Today's fest featured damp cool conditions in the form of mist and drizzle with an occasional passing shower. Matt "the wild" Polizzotto and new Tractorfest participants Ali and Alex Mong (siblings, not married) were the first to arrive on the scene. Alex had just gotten pins removed from his elbow that were used to heal an injury that he sustained while roller blading in his house. I myself had a scar removed leaving me with 10 stitches in my hip to be careful of. But circumstances like these are quite minor in the realm of Tractorfest so we started the tractor and went for a spin in the woods. The ascent of the main trail was followed by some good tree destruction that occurred halfway to the turnaround. Apparently some small pine trees had been left unnoticed during the previous fest. A new path was made and we continued baja to the stonewall crossing. Then we returned to the yard and found Iwak. Another jaunt in the woods led us to the gap in the stonewall at the roadside. Although it was raining, there was no accumulated water for us at the edge of the road so we went to the nearby intersection and did some laps around the road sign. Then more road tractoring brought us to the old stone well at the start of the main trail. During its yearly inspection the Jones' arrived. We departed the well for a further destination, the washing machine monument. The right snow chain fell off at the turnaround forcing us to abort our deep woods mission and return to the yard for repairs. The return trip would be possible because it was all down hill so traction from the snow chain would not be necessary. A perfectly timed neutral drop allowed the tractor to go faster than it ever has on the descent of the main trail. At one point I was not sure if we were going to make through one of the corners. The front wheels were bouncing excessively over the rocks limiting my opportunities to steer. Fortunately there was enough front wheel contact on the ground when it was needed so that I was able to avoid a tractor-stopping oak tree. Those in the back missed that excitement, although they got more of a pounding than Matt (shotgun) and I received in the front. Eventually tractor momentum bogged down at the usual spot at the end of the rocky section and we waited for Alex to catch up. I figured it would be better for him to walk the descent than be involved in a high speed mishap that could hurt his arm which was still on the mend. By the time we got to the barn the left snow chain had almost fallen off. Keithel arrived and assisted me with remounting the snow chains. The ski-boose (now with one ski) was hooked to the tractor with a chain and we got 50 meters down the driveway before both the snow chains fell off again. We returned the tractor to the barn where Keithel and I made a better and more time consuming repair. During this time Joe, Chris, Craig, and John arrived. Iwak entertained them by giving the ski-boose a tune up with a sledgehammer. We returned with properly mounted snow chains, hooked up, and proceeded into the woods with Brian riding the boose. The trip to the washing machine monument was slow due to the extra drag caused by the boose. Occasionally the boose would get caught on passing trees and logs. Brian attempted to control the boose with minimal success and eventually the ski broke off. The loss of the ski caused more drag and the belts on the tractor started smoking from overload. The washing machine monument was in sight, so we parked the tractor and walked the rest of the way. The ski from the boose inspired us to add a significant amount of rocks to the already top-heavy washing machine monument. The ski made a good support for more rocks once Keithel jammed it into place. I hung the leftover helium tank with stick to complete our modification and a couple pictures were taken. The ski-boose was abandoned for our journey back to the yard. A wheelie during the ascent to the turnaround slowed our progress but did not cause a major delay after reorienting our assault on the steep section. Then we piled the tractor with passengers for another high speed descent of the main trail. Iwak, Brian, Andy, Craig, Matt, Chris, and Keithel piled into the dump body while and Joe and I sat up front (estimated passenger weight:1600 pounds). This time I waited longer before initiating the neutral drop in fear of building up too much speed with most of the passenger weight situated behind the rear axle. We bounced down the hill until the right rear wheel caught on a rock which abruptly stopped forward progress and turned the tractor 120 degrees to the right. Everyone was surprised that the dump body held up under all the shifting weight during the decent. We rolled strong back to the yard to conclude novemberfest '99.