The White Mountain range has never been kind to me. On White-it snowed on me. On Boundary & Montgomery-it rained on Barbara Raab & me. On DuBois (1st time)-it flash flooded all around Ken Olson and me.
Let me tell you about "The drive to HELL." Cathy Hanchett & I drove up to DuBois in my 1981 Subaru. No problems with the drive in. While eating breakfast at the roadhead I popped a big filling from a tooth. I put it in my pocket and started the hike. Dave Jurasevich led a very nice route up (and down). When we hit the peak at 2:30, it was overcast and cold. As soon as we started down it. started to snow. It snowed for 3-1/2 hours of our 4 hour descent.
On reaching the cars we changed into warm clothing and started for the restaurant in Dyer, NV. My car wouldn't start. (No, I didn't have my lights on). Dave gave the car a jump. I got a flat and my spare is one of those space saver tires. I changed the tire. (The previous year, in the same area, a guy from San Diego was driving out, got a flat, and the woman who owned the car got to change the tire... in the rain!) Anyway, as we drove on, the spare went flat! We reached Dyer and in the restaurant there was only one person inside. We were a bit surprised when our food took 45 minutes to prepare. One of the locals started playing the piano and he was no damn good! He missed every third note. Dinner was no damn good-all under cooked. I was ready to call 911 when he finally stopped.
After dinner, Martha Flores, her friend Delores, Cathy & I drove 3 miles out of town to spend the night in the park. The next morning I looked at my shredded tire. I hobbled into town and asked the store owner if he had any spares. No! There is a new place by the post office that repairs tires. They had a used tire for me and I mounted that.
Problem solved, now all I need to do is figure out what is wrong with the battery; I keep needing jump starts. We try a battery charger but it keeps turning off every 10 minutes. "Does that when you have a short" the mechanic says. Nothing to do but head out for Big Pine. After 5 miles the battery starts to charge again - problem solved!?
Five miles out of Lone Pine the used tire I just bought separates from the steel belt, but still holds air. Cathy & I cruise into Lone Pine. We get another spare. A kid puts the tire back on with an airgun. "Did you spin balance it?" his old man says. "No." "Take it off and spin balance it". Taking it off he breaks a lug. No problem, the auto parts store across the street is open for 5 more minutes. "They don't have the exact lug." "We'll get something similar you numbskull," the old man tells the kid. 'The kid brings over something that works fine.. . except he only got the lug and not the lug nut. Now, the closed sign is on the auto parts store. I run around back and beg a lug nut.
Everything turns out fine from here on. At home I picked up a new battery and a tire from the Price Club and a space saver from the junk yard. My filling turned into a needed crown. On Wednesday my fuel line was clogged, so I got a needed carb cleaning. I'm $1000 lighter, but my car and I are fine now and I have DuBois. -- Paul Freiman
