While Larry and I were camping and fishing at 10,000ft last weekend, one of my techs was busy blowing apart my front axle to install the tru-trac. Here's where he stopped:
He pulled the ring gear off of the original carrier and one of the 10 ring gear bolts came out funny. Like missing half the threads funny. So he wisely stopped to consult with me once I got back to work. Keep in mind this axle is from Larry's family wrecker truck he dismantled and was bought new by his Dad. The axle had never been blown apart..ever. So it was kind of odd to have the threads wipe out. Still we both agreed new ring gear bolts should have been on the parts list from the get-go, so we kinda dodged a bullet. I called up the Pueblo brake and clutch and had a set delivered up the next day. I will say I'm proud to have a part of Larry's truck history under my K5.
Not much else to report except Larry's been busy fogging paint on. So much so he ran out of the tan I had mixed up and ran out of his favorite satin black tractor paint too. Lucky for us the local farm store got restocked this week. So I sent Larry this pic:
We had a pretty good time off the grid last weekend. Wasn't a typical wheeling trip as the trail was pretty basic. Just long and rocky, but the views were great over Hagerman pass. We dropped into a secluded valley that was still at 10,000ft and camped on a old railroad bed that splits Ivanhoe lake in two. Kinda trippy to wake up and see water out of both sides of the camper after an afternoon/night of adult beverages.
The cast of characters, Larry's K10 out in the back, his neighbor's Silverado behind it, our Buddy Bill's Dodge behind it. The yellow TJ and red YJ Jeeps are couple of brothers that are our guides to the new area. John has the yellow jeep and his son and my son are best buds. Shane is his brother and has the red jeep. Larry dubbed them, ketchup and mustard.
Looking east off of Hagerman pass at turquoise lake.
The top of the pass. 11,925 ft. For you flatlanders, that's up there.
Something you don't always see. Action from inside Larry's K10. This is looking down the west side of the pass over our target fishing spot, Ivanhoe Lake.
This was hard to tell it was actually an old railroad bed we were on, but once we got up above the lake on the other side it was pretty obvious. The black sand, rusty railroad spikes and rotten rail road timbers were a pretty good giveaway too. The only problem with this spot is it lacked any protection from the wind. Which never really stopped until early in the morning.
Third cast out, Larry nailed a nice rainbow.
My third cast out after restringing my reel I got one too!
Saturday morning, just before sunrise. Butt freaking cold by the way..
All in all, we had a great weekend. More fish were caught, lies told, meat burned over an open fire and beers downed.
Got to finish putting the 44 back together tomorrow after work with my tech and meet up with Larry at the Pueblo res for some local fishing.