As with any good day trip, navigating out of the city is priority number one. The mission today is to head out to the Alberta back country to find a Christmas tree to bring home for the holidays. Sounds easy enough, right? Let’s get to it!
Before long, we’re out of the city and on the open road. A few more kilometres lay ahead before our turn off to highway 40.
Off the highway now, tire pressures are dropped and we find ourselves barreling down an unplowed country road slipping, sliding and laughing all the way. As we navigate deeper and into the bush, snow becomes deeper and less tracked out by other vehicles. Low range is selected and a heavy right foot is applied to combat the the heavy snow. However, despite the effort, the 4Runner becomes bogged down in a particularly deep section of the trail.
The rear e-locker is engaged and with the help of our trusty Maxtrax recovery boards, I manage to back the 4Runner out of the hole I’ve dug myself in. Off to a great start!
Further along the trail, we’re met with a stunning view of the Rocky Mountains. We are very fortunate to have such an incredible place so close to home.
Sunset this time of year is around 4:30pm. It’s now almost 3:30 and we haven’t even come close to finding a tree yet. It’s beginning to feel like a race against the sun.
The trail leads us down to a mostly dried up river bed in which vehicles are allowed to drive down in the winter months. There is still a small river running through in some areas and you are required to cross the river if you wish to continue down the trail. Seeing as though we haven’t found a tree yet, we need to continue. The ice on the banks of the river is about two feet thick. This creates a sizeable drop in to cross the river.
Crawling out of the icy waters proves to be difficult. Tire traction on this ice is almost non existent. The rear locker is engaged once again, in hopes of avoiding the winch. Thankfully, we make our way out and continue the hunt for this years tree!
We round the next bend in the trail and off in the distance both Alison and I spot it, the perfect tree! We pull up, hop out and get to work.
The tree is snugged up to the roof rack with ratchet straps and away we go. The 2019 Christmas Tree hunt was a success! This is our 3rd year bringing home a real tree and it seems to be a good tradition. Thanks for following along through 2019. We can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store!
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from All Terrain Trails! 🙂
