A messed up Jeep and some hiking...

Tuesday, August 13, 2013
I picked up Jack from work and drove to Chesterland Auto Body where the Jeep was being stored.  Dan wasn’t convinced there was any damage to the frame and wanted me to drive it over for a closer look.  Though there was a good deal of damage to the right front fender and bumper, the radiator, I was told by Chesterland, was undamaged and the vehicle drivable.  This would soon prove to be incorrect.

I’d driven about 3 miles when I noticed steam rising from under the hood.  The temperature gauge was in the safe zone, but I pulled over anyway for a closer look.  I could see fluid coming down from the radiator and smelled that hot, pungent, anti-freeze odor.  Not good.  I’d had the foresight to bring a gallon of water with me, but could see that the fan was getting hung up due to the damage done during the accident, which made it undrivable.  I also knew Dan was on his way home and gave him a quick call.

“I’m five minutes away…be right there,” he said.

And he was.  He managed to bend the fan enough for it to turn and with the gallon of water I’d brought, filled the radiator for the drive to his place…another 8 miles.

“You drive my truck and I’ll drive the Jeep with Jack following us both,” he said, which was fine by me.

I pulled in behind him and noticed after our first downhill that he was shutting off the engine and coasting wherever he could in an attempt to keep the radiator from completely overheating.  As we drove the final mile down his street and into his driveway, I could see the steam pouring from under the hood.

“Well…it wasn’t pretty, but we made it,” he said.  He knew he’d have to replace the radiator anyway and so wasn’t overly concerned by the steam.  “I could see the temperature gauge and it never got above 210,” he said.

It is wonderful to have friends like Dan, which Jack commented on.  “Years ago we were doing a triathlon and Dan was struggling.  I’d finished an hour earlier, but decided I’d stay no matter how long it took him so I could see him finish.  When he finally crossed the finish line and saw that I was still there cheering him on, he smiled and thanked me.  I don’t think he ever forgot that,” I said.

Jack asked if I thought Dan would allow him to help out with repairs some time so he could learn about cars.  “I think he’d love to teach you,” I said.  He’s just that kind of guy.

I had Jack drop me in the metropark on the ride home so I could hike through the park and then the rest of the way home.  “You’re going to walk all the way from the park?” he asked.  I explained that in three weeks I’d be walking 115 miles in 5 day.  “Walking home is a piece of cake,” I concluded.

I hiked for 90 minutes with only minor discomfort on the balls of my feet.  I just need to keep walking and the falls will toughen.  And if they don’t, then we’ll go with Doc’s recommendation and put duct tape on them.  Either way, I’m getting it done.

Hike duration:  90 minutes.

Training Heart Rate:  90 bpm.
Calories burned during workout:  540.