The group assembled at the West Richland Maverik for the requisite coffee, burrito, and top-off on petrol before hitting the road promptly around 0700:
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Josh was at the back of the pack, with the sunrise beginning to take shape nicely behind him:
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As we rolled past the ponds approaching Union Gap, they were absolute glass and offered mirror images of the foothills above:
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With the staging area at the corrals packed full of trucks/trailers already, we headed up to the SnoPark to unload:
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Returning back to the corrals, we headed up:
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At this point I started taking short video clips that, well, didn't turn out all that well so you'll just have to imagine the trail for a while as we made our way up. The conditions were actually ideal, if not a little concerning because there was NO snow whatsoever. I would like to see this in about mid-May, not March
Anyhow, things were going just dandy right up until they weren't... As I tried to downshift the flatty to make a corner, the clutch pedal went right to the floor and stayed there... Uh-oh. A quick recon mission below confirmed my suspicion that the hydraulic slave cylinder had suffered a blowout, and all of the precious hydraulic fluid was escaping. I was able to limp the poor flatty to a level spot and did my best to perform a trail rebuild, using a bevy of Josh's tools and fluids, and while the leak was slowed significantly it was clear the day was done for the flatty:- IMG_4712.JPG (2.08 MiB) Viewed 11327 times
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So, leaving the flatty where it was, I hopped in with Boyscout and we made our way up to a nice lookout just above NASCAR Hill for lunch. And here is where the second tragedy of the day struck: the briquettes that Boyscout had brought for the bbq were absolutely not "match light" as the bag had indicated. It took us well over an hour to get enough charcoal hot enough to cook a couple of burgers, and that was using several creative and last-ditch efforts to get the charcoal lit. Regardless, the weather was amazing, the view wasn't any worse, and we had a great bull session as we waited, cooked, and eventually scarfed down our much-delayed lunch:
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With bellies full and the clock ticking, we made our way back down to the wounded flatty and I limped it back down the trail and up the road to the SnoPark, adding several more ounces of clutch fluid along the way to maintain the ability to shift gears, sort of
We loaded back up, strapped down, and headed for home. Overall the day had been a mixed bag, but Josh's Scout performed flawlessly and that was the real mission so in reality, it was a success. And, any day you are burning fuel in the woods, it's a win 
