New deployment, happening tomorrow...

[josh]

A Netonix WISPSWITCH is getting deployed tomorrow at a critical remote site for us.

We have a flight in a 4-seater puddle jumper, then a 1+ hour hike up a mountain with a sled full of gear before we even start our tower climb. We will be replacing 2 toughswitches on site, and also installing some new radios.

I'll take pics... it probably won't be pretty with minimal gear though ;)

Wish us luck we don't get eaten by bears. It's been so warm lately a few might still be awake.

[Dave]

wow, I thought I had it rough when I have to get out of my chair to go over to my bench at the other end of my office....good luck with the bears!

[lligetfa]

Probably the hardest thing is planning for what to take along. Invariably there is always something that you wish you had packed. "Better to have it and not need it..." does not always work when you are limited in how much you and the bush plane can carry.

[rkelly1]

You know how to tell the difference between a black bear and a grizzly right?? When you run and climb a tree, the black bear climbs up after you. The grizzly just rips the tree out the ground.

:-)

[lligetfa]

You know how to tell the difference between a black bear and a grizzly right??

[Dave]

[josh]

And... Trip canceled :(

3 office employees out today. Had one been able to make it we could have managed. Will have to reschedule for next week :(

[josh]

Probably the hardest thing is planning for what to take along. Invariably there is always something that you wish you had packed. "Better to have it and not need it..." does not always work when you are limited in how much you and the bush plane can carry.

... kind of.

Still have gauze, med scissors, 3 alcohol packs, CAT, ibuprofen, water, granola bars, knife, cold weather waterproof gloves, change of socks/shirt, emergency heat blanket, etc in my pack.

The "oh shit" items.

[wtm]

Don't you just love those emergency heat blankets, when you go to use them, and they are all stuck together from sitting in the package too long, and they just tear apart as you unfold them!

[josh]

Quick rundown of what happened...

We got on a plane with our WISPSwitch, shield kit, 30dBi rocket dish, and other goodies to fly to our remote area.

Landed, picked up our truck (which is blowing oil out of the tail pipe...)

Drove to a contant's house there.. asked to borrow snow machine to climb mountain. "Nope, not enough snow" "You can borrow the sled though"

(~50lb fiberglass sled)

Drive truck up path, part truck. Load gear in sled. Start pushing sled up to the top...

After a few hundred feet, we start throwing shit out of the sled :) First thing to go was Mac's backpack.

Keep going... throw more stuff out of sled.

Get half way up... Mac: "Uhhhh... I left the tower keys in my bag :( [at bottom]"...

Soo... I walk down, get the keys. Now the trail (which is actually a frozen stream in the middle with 9-12 inch deep ruts on the sides where 4wheelers have been), is REALLY torn up and hard to walk up.

I make it up about 100 feet past where we split up.. and I see the sled, missing a bunch of stuff, and footprints going up the mountain

Finally make it to the top... lock is frozen solid. We beat the piss out of it with a BIG wrench.

Key breaks off in lock... it was split when we picked it up

We walk back down the mountain, I go to start the truck... battery is dead

Finally we are able to get a jump after a facebook post, and we make it back to the landing strip ~10 minutes before the last flight of the day leaves.

FML

Part 2 of this adventure will happen after we get a new key made