Samurai Appliance Repair Man's Blog

Thunderstorms, seagulls, sheep... something's gone wacky with this planet!

The ice looks sturdy, but looks can be deceiving...

Up and back to the West Peak of Mt. Ascutney via the Weathersfield Trail.  Very icy trail conditions!  The Oz Man and I both took several world class tumbles. I was wearing Yak Trax Pros because my Katoola microspikes broke.  And full-blown 10-point crampons would've been overkill, even dangerous with the many rocks poking up out of the ice-- snag a crampon fang on one of those going down and you're going headlong down the mountain.  Wish I had taken some pics of the trail but I got some other shots that show the surrounds and the very nice view from West Peak.  

Celebrated the Second Day of Christmas with an awesome winter wonderland hike up the Ammonusuc Trail to the AMC Lakes of the Clouds hut. Didn't take the Oz Man this time because I didn't think this trail and conditions would be dog-friendly. Turned out to be the right choice-- would have had to abort mission if the Oz Man was with me, no way he could've made this.

Trail conditions were snow on top of ice-- combined with the steep grades, this is one of the most difficult traction conditions you can encounter. I only brought my Kathoola microspikes and they were not at all adequate for this hike-- needed full 10-point crampons, which I left back in the van. Took some world-class tumbles both going up and back down. No real injuries, just a wet, bruised butt and snow dumped down my shirt and britches.

Turn your speakers up and enjoy the slide show ==> Slide Show

The Samurai is ready to go wherever and whenever there's a broken appliance! No place is too remote for a service call from the Samurai. Here's a Christmas eve service call I made today to a home on the summit of Smarts Mountain with a broken Dacor range.


The view from Lambert Ridge heading up Smarts Mtn. near the outset of this four mile hike to the summit where the house is.


Hiking up the glacier. Oh yeah, the Samurai does all-terrain service calls!



There's a fire tower at the top of the mountain. Oz Man and I stopped by to check it out.


Up top inside the fire tower. Oz Man doesn't like it!


But nice views!




When we came down from the fire tower, we met the customers who lived on the summit. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but they had a little different vibe about them and something told me I was in a for a surprise on this one. They were also pretty upset about their broken range.


Now we arrive at their house. Complaint was a Dacor electric oven that was completely dead-- no lights, nuttin'. I quickly determined the problem: no power supply and not just to the oven-- no power running to the entire structure!


They seemed to understand my explanation that they needed electricity to make an electric oven run. Since it was getting late, they invited us to stay for dinner.


They were making rat kabobs. I thanked them profusely for their kindness but, since the Nativity Fast was still going on, I declined and opted instead for some snacks I brought. The Oz Man, however, enjoyed munching back on several roasted rats. After a fine meal and much merriment, the Oz Man and I headed back down the mountain to spend Christmas with the family. Ho ho ho!