Tractorfest 2000

Tonight we had an unscheduled fest to kick off Tractorfest 2000. The lack of moonlight made the scene quite dark as we ventured into the woods. We ascended the main trail to the turnaround and Medora's friends were thrilled as we went over the bumps. Of course I navigated the tractor as fast as possible on the descent with Graeme doing an exceptional job of lighting the way while sitting shotgun as we bounced our way through the night. That really stirred up the first-time participants and eventually Graeme fell off at the conclusion of the ultra bumpy section. Then we enjoyed a brief period of baja through the small pine trees and a return trip to the barn to conclude the first of many tf2000's.

Today's fest began with the short loop off the main trail to the stonewall gap at the side of the road which had some water on this fine spring afternoon. Re-establishing the neglected trail provided us with some excitement; but Derek and Nat were the only passengers, so we returned to the house to wait for some more. After an extended delay Iwak and Medora showed up and we returned to the woods and chained a clothes drier to the back of the tractor. Our chain attachment points were unsuccessful until perforations for routing the exhaust pipe were located. Ian smashed them open with the gas intake pipe that had just been .removed. and I looped the chain through. Thus the scene was set for some drier surfing (quite like washing machine surfing) and we rolled strong down the road with Ian riding the drier. Medora took some pictures of Ian and after turning around he jumped off. The drier began tumbling on the road and making quite a racket. Once it tumbled upright it began hopping along and moved in a humorous manner. Then it plowed up some dirt as it was dragged along the edge of the road. Upon returning to the woods Medora departed and Jeff arrived. We journeyed up the main trail with the drier in tow. To our surprise it fell apart quite rapidly as it dragged along the rocky trail. The control panel fell off, followed by the front and top panels. Then the drum rolled out so we stopped and put all the detached pieces in the dump body. Then Brian arrived as we approached the turnaround but we had to stop again. This time a link on the chain broke. Further inspection showed wear on the links from dragging it on the road. Brian reattached the hook to the end of the chain and we continued our journey. A few more delays were caused by the chain becoming unhooked but we eventually made it to the washing machine monument which still stands over six feet tall. Construction of a drier monument promptly began one meter away from the washing machine. The drier was .re-assembled. with the aid of some rocks. Then we filled it with a few rocks and then put more on top. As the monument finally began to take shape the mosquitoes became overwhelming and we were forced to depart leaving plenty of room for more rocks. During the return trip we encountered some quality tree destruction. There were plenty of dead trees to go down and it was highlighted by one particularly large one that stood about twenty feet tall (although it was originally much taller). Ian bailed from his shotgun position as the tractor contacted the tree. After realizing that the top section of tree was coming down I ducked for cover and it landed on my back. Fortunately it was dried up and light weight and no harm was done. After thinning the forest a bit more we ascended to the turnaround and enjoyed the always exciting, bone jarring, high speed decent of the main trail. At one point during the neutral section the front end got some air allowing the front wheels to bounce over the rocks like a basketball in an alternating fashion. Derek fell out of the dump body after the neutral section and Ian fell from his shotgun position during the ultra bumpy finale. We returned to the house and I neutral dropped the tractor and we coasted onto the top of a dirt pile while Ian and Brian bailed. Jeff hung on and we immediately coasted backwards to conclude the fest.

Today's fest was essentially a part of my sister's high school graduation party. After catching some bull-frogs with Andrew (I gave one to my sister and one to the horse), my cousins (Galeski) arrived and were enticed by the tractor. So we went for a spin in the woods. We ascended to the turnaround where Mike was ejected from his shotgun position while traveling over the log that still crosses the trail. I never seem to find the time to move it. That was followed by the high speed descent of the main trail. I did not go as fast as possible because of the young passengers who were not accustomed to the tractor, yet. The neutral drop was engaged about 20 meters later than usual which still provided ample bumps and excitement. After bogging down in the very rocky part, we bajaed to the stonewall crossing and removed a few trees along the way. This was followed by some more baja and then the descent of the steep embankment near the highway overpass. Mike rode in the dump body while the younger passengers opted to watch. Once on the road they got back in and returned to the yard. After a short break Mike drove the tractor for a bit in the yard. Some three to five year old kids (Paige, Stevie, and Walker) at the party wanted a ride so I took them for three low-impact yard laps. Then some of Medora's friends got on for a trip to the woods but as we ascended the steep hill the belts slipped more than usual and began shredding a bit. The journey was greatly shortened to some baja. As we descended back to the road dodging close obstacles, the tractor was halted abruptly by a tree ejecting Medora from her shotgun position. As she went forward she grazed her arm on the muffler and received a small burn. We jetted back to the yard for some first aid to cap off the fest.

Matt and I opened today's fest with a quick jaunt in the woods to test the recent tractor repairs. A front tire, front wheel bearing, and drive belts were replaced. Then the half gallon of water I found in the transmission was also replaced (with gear oil). All seemed well as we enjoyed the short loop to the stone wall gap at the roadside. Upon our return to the barn we found Iwak and went into the woods again. We ran over two dead trees that were crossing the main trail at the bottom of the steep ascent. That maneuver left us in an awkward (stuck) position in the superabundance of rocks near the marsh area. I gradually upshifted so we could watch the right rear tire spin and throw dirt. After reaching fourth gear the snow chains gripped the ground and Matt and I took off unexpectedly. Ian watched as the tractor bounced over the rocks and into a tree before I was able to stop. That was followed by some baja on the other side of the main trail. After a couple impressive maneuvers Matt decided we needed to ram the dead tree at the bottom of the bull descent. We drove uphill a bit and approached the tree at speed. Unfortunately the clutch cable broke before contact was made which caused an inefficient gear change to compromise the force applied to the stubborn tree trunk. We decided to return to the barn for some tractor repair. The Mongs arrived and brought along two new Tractorfest participants; Robbie and Roon. Roon is from Thailand and is the second international Tractorfest participant this year. Matt departed and the rest of us journeyed up the main trail. As we began to baja the clutch cable broke again. Then we did the classic drive up a tree. At this point the motor began stalling frequently so we returned to the main trail. Josh appeared and brought today's third new Tractorfest participant, Jeff Beebe. They switched placed with Allie, Robbie and Roon for the high speed descent. With Iwak sitting shotgun, we bounced our way down the trail in neutral to maximize the bumps. Then the tractor stalled and we had to use the tug of war method to lower the tractor down the steep section of trail. We pushed the tractor to the barn with Alex steering. To everyone's delight Roon fried up some of her home made egg rolls for everyone to try after the fest. The verdict: excellent. That made up for the disappointing performance by the tractor. Next up on the maintenance schedule: new clutch cable, tighten drive belts, and fix the motor which is hopefully just a simple clog in the fuel line or filter.

After more extensive tractor maintenance I thought I was prepared for a hard core fest to open the Tractorfest season. I cleaned the fuel filter, replaced the clutch cable, duck-taped the floor, repaired the left axle guide, and reinforced the connecting rod from the steering box so that it would no longer bend. After the motor started and the big cloud of blue smoke drifted away it appeared we were ready to go. Alex jumped into the unlatched dump body which immediately dumped him on the ground to everyone's amusement. Then the tractor stalled. A few more attempts were made with the same result. I then spent a half hour disabling the governor and we started up and went for the woods. Unfortunately as we began the steep ascent the motor stalled again. Adjusting the carburetor did not improve the situation so the tractor was pushed home for the second time in a row. The afternoon was filled out with capture the flag on the lower slopes of Mt. Tractor and some potato gunning (as well as other assorted organic vegetables) at Applefield farm. Chris Li and his friend Carl were late arrivals and did not get the opportunity to fest today.

A more careful diagnosis of the tractor's fuel problem led me to reassemble the connection between the throttle, governor, and carburetor. Then I adjusted the high speed jet to run more rich. It worked and we celebrated with the first fest on the swamp ice before January in Tractorfest history. Usually weather conditions do not allow for "safe" (enough) swamp ice until Winterfest. Ed was the first to arrive and we began by running over brush, weeds, and small dead trees on the swamp. To encourage new growth of course. Josh arrived a bit later and we just kept running stuff over with an occasional doughnut or fishtail. It seemed as though the entire swamp was safe. We returned to the house to get protective eye ware and a sled. Back on the swamp Josh enjoyed some quality tractor sledding. Then we ventured toward the highway. I got suspicious of the strength of the ice and stopped to continue on foot. Sure enough my foot went through and we returned to the tractor. Then the right wheel (and a portion of the dump body) fell through as soon as we began turning around and Josh and I managed to pull it out much to Ed's surprise. We calculated our path back to safe ice and succeeded in getting there without a problem until we hit a stump in 5th gear. It happened unexpectedly as neither Ed (shotgun) nor I saw the stump hiding in the brush. It caught the front axle and stopped us cold. Ed got ejected onto the front wheel and hit his knees on the ice while I jammed my hand in the steering wheel. Josh, who had been peacefully watching the clouds from the dump body, was repositioned against my back. We paused until my ears stopped ringing then returned to the house. Along the way we found two tires frozen in the ice. After an extensive break (and icing my hand) Colin, Derek, and their roommate Shauna arrived. My mom decided to join us too, and we returned to the ice. Mom and Josh did some sledding on their feet followed by Colin and Derek. Then we used the sleds for a while. Eventually a new hole was formed as well as many cracks along the length of the sledding path so we abandoned the swamp and returned to the yard. As we passed the house the tractor ran out of gas so we pushed it to the barn for the third fest in a row. This time no mechanical problems except a sprained hand.

The tractor started with ease today and we ventured into the woods with Chris sitting shotgun. A few trees blocked the main trail but we had to bypass only one which was quite large and too high above the ground to drive over. As we drove over the log at the turnaround the left side of the tractor bounced up and we balanced for a moment on the right side. The descent past the turnaround was quickly followed by the location of the washing machine and drier monument. The washing machine was still standing about six foot six and the drier still relatively low. Pictures were taken to compare and check what the scouts may have changed over the summer. Chris gave Josh a call on his cell phone as we began some traditional tree destruction. One larger tree had to be approached downhill to knock it over. We meandered back to the main trail and enjoyed the high speed descent with plenty of neutral. Aron rode shotgun for his first fest and was fortunate that the snow smoothed out the ride. As the sun set we decided to check the swamp ice so we went straight to the yard. As we drove out of the gully onto the road we did a very steep wheelie that everyone enjoyed. Then the tractor ran out of gas so we put the last of the reserves in the tank. As we passed the barn Brett and John got on the sleds. The ice appeared possibly safe so I drove onto it. The left rear wheel fell through immediately but was easily pushed out. Aron and Brian were skeptical of the safeness of the ice so we continued with John and Brett sledding and Chris shotgun while Medora and Sara went to feed the horse. We went to the beaver dam and turned around where Brett jumped in the dump body. Upon our return to the shore a rear wheel made a large hole that was acrobatically avoided by John on the sled. Then both rear wheels went through the ice followed by the front ones and we were stuck. Chris got his jeep while I attached the chain and we hooked up. I steered the tractor and John sat shotgun while Chris pulled us. The jeep faught for traction in the snow and did four or five continuous fish tails as the tractor was dragged onto to the shore. The jeep lights flashed side to side as it fish tailed along. We unhooked and the tractor ran out of gas so we pushed it back to the barn for the fourth fest in a row.

Moderate snowfall limited the range of today's fest. An attempt to enter the woods was abandoned after ascending most of the steep section of trail. The snow was deep making forward progress extremely slow. But the driveways were good for some tractor sledding. Iwak and Medora were the first to take the sleds followed by Medora's friends Kelly and Sara. After a good chunk of sledding out came the skis; it had been a while since we had gone tractor skiing. Medora and Kelly were skiing backwards sometimes which amused the rest of us. Especially when they crashed backwards. Eventually the motor started sputtering, probably from accumulating snow melting into it, so we finished off the fest.

The dump body was quickly bolted on for today's traditional day after Thanksgiving fest. The motor emitted a lot of blue smoke as it warmed up. We proceeded down the driveway, got the mail, and returned to the house. There we loaded up a 130lb. pumpkin and set off for TV cliff. Chris (Li) and I carried it to the cliff and rolled it off. It broke into many large chunks, some of which were still too big. A few of us descended to the bottom and tossed the chunks back to the top for additional smashing. At this point Joe and Pete arrived and switched with the Robinson crew as they departed. From TV cliff we made a quick run to the washer & drier monument and removed some tall dead vegetation along the way. The monument inspired all but Tim and we went to work. Brian arrived as construction began on what eventually became a massive washer & drier structure to pay tribute to the fallen towers in New York. The piling of rocks was primarily on the drier and included one that easily exceeded 200lbs. Our first pile lost balance and collapsed but fortunately did not land on anyone's feet or affect the washer monument. This did not stop us though as the pile was soon restored in a slightly more stable fashion. Once both the washer and drier exceeded six feet in height the construction was completed with a long rock that connected the two. We returned to the main trail and made the traditional high speed bone jarring descent in neutral and returned to the barn. The fest was concluded with tractor soup (from yesterday's turkey plus veggies) and some potato gunning at Applefield farm.

The motor ran quite smoothly as today's fest began. Matt, Jeff, and I ascended the main trail and soon found ourselves baja in the small pine trees halfway to the turnaround. Some of the trees were getting too big so we improved upon the situation. We crossed the stone wall and checked the condition of the bull in first gear. Velocity increased on the remainder of the descent where Jeff was ejected from his shotgun position on the rocky section. Forward momentum brought us to the large dead tree that we have been ramming since '99. Today we struck it about twelve times and even with Brian's arrival (and additional weight) we couldn.t knock it down. However it is now leaning about 20 degrees off vertical so progress was made. We returned to the main trail and during the ascent we found Matt Svatek and Robbie Dapice riding the slopes of Mount Tractor on their road bikes. When they rode off Medora joined in and we went straight to the washer drier monument. Along the way some dead trees were composted and we eventually got stuck on a tree. The monument was not but a short walk so we shut the tractor off and proceeded on foot. Pictures of the impressive structure were taken and discussion began. Eventually I proposed the idea that we make a circle with 12 appliances (add 10 more) to create a Stonehenge type structure and call it Tractorhenge. After we freed the tractor using the come-along, we navigated up the north face of Mount Tractor with impressive accuracy. We only had to pause a couple times for some logs. At the summit we had another discussion and Brian added to the summit monument. The descent was made and we showed Jeff the now abandoned "drop off". This was followed by the off camber section and a high speed trip down Chris and Matt's path. The stonewall was crossed and Brian got ejected on the bull as I opted to use second gear. Then we returned to the road using the steep embankment and concluded the fest.

Today the tractor started with just one pull and Joe, Matt, and I went for a yard lap. There was a couple inches of soft snow on the ground on this cloudy afternoon. We saw the mail jeep go by so we went to the road. Joe retrieved the delivery from the mail box while sitting shotgun. Then Ed arrived and after a high speed jet adjustment it was off to the woods. The steep section of trail was followed by some baja and forest clearing. We approached a 15 foot high 12 inch diameter (dead) tree trunk at speed. To my surprise it broke off easily and we continued forward motion and I held out my arm to prevent the tree from falling at me. I used my other hand to get out of gear but not in time as we hit the stone wall about 12 feet later. We stopped hard while the whole tree trunk was sent over the wall and everyone was quite amused. A tree dodging descent brought us back to the yard where we found Jeff with a huge cabinet TV that I had obtained during a bike ride. It was about 5 feet long, 3 feet high, and 2 feet deep. Ed decided we should surf it so we chained it up. The first attachment point led to it being on its side (the tall way) so we reattached it and dragged it to the barn on it's back. Everyone (except me) gave it a go but it wasn.t working that great so we tied it on with rope. Matt surfed for a bit and then late arrival Brian got on. He surfed up the road while a motorist drove by and appreciated the scene. We got about 50 yards into the woods and the TV began catching on rocks. We ditched the dump body cushions and loaded up the TV. Joe sat shotgun as we completed the ascent to the turnaround. Here we had a lengthy discussion about were the TV should go; sacrifice it at TV cliff or make it the third appliance of the proposed "Tractorhenge". Eventually we decided on TV cliff because the particle board in the cabinet was going to deteriorate quickly and Tractorhenge needs to last for a long time like Stonehenge. Jones and I took the TV over the wall and navigated to the cliff. Once the TV was up on the top another lengthy discussion began about how it should be pushed off. This was the first TV that was too big to throw so Brian, Joe, and Matt fully analyzed what seemed to be all possible scenarios. I.d have to say TV cliff was the right choice, it's always been a magical place as you can look across the treetops onto the horizon. Eventually Brian pushed it from it's standing on end the tall way position and it fell onto the rocks below. Ed and I retrieved the screen for additional smashing and noticed that the glass was about 3/4 inch thick. Once all the componentry was broken enough we returned to the tractor. Ed and I managed to actually get back over the wall (in the uphill direction) without pushing while Brian and Joe pummeled us with snowballs. No one wanted to ride without the dump body padding so Ed and I made the jarring descent ourselves. After a brief snowball fight (Joe nailed me right in the eye) we called a truce and Jeff took over the driving. We went baja and Jeff struggled until he realized there was indeed a clutch. He managed to get over the stone wall crossing and smash into a big rock. I drove over the bull with Matt shotgun but it was quite tame as I missed rock number 2. We got some speed on the descent and finally finished off that tree we have been working on for 4 years. Ed watched as we slid down the steep embankment to the road. As we returned to the barn the throttle fell off and dangled against the front axle but the idle adjustment kept us rolling along flat ground. Just after I shut off the motor the local cops drove by slowly. I know they.re jealous that they can.t roll as strong as us. The tractor was covered up and we went to the pond. 1½ inch thick ice didn.t stop Brian and I from canoeing. Brian sat in front and smashed through the ice with a garden tool while I paddled in the back. Even though I wasn.t contributing much forward motion I kept at it to stay warm; I had left my gloves in the tractor seat. Big fluffy snow flakes began to fall and create a white coating over the ice as Brian and I ventured on dedicating our stupidity to Shakelton the famous explorer. Joe began throwing Blue Galleon products at us starting with a can of tuna that landed short in the water. I caught it with my paddle a foot under and fumbled it. Then I almost had it again but it sank to the bottom. Then Joe threw some canned tuna and sardines onto the ice and Brian and I set off to retrieve them which was quite a project. We were hungry and we split a couple cans of tuna while in the boat and left a can of sardines on the ice. Joe gave out more Bela samples to conclude the fest.

Some last minute tractor repair was on tap at the start of today's fest. I had failed to repair the throttle damage from last month and tried masking tape for reattachment. Of course that didn.t work and the duct tape was missing. So I was forced to do a better half-ass repair by tensioning the throttle with wire and a couple transmission bolts. It was good enough and we were off. Six to ten inches of snow on the ground slowed progress into the woods. Halfway up the steep section we turned off the trail and crashed through brush and trees in a downhill direction. Adam bailed from shotgun during this time. We returned to the yard where Chris told us tales of jumping police cars in Wyoming. Neil Sullivan and a companion stopped by on a pair of $4000 machines and I told them they were crazy for riding them on the salty roads. Meanwhile Brian and Joe escaped with the tractor and eventually we were tractor sledding. I took over driving to check the swamp ice. The first check was bad so I tried again about 12 feet away. This time I got stuck. After much effort to back out of the water Chris went and got his Jeep and hooked up just like 2 years ago. But this time, despite attempts from different towing angles, the tractor remained stuck. Time was not an issue though as the temperature was warm enough that the hubs were not in danger of freezing. The left rear wheel was caught by a pile of thick brush frozen in the ground and the right rear was just digging deeper into the mud. At one point Chris had the Jeep stuck with full tension on the chain to the tractor and it did not look good. But after much physical effort and digging ruts with the Jeep we were out. We returned to the yard and found the president of Blue Galleon (Josh) with a 32 inch screen TV ready for sacrifice. As we approached for loading, those on the tractor were pummeled with snowballs. I actually jumped off while driving and ran next to the tractor for shelter. Once enough snow was thrown we loaded the TV and Jerome into the dump body and took off. Progress up the trail was extremely slow. Brian and Joe walked ahead to clear trees that were bent across the trail from the heavy snow. Still the tractor had to claw its way though some thick pine. Late arrivals Jerry, and then Matt, joined us during this time. We went over the stonewall with Josh sitting shotgun and navigated to TV cliff. The TV was lowered down the hill on a sled and hoisted up onto the cliff. Like last month the TV was too heavy to safely toss so we sent it via sled to its doom below. The plastic broke off the sides but the screen didn.t break. Brian and I retrieved it and received the traditional pummeling of snow from above. Adam hit me in the back with and exceptionally large snowball. The screen was tossed again but landed on soft snow, this time Adam and Josh lugged it back to the top. The third toss failed so Jeff and Joe went to get it. Joe slipped and fell while they were carrying the screen and it slid further down the hill. Then Joe carried it solo for a while and Jeff assisted him up the second half. The fourth time it smashed good. We returned to the tractor and drove back to the turnaround. Then we took a walk to the washer/drier monument as there was too much snow for the tractor to ascend back up the north side of Mt Tractor. It was still there and it was still good. We returned to the turnaround and set off on the descent with Chris shotgun and Josh in the sled. On the way down the tractor stalled a couple times, probably from water getting in the fuel line from all the snow. Eventually we bajaed slowly to the steep bank at the side of the road and slid down. Josh was still on the sled at this point and he launched himself into the ditch. Then we returned to the yard and parked the tractor. Today's fest was the 99th and we celebrated that milestone a few hours later at the 99 restaurant in Hudson and some bowling.