Snow Run (Phil Fisk Memorial)
Phil was a member of this site a few years ago, one of the guys with a 1st Generation Explorer that was set up well for overlanding, rockcrawling, and general trail running. He had brought his rig Moab several times over the last decade and enjoyed snow runs in the Pacific Northwest.
Phil in Moab, May 2016:
We lost Phil just over two years ago, and have had a Memorial Snow Run each year since his passing to commemorate his memory, great enthusiasm for the four-wheeling community, and his love of the outdoors.
This past weekend a group of us who knew him assembled to make a quick run up to one of Phil's favorite snow run destinations: Lonesome Lake and the Rainier Overlook on FS 75/74.
Snow conditions were sparse, the recent warmer weather and rains meant there was no difficult depths of snow that had to be negotiated - - in fact, was a bit more like driving on a fairly groomed road with an inch or so of hard packed snow and ice. The run also afforded Phil's widow the opportunity to spread some of Phil's ashes at a place he enjoyed so well.
All in all, 8 vehicles participated, a few Explorers, 4 Runner, Jeep, Samurai, Tacoma, Raptor, and a brand new Bronco.
Some of the vehicles lined-up at Lonesome Lake:
Rare that the weather was so nice - - not too many sunny weekend days between November and March here in the PNW.
Great look at Rainier from the overlook, Phil's widow and son in the foreground:
A group shot of the participants:
A good day for a good man, gone too soon.
Paul
Thanks for the comments T.J. and Dan. By his own admission, Phil referred to himself as a "Curmudgeon", and even sported the 'Grumpy' decal from Seven Dwarves fame on his back hatch glass.
That said, he was a great guy, who had a great knowledge of this hobby, and was always the first guy to open his truck and grab some tools (or recovery gear) at the first hint of trouble. He even carried a vise on a 2" pieces of trailer hitch in case he needed a brace for serious repair work.
Another Explorer guy, Kevin (now with the new Bronco), bought Phil's old rig, and here's a look at the "tool box" from last year's run:
Will definitely post a thread here next November for the 3rd Annual Snow Run, this was not an "exclusive" event, I was just late to re-joining NWOL (few days before the run).