Snowed in up North, Der hey.

With the snow we are having at the moment I begin to think of snow incidents I have had in the past.  One of the best was the time I was snowed in while skiing in Tomahawk Wi.

The year was 1998 and I had a sales appointment at a paper mill outside of Tomahawk in the middle of winter.  I was rather familiar with the city as that it where Gina #4 was from.  There is not a lot to do there aside from drinking.  So after I was done doing that I decided it seemed like a good idea to go skiing.

It was snowing quite well and there was about 10” already on the ground.  I had brought along my skis and gear as well as my dog Bob (Bob Barker).  At the time I was driving a little 4wd Civic station wagon that handled very well in snow.  So I thought nothing of driving out of town to a county park I was familiar with.

Once Bob and I got there I connected him to the harness and he pulled me thru the drifts at about 10mph.  He loved snow; he was a big furry Chicago Alley dog.  I could pretty much connect him to the harness and read a book while he pulled me along. 

The snow was coming down harder as I got further away from the parking lot.  I was having a damn good time and the snow was perfect.  Cross-country skiing is one of the few things I can do and still appear graceful.  Which is saying quite a bit if you have even seen me fall from stuff. 

I’m guessing I was about 15 or 20 miles into the loop when I noticed it was pretty much white out conditions and decided to turn back.  Which proved to be a more ardent task then the trip out.  Even Bob was having a hard time.  He was covered in about an inch of snow even though we were moving the whole time. 

I’d say it snowed about 10-12” in the time we were gone.  When I got back to the car it was completely covered with snow.

I was pooped so I decided to make myself a little snack.  I had brought along my camping kit, which contained a lot of ready to eat meals, tea, snacks, dog food and whisky.  So Bob sat in the car and enjoyed a snack and I had some tea and whisky.

All the while it continued to snow, HARD!  I swear there was an additional 6 or more inches to fall in a half an hour.  So I decided to pack up and get back to my hotel before I got snowed in.

No sooner had I thought that then I plow came through and plowed in the entrance of the parking lot.  Apparently he didn’t see me or perhaps didn’t care.  The drift at the entrance was a good 3 feet deep and I was driving a Civic.  I attempted to drive through it and failed miserably.  I got out a shitty little shovel and it was futile.

Lucky for me I had brought the camping kit along with my winter camping gear.  So I set up the tent and laid out the sleeping bag.  Then proceeded to settle in for the night with Bob and a bowl of ramen noodles. 

I assumed it would stop snowing by morning and the plow would return to clear the entrance.  So I had no worries as I slept soundly listening to the wind howl outside of my tent.  We were warm, we had eaten, I even had whisky left.  No problem.

I was awoken by the sound of a plow rolling past on the road about 200 feet away.  It turns out it didn’t stop snowing.  In fact, we got another 10-12” inches overnight or at least 30” total.  Plus it was still coming down!

Since there was no way I was getting out I decided to make the best of it and go skiing again.  I put the harness back on Bob and he looked at me like “Dude, WTF!?”  but we went anyway.  I spent the whole day skiing as the snow began to slow and then stop.

When we got back to the parking lot you could barely see my car.  Plus the plow had come through again and the pile at the entrance was taller than me.

So I broke out the whisky and camping stove and made dehydrated stroganoff, which sucked.  I was running out of food for both of us and the bottle of whisky was almost empty as the sun set. 

We settled in for another night and I decided to ski 30 miles into town the following morning.  The temps dropped overnight to –3 and even with my 0 degree bag and a fuzzy dog it was downright cold!

We woke up and I packed everything up and then strapped on the skis and put the harness on Bob.  The trip into town was very difficult in that I had to ski on a partially plowed highway.  By the time I made it to Tomahawk I was a mess.

I went to the police station and they wouldn’t let Bob in.  I told them that I was snowed in at the park outside of town and had been there for over two days.  They laughed and didn’t believe me.  After some convincing I got them to believe me and they drove me to the hotel (which I had paid for, but hadn’t slept in) and gave me a chance to change clothes and warm up. 

An hour later the plow driver picked me up and we drove out to the park.  He laughed his ass off when he saw the entrance.  It took the plow about a half hour to break through the snowdrift in order to get into the lot.  But I was able to get the car out.

When I got back to town I decided to go to the bar that Gina #4 used to work at and have a drink.  Word had spread about the “idiot city guy” that got stuck in his car.  Everyone was talking about it and laughing.  “Jeezus Christ, what a moron der!  Who’d be dumbass enough to do that udder than a city boy”… 

So I told them it was me – because I like abuse.  Then I told them the whole story while they fed me free drinks.  So I told more stories and received more free drinks.  I proceeded to accept free drinks (and Pizza) until I decided I was far to wasted to drive to the hotel. 

As the bar closed I told them I was too drunk to dive, so they let Bob and I sleep in the bar.…  I haven’t gone back since.  But I am sure there are stories about the “idiot city guy that slept on the pool table” still floating around.

TJ