Saturday came and we were ready to go. The crew consisted of Gary, Holly, myself and another Mines buddy George Sanders. George was coming along more to gloat and take pictures than any personal interest in helping, but hey, another pair of hands might make the difference between success and failure.
As we made the transition from blacktop to dirt, a light rain started to fall. most of the upper reaches of the mountain were shrouded in clouds and fog. As we made our way up the face of Agua Caliente Hill, Gary made the comment "Boy, this is steeper than I expected". The implication was that he thought I was exaggerating when I explained the task in front of us. For Gary, as seasoned four wheeler from Colorado and a man of few words, such a comment carried much weight. As the trail got higher up the slope it also got steeper. The steepness being reflected in Gary's pursed lips, set jaw and the total lack of conversation among the passengers. We soon reached the fork and proceeded north down the ridge to Agua Caliente creek. During intermittent breaks in the clouds we could see across the canyon to the opposing ridge where the tucks lay. the first sight brought gasps from Holly when she realized how close we had come to buying the farm. George whistled and Gary only emitted a short "Hummph". Slide 1 shows the view from across Agua Caliente Canyon. Slide 2 shows a similar view through a telephoto lens. Slide 3 shows a closer view.
Within 30 minutes we were up the ridge at the truck. Slide 5 and Slide 6 show the views from above. The hair on the back of my neck was on end as I inspected how close we had come to the one way ticket on the gravity express to the cold waters of the canyon below. Slide 10 shows the off-camber of the trail looking downslope as well as highlighting the precarious nature of the situation.
Then I noticed that something was amiss. Both uphill wheels were gone! Oh, shit I've been vandalized. Upon closer inspection I noticed that side window on the downhill side was broken - and it was not broken in the roll. This struck me as particularly unnecessary since the door was unlocked. Once I got inside, Slide 4 I saw that the stereo was gone, as were the tools, the under-hood tool box, Slide 8, the alternator, the rear drive shaft, one front shock. Slide 7 shows the underside of the Blazer, post stripping. But the oddest thing that was missing was the steering wheel cover. You know the type. $2.98 at Checker Auto. Vinyl laces. Must have taken them an hour to unlace that cover, and I'm sure it was stretched to boot! No matter. It was clear that we were dealing with scum. They had raped my truck. And worst of all, they had taken enough of the running gear to thwart our mission for the day. Slide 9 shows the equipment we had prepared for the extracation effort. We had climbing ropes, a come-along, tools, fluids, rock bolts, etc.
The truck was destined to spend yet another day on that hill slave to the whims of the magic mesquite bush. The bush, tough like all desert plants, seemed little worse for wear.
Like a whipped dog, I went back to Gary's Jeep with my tail between my legs. At this point I had only two options. One was to acquire parts and fix the truck in situ. the other was to use the towing policy that came with Holly's insurance.
When I got back to my apartment in Tucson, I called the insurance office. The weekend person that unless it involved and injury, no one could help until Monday. OK! I got the idea. So I called the Pima County Sheriff to report the theft. they took the report over the phone, but since there were no witnesses, no tire tracks on the rocks and no one was going to get fingerprints, their interest level was low. At this point all I could do was wait until Monday.