitude necessary to take the time to learn from the scenario. For example, spilling your coffee all over yourself on your way to class is more likely to invoke frustration, than introspective analysis of the situation. In this scenario, I approach the situation with relation to my hurried lifestyle "necessary" to accommodate my day. Do I really need to be walking so quickly that I spill my coffee? Will it have a lingering affect on my life if I am 2 minutes late to my class? Can I take time to appreciate and enjoy my walk to class? What are you willing to subconsciously sacrifice to facilitate expectations? We were to concentrated on the destination of our adventure than the conditions of the road we were driving. Instead of allowing this event to distract our misson, we were introduced to the initial aspect of our spring break lesson, the trip is as valuable as the destination. Cheers!