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Tractorfest '96 on Tour
12/27 Chris Barton, Chris Baylis, Matt Ciampaglia, Jeff Hnatio
Location: Ciampaglia residence
Jeff Hnatio kindly offered to transport the tractor with his dad's trailer that is made from the back half of an old Ford pickup truck. We laoded the tractor onto the trailer with the aid of ramps, planks, chains, blocks, and a come-along. As the tractor was pushed over the wheel wells into the trailer, the tractor's dump body knocked a side plank off of the trailer and the trailer's suspension compressed about a foot. Once it was tied down, we tossed the ramps and some other stuff into Barton's truck and rolled strong to the Ciampaglia residence in Lancaster. There we met Matt and Baylis. Photographs of the unloading of the tractor were taken and a Taco Bell sign was placed on the roadside. The motor was started and thus began the first Tractorfest out of the town of Bolton in Tractorfest history. After tractoring for approximately two minutes, we found a golf cart seat in the woods and put it in the dump body to increase passenger comfort. We made our way to the overgrown railroad bed and tractored to the gas line which is an open area that is all grass. After climbing a steep ascent, Matt drove the tractor for a while. We traveled on a section of gas line and took a right onto a trail. This brought us back to the railroad bed where Matt got the right rear wheel caught on a tree and stalled the motor. At this point the transmission was lowered and the rear right tire was inflated. We returned to the gas line and Jeff drove up the steep ascent and continued along the gas line until we came to a gate. We paused briefly to enjoy the view of Ridgefield. I took over driving on some single track and descended to an area of brush. The single track slowly disappeared and after some baja, we found ourselves in an open area full of junk. An abandoned building was spotted and we drove to it. There were concrete steps that led into the building, so we drove up them. The snow chains left some marks on the steps to mark new Tractorfest territory. We parked the tractor in the building and did some exploration on foot. After backing down the steps, we attempted to drive up a twelve foot tall pile of leaves but it didn't work. Then Barton drove along a short trail to another area full of junk. We traveled to a spot where clippings are dumped in large quantities, probably from a nearby golf course. Barton proceeded to follow a four wheeler trail towards the gas line but got the right rear wheel hung up on a tree. The front end swung briskly to the right, hit another tree, and stalled the motor. After getting the tractor unstuck, Barton found a recliner and began a scavenger hunt through the junk. We obtained two more discarded golf cart seats and a gas can. The seats were piled into the dump body and the recliner was stacked on top. We began tractoring towards Matt's house with Barton sitting in the recliner. Then the tractor stalled because I forgot to open the gas valve. While restarting, Baylis jumped into the seat with Barton and we were on our way. The right rear tire got hung up on another tree forcing us to restart again. We brought the stuff close to Matt's and dropped it off. While tractoring the full length of the the railroad bed, Baylis hit his arm on a passing tree trunk. Then we cleaned the spark plug, crossed the gas line, and went down a trail. We came out at a golf course, traveled on a trail that went along the edge of it, and came back out at the gas line. We amused ourselves for a while by tractoring down some of the hills on the gas line in neutral. The neutral drops allowed us to approach 20 mph. There was one hill with a drainage ditch that lifted the wheels airborne while traveling over it at high speed. We tractored some trails again and bajaed into Matt's backyard to conclude the first Tractorfest on tour.
12/28 Chris Barton, Matt Ciampaglia, Joe Sparks
Location: Ciampaglia residence
Today's epic exploration fest began with some baja to exit Matt's yard. Chris drove along the railroad bed and the gas line. Then Joe drove the tractor briefly on the railroad bed and I took over to ascend a 35 degree incline. The first attempt failed as we wheelied after loosing traction. The second attempt got us a bit closer to the top, but we wheelied and the tractor turned to the right leaving it sitting sideways on the incline. Once we got off the incline, we repaired a clutch spring that fell off. Then Matt drove down the railroad bed, across the gas line, and down the trail to the golf course. We followed a trail that traveled along the side of the golf course and came out in the area full of junk where we were yesterday. Joe drove to the building with the steps and I drove up them. Then we followed another trail which led us to a dead end road named fox run. A tall fence and some backyards prevented us from reaching the road, so we turned around and eventually found ourselves back at the edge of the golf course. We followed another trail which led to a whole network of trails. After tractoring for a while, we came out on Lancaster road. We turned around, went another way, and found some overgrown sand dunes. Matt fell from his shotgun position while dodging a tree. We tractored down the dunes in neutral and occasionaly got stuck while ascending them. Matt bailed before contacting a tree while crusing in neutral. The tree was quite strong for its small size and did not allow us to pass over it. Then we found a 50 degree incline and decided to descend it. After ascending its more gradual backside, Joe bailed as I shifted to first gear. The tractor slid down the incline and lost a total of twelve feet in altitude. I fell off at the bottom and Matt layed across the seat to avoid a face full of tree. Rain began to fall and in true Tractorfest spirit Joe exclaimed, "Tractorfest knows no weather". We continued exploring the trails and found ourselves stuck on an incline made of sand. After much effort, the rear wheels had dug some deep holes and the differential was two inches into the sand. The come-along was used to get out of the mess and we were on our way. We ascended to the summit of a hill on another trail and took a short break. At the end of the trail we came to a field. Matt encouraged us to check out the field by foot and we could not have found more cool stuff than we did. The following was seen in the field; three farm tractors, one bulldozer, two buses, two hearses, and an airplane. We stood at the edge of the field in a daze for a minute and returned to the tractor. We followed another trail and got stuck on a small oak tree while bajaing around a trail obstruction. Driving off the tree in reverse didn't work, so the come-along was used again. The tractor was lodged so bad that the come-along handle bent from pulling too hard, but it had moved the tractor just enough that we were able to drive off the tree while lifting up the front end. Once we were back on the trail, we crossed a stream and ran out of gas while descending to a field that is located on Ballville road. After filling up the tank, we finished the descent in neutral and made a U turn in the field. We ascended back up the hill and arrived at a construction site on a hilltop. Then we followed a trail that led us to another part of the golf course. It was getting dark but we could see the trail that travels the edge of the golf course on the other side of what we believed to be a driving range. We crossed the driving range and followed the trail back to the area with the junk to save time, rather than back track through the network of trails. Along the way we had to dismount and walk beside the tractor to ease engine breaking while descending a long steep hill. A neutral drop allowed the tractor to reach about 20 mph on a descent as we approached the area with the piles of grass clippings. A brief period of baja brought us to the gas line and the trail to Matt's house. We had some trouble with a tree that caught the corner of the dump body, but we eventually bajaed into Matt's backyard just before dark. While chilling in Matt's house, we gave Mr. Baylis a call inquiring about the possibility of bringing the tractor to the Baylis residence to continue the tour. He said OK, and sure enough Mr. Baylis and Chris pulled the ramp truck into Matt's driveway an hour later with the yellow lights on. We loaded up the tractor with ease and brought it to the Baylis' for another Tractorfest on tour scheduled for tomorrow.
12/29 Chris Barton, Bob Baylis, Chris Baylis, Matt Ciampaglia
Location: Baylis residence
Today's fest opened with a kilometer of road tractoring to get us to the sand pits. Along the way we waived to curious neighbors, drove through a pothole, and experienced a double wookie sighting. While on the access road to the pits, we ate doughnut holes while tractoring. In the sand pit we encountered some motorcycle traffic, so we rolled strong with them for a while. The sand dunes were muddy and gave the tractor traction problems which prevented us from ascending many of them. When we did get to the tops of the dunes they gave us good neutral descending. Barton was ejected from his shotgun position while backing swiftly down a steep bank. His ear received a nice burn mark when it contacted the hot muffler. The sand pits also featured giant puddles and a discarded rear end which we ran over. Then we tractored some trails for a change in scenery. At the end of the first trail, we found an old oil truck and drove up a stone wall. Then we tractored along the power lines and encountered three stream crossings. They were all about a foot deep and got the belts wet which caused them to steam. One of the streams was crossed at about 14 mph after a descent that included a tight turn in neutral. We tractored back onto another trail, found two discarded 50 gallon drums, and rolled them down a steep hill. The first one rolled OK but the second, which was half full of water, rolled with force. It bounced off of all the trees that interrupted its path and made it all the way to the bottom of the hill. We wheelied while ascending a steep trail that went to the top of a 50 foot cliff. Once we realized that the cliff was a backstop for a shooting range, we jetted back to the sand pits. On the way we did a long gradual descent in neutral which got our speed up to about 18 mph. At the bottom we continued into an overflowed brook at speed. The water splashed up higher than our heads and got us soaked. I immediately shut off the motor to check for water in the air intake while we were in the middle of the brook. I took off the air cleaner and dried it out while standing on the tractor, rather than standing in the ten inch deep water. During this time a bit of traffic backed up that was going to and from the shooting range. Once the air intake was reassembled, we got out of the way to let the cars pass. The tractor got hung up on a fence momentarily while running over a discarded mail box. Then we did some fishtails in the mud on the banked turn near the entrance of the sand pits. While tractoring along the railroad tracks, we got beeped by Mr. Baylis so we took a short cut back to the sand pits to meet him. We drove back to the Baylis residence via the gas line and fields so that Mr. Baylis wouldn't have to park in the sand pits. With Mr. Baylis shotgun, we did some tractoring in a muddy field and got stuck a couple times. During an off camber descent, I shifted to first gear and did a fishtail in the wet grass. This was followed by an exciting neutral descent which included a right turn that was taken at 16 mph while running over brush. At this point Mr. Baylis stated, "You guys are crazy". We ran out of gas while tractoring an off camber section. After filling the tank the tractor wouldn't start because the carburetor was uphill from the gas tank. We attempted to reposition the tractor to face straight down the hill, but this backfired when the tractor drove over the chock block and almost ran me over too. Barton skillfully shifted between first and neutral while steering and positioned the tractor with the gas tank uphill. Once the tractor was started, we returned to the Baylis' yard. On the way we did 20+ mph while descending in neutral through the muddy field and crossed cautiously over a four foot wide bridge to conclude the third day of the tour.
12/31 Chris Barton, Robbie "I should have ate Spam in Texas" Dapice, Jeff Hnatio, Brian Jones, Greg Previte
Location: Jones residence
The last day of the tour began with a humorous starting of the motor. Some Cristy Super Start was sprayed in the head through the spark plug hole on this 20 degree day. The first few pull starts were unsuccessful because I forgot to turn on the ignition. Then I checked the oil but forgot to put the plug back in. When Brian pull started the motor, oil ejected out onto my clothes. The oil made a cool gurgling splash sound. Once the motor had warmed up, we went for a spin on the trails in Brian's backyard. Two inches of puffy snow reduced our traction in baja situations. Eventually we got the wheels jammed in between some logs and had to use the come-along to get unstuck. On the way back to Brian's house to pick up more passengers, we met up with Tractorfest virgin, Robbie "I should have ate Spam in Texas" Dapice. We made some ruts while ascending a hill and hooked up a sledding rope. Robbie gave the sled a go in the field and switched with Brian as we went looking for some baja. We approached a stream and got stuck in the mud. Ruts were created as the wheels clawed out of the mud. We returned to the house to make some phone calls where Brian got mud on the walls because his jacket was muddy. Then we returned to the tractor and did some baja sledding. Each of us took turns and Brian drove while I was sledding. After some tree destruction, we picked up Greg and Jeff. We hooked up another sledding rope and went back to the stream. This time we got stuck so bad that the rear axle was in the mud and the dump body was resting on the ground. The come- along was used to get out of the muck and we continued through the woods, tree wrecking and baja sledding along the way. When pine trees were run over the snow shook off them and made small white clouds. We explored some new trails and eventually got stuck between two trees during some baja. The front end was lifted and repositioned to continue forward progress. An attempt to turn around on the side of a hill didn't work because of the lack of traction in the snow so we retraced our path with one slight variation. We descended through a 14 foot maple tree got hung up in some vines. Once we were back on the trail, we returned to Brian's yard baja sledding along the way. During this time Robbie showed great car sledding potential while baja sledding through thick brush. Chris made constructive use of this time as a warm-up for the upcoming car sledding season. Jeff lost his sled and slid on his back for a few feet. A minute later Robbie was body sledding all over the field. Then we took a break to warm up. We returned to the tractor for a final spin. Brian drove a number of trails, including one that traveled along the scenic Assabett river. Eventually he got the tractor stuck on a oak tree during some baja. The tree was wedged between the left axle guides and had to be cut down. Then we ran over some small pine and returned to Brian's house to conclude Tractorfest '96.