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Winterfest '97
1/12 Joe Alachoyan, Chris Barton, "count" Ethan Caless, Matt "Chump" Ciampaglia, Jim DeSantis, Medora Hackler, Jeff Hnatiowak, Brian Jones, Rusty Loper, Liz Mancuso, Missy Motew, Matt "the wild" Polizotto
Today's fest, to celebrate the twelfth day of the year, featured sunny skies, thirty degrees, a chilling wind, and twelve passengers. Last week had been cold which made the swamp ice thick enough for an epic swamp ice Tractorfest. The fest began with early arrivals Missy, Liz, and Brian. The tractor was started in the cold with the aid of some Cristy Super Start that was sprayed directly into the head through the spark plug hole. We did one yard lap and journeyed onto the ice. The high water level and unusually thick ice allowed us to tractor through areas with thick vegetation. We crossed to the other side of the swamp and spotted a wild Polizotto in the yard. The rear wheels broke through the ice at the edge of the swamp and briefly delayed our forward progress. We lifted the rear end with ease and picked up Matt P. mid swamp. Matt C. arrived a minute later and we went to visit the beavers at their hut. Apparently they were not up for a fest today, so we continued on our way. While attempting to cross onto land, the rear wheels broke through the ice again. I shifted up the gears to allow the wheels to churn up mud and throw it onto the ice at a rapid pace. This obviously did not get the tractor unstuck, so the come-along was used for the first time this year. After we were on land, we drove through a gap in the highway fence and contacted a dead birch tree but it didn't budge. A second full speed attempt to knock down the tree lifted the front end of the tractor onto the tree. After a downshift, the back edge of the dump body was on the ground and the tractor was pointing up to the sky at a 50 degree angle. A group picture was taken by Matt C.. An attempt to back down the tree did not work so Brian grabbed the tree trunk and pulled. Brian's weight was the last straw and the tree broke causing the front end to land hard on the ground. We journeyed back through the fence and followed a trail made by the backhoe two years ago. When Joe and Rusty arrived, we went back onto the swamp ice. We ran over a few trees that had died from the high water and made some trails through the brush. While making a second run at a stubborn tree, the left rear wheel fell through the ice into some deep water. The left side of the dump body and a corner of the seat submerged in the water and Liz got wet. We attached the come-along to the tree that we were going to run over. The first attempt at removing the tractor failed because the left rear wheel got caught under the ice with the come-along under tension. The tension was too great to ratchet backwards, so more ice had to be broken with a sledgehammer. The rear end was lifted and the come-along pulled the tractor out of the hole. We experienced an extended period of brush removal and tree destruction on the swamp ice. Lots of dead vegetation was run over and some new trails were made through the brush. During this time the tractor broke through the ice a couple more times, but forward momentum pulled us out of the holes. While mowing down some small swamp trees a stick interfered with the governor linkage and revved the engine briefly. Once the swamp was leveled we hooked up car sled ropes for some bumper sledding. Brian defeated Matt C. in the first match. The second match between first time tractor sledders Joe and Rusty was incredible. They evolved bumper sledding to a whole new level with amazing maneuvers that included body sledding face first through brush, stealing each others sleds, and on sled wrestling. A lot of what they did is indescribable. Rusty received long deep scratch on his neck and a well deserved victory in the close match with Joe. Matt P. and Medora imitated Joe and Rusty in the next match which was also close, Matt being the victor. Then experienced tractor sledder, Chris, defeated Jim (a rookie) and Ethan defeated Jeff. Jeff, Brian, and Chris did some whip turns through the brush to finish off the sledding for the day. Then we set off for some unfested territory. An overflowed stream in the south end of the swamp extended the swamp ice into an area with new houses. We got stuck on land in some mud and used the come-along to climb out. A group of fest participants that had missed the ride followed behind, and on their way Ethan found a frozen mouse hanging in a tree. Once unstuck, the tractor was started but it only went a couple feet before something broke. Chris quickly realized the problem was somewhere in the rear end. We had to push the tractor a third of a mile through brush, over small hills, and across the swamp to reach the barn. At this point everyone was exhausted so we adjourned the fest. The problem was diagnosed as a broken axle in the rear end. The repair was done by Mr. Baylis of Main Street Automotive Service in Clinton (Tractorfest sponsor) allowing Tractorfest to make a second triumphant return on the 27th.
1/27 Joe Alachoyan, Chris Barton, "los" George Barton, Chris Baylis, Erik Berns, Matt "Chump" Ciampaglia, Brett Freedman, Neil Hackler, Rusty Loper, Aron Mancuso, Liz Mancuso, Missy Motew, Graeme "spicy G" Robinson, Pat Sweeney, Mike Veazey
Today's first arrival was Pat Sweeney who helped me bring a load of firewood across the ice from the other side of the swamp. After seating some more passengers in the dump body, we crossed the swamp ice for some baja on the other side. There was three inches of water on top of the ice and a thin layer of ice on top of that. Traction and speed was restricted by the thin layer of ice because the wheels had to break it to advance. We tractored the backhoe path and crossed the highway fence. On the other side of the fence, we did a wheelie and dumped some passengers. Pat received a small cut on his face when he was ejected from his shotgun position. Then we returned to the yard to rotate passengers. Matt filmed the tractoring as we journeyed back to the other side of the swamp. The tractor got stuck at the edge of the swamp in the mud, but was freed by repositioning the planks. During the return trip I sprained my ankle by crushing it between the tractor seat and a tree. Although a minor injury, it was the first ever suffered at a Tractorfest. We returned to the yard and hooked up the SS Taco Bell for some swamp ice tractor canoeing. Lawn furniture padding donated by Chris Barton was tossed in the dump body and we went back onto the swamp ice with 12 comfortably seated passengers. Brush removal was restricted by the low speed, but we were able to create a few new trails on the swamp. The mouse that count Ethan discovered frozen on the 12th was still chilling in its tree. A rear wheel fell through the ice while approaching the edge of the swamp. Everyone jumped ashore to avoid getting their feet wet in the swamp ice surface water. Chris Barton pulled the tractor out of the hole with the come-along while George repositioned the SS Bell for forward progress. Baylis drove for a brief period and passengers reloaded for one last lap of the swamp. During the lap the rear most third of the SS Bell folded over the back edge of the canoe trailer and left the stern dragging through the ice and brush. Chris Barton and Chris Baylis occupied the rear of the SS Bell and enjoyed the ride back to yard where the SS Bell fell off the trailer as soon as its stern dragged onto land.
2/22 Chris Barton, Matt "Chump" Ciampaglia, Jeff Hnatiowak, Joe Sparks
A temperature of 74 degrees made today the warmest documented Tractorfest to date. An auto compass was
fastened to the dump body to assist tractor navigation and further the Tractorfest experience. We ascended the steep hill and bajaed for a brief period but speed was restricted by our lack of protective clothing. Shorts and T-shirts allowed brush and tree branches to access our limbs, so cautious navigation was imperative to prevent excessive epidermal damage. The compass seemed to indicate that we were traveling east at all times. After ascending the steep hill a second time, we made a right turn into a small area that has been tractored on two other occasions during festmas '94. The steep rocky terrain combined with large trees and stone walls limits the use of this area, but we began to establish a trail that descends to the road. Engine breaking and brush removal brought us to a gap in the stone wall that allows access onto the road. Our return to the road was briefly delayed because the rear wheels had to climb up and out of a mud puddle in the stone wall gap to reach the pavement. Some road tractoring brought us back to the entrance to the woods and we did the same loop again. Then we joyfully experienced some thunder and lightning as dark clouds rolled strong across the sky. Chris showed up so we left the woods through the muddy stone wall gap and returned to the house to meet him. Heavy rain began to fall, so we parked in the garage to stay dry. Once the storm had passed, we traveled the same route a third time. The heavy rain had created muddy conditions which caused the rear tires to dig ruts during the ascent of the steep hill. Then we got stuck at the stone wall gap because of the increasing build up of mud at the roadside. Several attempts were necessary to get onto the road. Once we were out of the mud, we returned to the barn and added pressure to the right rear tire. Then we ascended to the turnaround and descended the other side of Mount Tractor into unfested territory. After some baja and two stone wall crossings, we arrived on a trail that the tractor had not visited since 1992. We followed the single track to an abandoned railroad bed, removing trail obstructions along the way. The railroad bed was not directly accessible from the trail because a pile of big rocks was in the way, so we had to cut through a campsite to get onto it. The railroad bed hooked us onto a network of trails located outside a nearby scout camp. Some of the trails we explored were dead ends, while others appeared to go into the camp. We did not venture down the trails to the camp to avoid disturbing any property. One trail presented terrain too extreme for the tractor to be safely maneuvered, so we continued on foot. After descending into a valley and climbing a ledge, we came to another trail that leads to the gas line. Then Chris discovered an alternate trail to reach this point with the tractor but it was getting late, so we left the network of trails via the single track that we came in on. At the end of the single track we took a right onto some double track that led us back to the road. Joe fell off the tractor while on this trail because he was trying to sleep in the dump body. While road tractoring back to the barn, a cold front rolled in dropping the temperature to 51 degrees.
3/2 Chris Barton
Chris has not missed a single Tractorfest since 11/30/96 and today he extended his attendance record to 20 Tractorfests in a row. After filling the gas tank and adding pressure to the right rear tire, we ascended to the turnaround. The low passenger load of 330 pounds made the ride quite bumpy. We descended the other side of Mount Tractor to the abandoned railroad bed using a variation of the route that was used last weekend. We followed the alternate route to the gas line which was still un-fested territory. Chris found this route last weekend and it featured some baja, double track, and a stone bridge that was of perfect size for the tractor. We also noticed a large piece of quartz during some off camber baja. Then we crossed the gas line and tractored through an abandoned lot that was located next to interstate 495. A short length of double track brought us to the country cupboard, a convenient store located on route 117. In true tractor
fashion, we drove over the curb and parked the tractor in a parking space for the first time. We used a pay phone to call Matt Ciampaglia and share the historic moment. Then Chris bought a 32oz Veryfine fruit punch and we consumed it while sitting in the dump body. The return trip was timed with Chris' stopwatch. We used the same route and traveled as fast as we could. The trip was excessively bumpy due to high speeds and it included an abandoned washing machine sighting. We encountered some horses in the abandoned lot and got stuck on some ice during the ascent to the turnaround. These incidents negatively effected our time, but we still managed an impressive 32:45.
3/9 Chris Barton, "count" Ethan Caless, April (weakpril) Riddlon, Joe Sparks
The motor made a thick cloud of smoke when it started today. Once it warmed up, we enjoyed two short laps through the woods to the gap in the stone wall at the roadside. The mud at the edge of the road became deeper until the rear axle submerged in it. Tractoring through this area became a challenge as the volume of mud increased, but it was passable by carefully planning navigational strategies in advance. Mud and water was pushed onto the pavement as the wheels climbed onto the road. After leaving muddy tracks on the road, we ascended Mount Tractor. We took a break at the summit and ate some doughnut holes. Count Ethan was the first to react to their flavor when he ejected the contents of his mouth onto the mountain side. Apparently the doughnut holes were in an ideal location (on the seat) to absorb the smoke and burnt oil when the motor was started. After tasting each flavor we concluded that the chocolate honey-dip was the only kind that tasted OK, but it still left an unpleasant aftertaste. Today we descended the steep technical section of Mount Tractor that features a drop-off with an estimated 50 percent grade. Engine braking in first gear is necessary to avoid a catastrophic collision with a big tree while navigating around other obstacles during the drop-off. We finished the lap of Mount Tractor that includes the off camber section, Chris and Matt's trail, the stonewall crossing, and the bull. Then we returned to the house to warm our feet and Joe departed. After absorbing a sufficient amount of heat from the wood stove, we tractored another lap to the stone wall gap. Then we returned to the barn and changed the oil. After the oil change, April arrived to experience her first fest. We ascended to the turnaround and continued into the woods establishing the new route to the country cupboard that was used last weekend. The smaller stone wall crossing that is on the new route bounced the front wheels into the air as it was crossed in fourth gear. The tractor ran out of gas at the big quartz, and after refueling we finished the journey with April riding shotgun. We tractored into the parking lot and parked in the choice spot located closest to the door of the country cupboard. Unlike last weekend, the tractor was an attraction to those who traveled to the store via a more common mode of transportation. One curious party even asked us about it. We departed after making a small purchase and bypassed the hotel lot. Then we encountered what I believed to be an abandoned washing machine. The tractor advanced upon this mysterious object and soon had a front wheel on top of it. The household appliance was still unidentifiable, so we continued forward motion until its front surface was visible. At this point we realized we were lodged on a dishwasher and couldn't get off. We lifted the side of the tractor and freed the dishwasher. Then April noticed two mice living inside when we opened the door. Their nest was apparently manipulated, so we let them alone and continued our journey. At this point Ethan noticed oil leaking from what we believed to be the drain plug, so I added a few ounces. Then we jetted for home. After a few minutes the rear wheels got stuck on a log. Chris took over the driving and skillfully navigated the technical ascent to the turnaround. The inch of snow gave us traction problems and we eventually got stuck at the steepest part. This off camber section was yet another demonstration that the motor needs a fuel pump and we had to resort to the come-along for a few yards of forward progress. The tractor was started again and we returned home via the trail over Mount Tractor. We rode the drop-off and April capped off her first fest by riding the bull. The next day I noticed that the oil was dripping from a crack in the aluminum sump. This obviously has to be fixed before the tractor is used again. Tractorfest will make a third triumphant return in the near future.