I have had a wild time the last couple of days. You always think of things that can go wrong and wonder what you would do if it happened. I’m always in a place where cell signal is weak part of the time and non-existent for most of the time. Back roads and remote locations never worry me, and in fact they are where I would rather be as I travel the rural and scenic areas of our national forests. And there is always my motorcycle to ride for help if I ever get stranded. All of this came into focus yesterday as I got two flat tires on a one-lane, steep, dirt, winding, mountain road.
A camper I met while staying by the Merced River told me of three free campgrounds by the Tuolumne River that are very close to Yosemite NP. I was getting tired of paying money every day to park my van, so early yesterday I headed north on Rt. 49 to investigate.
I made an impromptu stop in Jamestown to visit the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. The tour was only $5 so I splurged. It was really quite interesting to see the old steam engines and rail cars and hear about all the history of the Sierra Railway Company. One of the old locomotives was in about a hundred different TV and movie shows. Just about every old western used old “Number 3” as a prop.
Movies
Remember?
I left there and headed west on rt. 120. The road to the campgrounds was five miles down a very narrow ledge cut from the bank on one side with a drop-off of a thousand feet to the Tuolumne River on the other. There was no place to turn around if you wanted to. I met a couple of cars coming up and had to wait at a bend, widened enough to let another car pass. I was almost to the bottom when I felt a rumble in the back of my van and pulled over to investigate. One of my back tires was completely flat.
I unloaded the motorcycle, jacked up the back of the van, and pulled out the spare. The spare was almost flat also, but my little pump brought it up enough to creep the rest of the way to the bottom of the river, where I pulled into the first available campsite. I went to bed that night hoping the spare would hold air and get me out of the canyon in the morning.
I awoke the next morning to see that the spare was still holding air but had gone down some in the night. Imagine my dismay when I walked around the van and found the tire on the other side flat. I thought I was done for at that point and would be riding for help, but after several minutes of running my inflation pump, the tire seemed to hold air. As the pump ran, I tried to figure out ways that I could strap a tire to my motorcycle and each time my reasoning would rule out the contraption I built in my mind. I guess there is a limit to independence.
Several other campers at the river offered to help me so I wasn’t completely stranded. I thanked them and told them I would try to make it back up the road but may need some help if I didn’t make it. It was a tense drive to the top and I stopped several times to check the tires. When I made it to the highway I breathed a sigh of relief.
I found a tire service place in Groveland, and just as I pulled in, one of the tires I had nursed out of the valley went flat. I now have brand new rubber all the way around, and even though it was an unexpected expense, I breath easier knowing my chances of tire failure are way diminished!
Ouch! Sounds like it was time for new tires. Thank goodness you carry a compressor.
I know how helpful other people can be. When we were In Alaska on the miserable road where we had eight flats, people stopped to help change tires (and a few miles later, we would help to change one with them). One time, a Good Samaritan drove Dad about 30 miles to where he could get needed assistance, and he didn’t leave until he found someone who drove Dad back to where Please and I waited. No one would take any money for their help.
I hate having to put out good money for new tires, but I sure love having them all the way around. Glad you are safe.