Snow Boots, Mittens, and Four Wheel Drive!

I'm officially ready for winter! No more cold, wet feet or hands for me. And, I can now drive safely in pretty much any conditions. Before the snow hit last week, I thought that my old two wheel drive Tacoma might do ok in winter, not great but ok. Usually the safety of a vehicle is determined in its ability to stop. But, I soon realized that two wheel drive is actually dangerous when you're in the delicate balance between maintaining momentum and maintaining control.

Last Friday, we got several inches of snow in a just a few hours. There was an 18 wheeler jack-knifed on the highway going into town, and there was a small truck flipped over in my neighborhood. My truck couldn't make it up the first hill at the entrance to my neighborhood, so I ended up parking by the highway and hiking about a mile to my house. It wasn't a big deal, but next time I might've gotten stuck much further from home. So, today I traded it in for another Tacoma. Oversized snow tires and four wheel drive should handle just about any situation, but there's also a rear differential lock and four-low if I ever need to plow through the deep stuff.

It's an older truck with quite a few miles, but it drives nicely and should have plenty of life left in it. Also, it might be my favorite configuration of the Tacoma. It's a V6 with a manual transmission and a manual transfer case. It feels a good bit smaller than my last truck, and there are no rear doors. Not that anyone wants to sit in the back seat anyways. The bed is actually slightly longer and wider. So my sleeping platform doesn't have that snug fit anymore, but it works. I'll miss my old truck, but there's plenty of adventures to come in this one.

Maps vs. GPS

Keeping with the travel theme, I thought I'd write about why I prefer maps over GPS. When GPS devices first became popular for use in cars, I thought they were ridiculous (and still do). They're useful on boats to find fishing wrecks, distances, etc., but roadways have plenty of signs to tell you where you are. The only time GPS is useful in cars is when one is in a big, unfamiliar city with multiple destinations. The vast majority of the time I use written directions and/or a map.

So, why use maps? State maps are free at all welcome stations. Looking for certain road signs keeps my attention. I've learned to recognize primary roads from secondary roads from tertiary roads. I can quickly glance at a map to find surrounding roads and features. The best part is that these skills are transferable when on biking and hiking trails. Recognizing a primary trails is crucial when you don't have a map and sometimes when you do. Using maps also builds a good sense of direction.

Boy Scouts are taught that a GPS is not a primary source of information due to it's vulnerability to water and dead batteries. I keep one in my truck as a back-up but haven't used it in over a year. I have a small collection of state maps organized alphabetically in the pocket of my back door, so that I can reach back and pick out the one I need. Also, it's helpful to fold the map in such a way that you only see the part in which you are travelling. I guess maps just fit in with my personality, like manual transmissions and single speeds.

Road Trip Recap

Overall, I'd say I had a pretty successful trip. I got to see more friends and family than I had intended. I rode the Womble Trail in Arkansas, Bear Creek and Pinhoti in North Georgia, Oak Mountain in Birmingham, Alabama, and Whirlpool in Oxford, Mississippi. I drove 4076 miles, spent $566 in gas, and averaged 21.1 mpg. I discovered that when facing a strong headwind, I can run in 4th gear at 70 mph and 3200 rpm and still get 19-20 mpg. That rekindled my faith in the ole 4 cylinder. However, after all that it took me about 10 tries, 2 sandbags, and a roommate in the back to get out of my driveway this morning; it was pretty iced over.

I'm glad to be done travelling for a while, but I can't say I was really excited to come back to Telluride. I've got to do some maintenance on my truck and get it registered just to trade it in for a 4x4. Also, the house I've been renting finally sold, so I've got to find a new place to live in the next month. These problems are made worse by the facts that I live in the middle of nowhere, and there's a severe housing shortage in Telluride. But, since I'm a town employee I get bumped to the top of the waiting list for the apartment complex, so hopefully that'll work out. On the upside, I'm looking forward to getting away from my roommates (one in particular). There's also smaller problems like buying various winter gear items and replacing worn out bike parts - things that can't be done in town without sacrificing a limb.

Coming back wasn't all bad though. My Rogue Hoe finally arrived after being back-ordered for a couple months; though it's kind of too late to do trail maintenance now. And, my boss found some snowboard boots in my size in the Free Box. For those that are wondering, it's exactly what it sounds like - a box of free stuff. Lucy sure was excited to get back though! Hopefully, next month, things will slow down.