As winter winds to a close, its time to put away the snowmobiles and begin getting the cottage and docks ready for summer. A few weeks ago though, my buddy Jim Brogan & I proved that wisdom doesnÂ’t necessarily increase with age.
My cottage just happens to be located on an island and IÂ’ve been using my side-x-side to get back & forth across the ice all winter long. Ice conditions had been holding out pretty good and I had one load of lumber left to haul to the cottage. Rather than wait a couple of weeks to take over by boat I decided to haul it in a box trailer behind my Ranger.
Jim and I made our way across the ice nice and early and as we arrived at the island I was surprised by how much the ice had pulled away from the shore in the two days since IÂ’d been there. We decided our best bet was to back the trailer up to the dock and have Jim slide the lumber up to me. Seemed simple enough, but as Jim backed up to the dock the right rear trailer wheel broke through the ice!
Without panicking, we decided to quickly unload the trailer and just pull it out with the Ranger. We used a plank of wood under the right wheel to get some traction and just got it under when the left wheel went through too!
I quickly headed back to shore to get another plank of wood and – WHOOSH – down I go! IÂ’m doing the tuck & roll towards the dock, getting soaked from the water and providing priceless entertainment for my good friend Jim.
I finally slide a plank across the ice to Jim and as he steps to grab it, through the ice he goes up to his waist! He grabs the trailer to pull him up and instead, pulls it right through the ice with him right up to the axle!
Jim finally got back in the ice cold water maneuvered two planks under the back of the trailer and while bent down with them rested on his shoulders, I put all my weight into the gas pedal to get that trailer out of there and get us back the short distance across the lake to safety.
While I enjoy swimming, I am not interested in being in the water on an island in April again unless itÂ’s in the Bahamas.
