Camping Trip Disaster

- We recently went camping, and had a brush with disaster, on the edge of a mountain. - Let's talk about that. - I'm Greg from Swanwick, Derbyshire. Good Mythical Morning. (Upbeat music). (fire roaring). - Gooooood Mythical Morning! - This episode is brought to you by lensrentals.com. That's where you can rent high-end. camera equipment and lenses.

We rented our camera. for the all night long shoot that we did. You too can rent equipment from there. - Yeah. - Enter the coupon code GMM05 to get 5% off. in the next two weeks. Act Now. - Going back a couple of months, me and Link, here, The Linkster. My dad used to call you the Linkster. - Remember that? - Yeah he did. I, I don't call you. - He would spank you and then he'd call me the Linkster. - I'm not gonna start calling you that. - Hey Linkster, I spanked your friend the other night. (Laughs).

- We recently- - He would never say that. - We decided to plan a camping trip. My good friend Mike was coming in from, - He's my friend too. - Yeah, well, he was my friend first, but now he's both of our friends, - Right - This is kind of how it works. - He likes me better, now. - Yeah, well maybe a little bit. He was coming in from North Carolina. and he had to do some work in Bakersfield. And last time he came into town, he went camping alone, solo camping up in Sequoia National Forest. But he said, hey, this time, you know what? Let's plan a little bit ahead of time. and let's go camping, together. - Yeah. He brought, he was bringing back pictures.

of like world's largest trees and whatnot. And we're like, wow, maybe we should take a respite and, and go up there. So yeah, we planned it out, the, the details were laid out. We knew he was coming, coming into town. We were gonna do it. Take two days. - Yeah. - And do it, go up there. - So we had it planned for a while. Coincidentally, or simultaneously. - I was - Concurrently. - Concurrently. I came to the realization that I needed a car. Because the way it's been working over the past 18 months.

since we have been here in California, is that Link's family, you guys have a van. My family, we have the, the Pilot. the it's not a, it's not a plane. It's an actual car. - Mhm. - And uh, each family has a car. - And, and then I would drive a Ford fusion. which was our corporate car. And I would just use it basically for commutes and, - And you that's how you get here. But so I don't have a car. We, we, our family has one car. but there are many times where I find myself, my wife needs a car, it's on a weekend and I just don't have a car. - It's frustrating. - And so I'm like, well, I gotta find something.

but it just needs to be something cheap. That'll just go point A, point B, Craigslist deal kind of thing. - Yeah. - But it should also be another company car. - Rhett didn't tell me any of this. until he found the car that he wanted to buy. So it was, you would have this like pitch for me. you're like, listen, I've decided I want, I. I need a car, blah, blah, everything he just told you he told me. It's been frustrating. I just wanna get something cheap. I, and I was like, well, you wanna do this, Like the corporate way? Like we could make it a business kind of expense. type situation, whatever. He's like, yes, that's a good idea.

I've already been on Craigslist and I've found it. Here it is. - [Rhett] It was a 1992 brown Ford Bronco. - Now I, I wasn't entirely open. to the idea of getting another vehicle. But once I saw that picture, I was like, yes, this is awesome. (Laughs). You know, I don't care what condition it's in. It's two different colors of dookie brown. - Long story short. - We bought it. We, we bought this, this car. And as you can imagine, it is 20 years old.

It is a Bronco. - And, I think, knowing that we were going camping. kind of informed us wanting to get it. - Oh yeah. - Because we, when we, when I saw it, it was like, we're taking this camping. - Oh, of course. - We're gonna drive this to Sequoia National Forest. - Well, that was part of my pitch. - That was part of my pitch. - Yeah, it's true. - I was like, you know, Hey, we could take this camping. Think about that. Instead of a Ford fusion. - Mhm, Yeah - You know what I mean? The guys in the sedan camping? That's not cool. - Yeah that's not cool. - There's no fun in that. - Not cool. So anyway, we buy this thing. Now, as you can imagine, it has some problems. That's why we got it so cheaply, but, it, so it has a a transmission issue.

so that it like shifts really hard. It, the, the brakes are kind of questionable in some ways. It doesn't always start. It has like a fuel pump issue. So like, I'd say 10 to 20% of the time, it won't start. And you have to wait and like let the fuel pump. kind of realize that it should be working. But I took it to a mechanic to have him sort of. look at it to be like, Hey, you know what, we're gonna take this. up to the top of a mountain, like 8,000 feet, like four hours away from here. And he is like, do you really have to do this? And I was like, yes. - Yeah.

- He says, well, I mean, I can't, I mean. I can't guarantee anything. You could breakdown. But he's like, I mean, it's your prerogative. So we're like, okay, we're gonna take the Bronco. Okay. - It wasn't a prerogative. It was a Bronco, but that would be a cool name for a car. - Ford Prerogative. (Laughs). So anyway, we go up there. to the Sequoia National Forest, and the whole time I'm nervous. I'm driving this thing and every time I smell something, I'm like, is that coming from our car? Every time I hear something, is that coming from the Bronco? You know? And, but you know, the car continue, That's an insult, The truck continues to do its job. And little by little, when we get to the bottom.

of that mountain, we start going up. to the top Sequoia National Forest, National Park. We're getting up there, we're getting up there. It's not overheating. I mean, the Bronco is doing what it was made to do. 20 years ago. And that is to get to the top of a mountain. - And then the next morning we get up, we look. at the largest tree in the world, the general Sherman. We take some photos of us. I, I wore a bandana. - It was awesome. - And then we decide, all right, let's go down the mountain. Let's drive the two hours down the mountain.

And then go to the valley, and then drive what ended up, what we wanted it to be like, what? Three hours up the other side and, and camp somewhere else the next night. Right? - Anyway, as you go down the mountain, which I was really worried about the brakes, and trying to go in a lower gear, and all that stuff. You get to this place where. they're doing construction. And there's one lane that they've got open. and they stop traffic on both sides for about 20 to. 30 minutes while they let the traffic go through. the other side. So when you get to the top of this thing, you get to this line of cars and you stop. And you know, you're gonna be there for half an hour. So you cut your car off.

So we get down to this line of cars and we're. like 20 cars back. And we just, I put it in park, put the emergency break on, cut the car off. And then we're just like, chilling. Like, this is so awesome. And we're bragging about the Bronco. We're like, this car is awesome. It's doing exactly what it was made to do. - Yeah. - This thing is like right off the factory line. and we got it so cheap and we look so cool. And everybody's looking at us like. - Right off the factory line, maybe not, but. - These, that's what I'm thinking in my mind. These guys are great. Look at 'em. They, they must go camping every weekend. Look they're in a Bronco, it's brown.

- We're sitting there for a long time. The sun's beating down on me. So I get out of the car. I take my shoes and socks off and I go, there's a rock there on the edge of the cliff. And I stand on the rock to do what the dude at Topanga, at Eagle Rock told me to do, to feel the electricity through my feet. I've started doing this. - Okay, good. - I not really working yet. So I'm, I'm barefooted. I'm standing on the rock. I'm looking out. And then all of a sudden, finally. I see that the cars are moving. - Yeah. - So I get back. I, I start walking back down.

and then I hear Link (mumbles). You know, it's like, so panic, like you weren't speaking English. You were, you were running. You were like opening the door and the cars, cars were backing up behind you. But cars in front were going. People were going around. I opened the passenger side. I get in the seat. You're in the, you're in the driver's seat. In front of the wheel. Our friend Mike, who was sitting. in the back seat is now leaning forward over you. He, he wasn't in the front seat at this point, was he? - No, I think he got into the front seat. - Yeah. You ejected the car. He gets up into the front seat.

By the time I opened the door and look, I see Mike leaned over the, over the steering wheel, with his hand on the ignition and he is going, - He's forcing it. - And I opened the door. and I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, stop. I didn't know what was happening. And, and like, I couldn't, he was like a rabid dog. attacking the steering column. - Well, - I didn't know what had happened. No one explained anything to me. And then I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't what are you doing? And he pulls back and I looked down.

and the ignition is like this. and the key, which is supposed to be like this, is like this. The key is bent. - Now, let me tell you what happened. - Like what have you done? I step away for five minutes. - So the cars start going, and I try to turn it and it's locked up. And so then I kind of, you know, this happens and. with the old cars, sometimes the ignition gets locked. So I kind of start turning. I'm like, dude, it's locked. I try to get the wheel on unlock. to try to shift it into gear. And it won't go. And then Mike comes in and does now, listen, I don't know who bent the key. We both tried to turn it pretty hard.

All we knew was we couldn't get the key outta the ignition. We had bent it. And we were stuck on this mountain. I was out now directing traffic. Cause we got these people coming around this mountain pass. I'm directing traffic around. and I'm beginning to have this sinking feeling, like we are going. to be stuck on this mountain. We are a few hours away from anyone who can help us. It's a Sunday afternoon. And we are gonna be stuck on this mountain. I'm got, we don't have cell service. - Saving grace is the construction guy comes up.

He says, if you go over there, you can get cell service. So we turn our phones on and you were able to. get cell service. So you should call AAA. You start calling people. You. - Well, I didn't call AAA. I, I called several locksmiths. because Mike said we need to call locksmith. because he could figure out something with the key. Don't call AAA 'cause that means we're gonna get towed. And our camping trip is over. - Right. - I called five locksmiths. I get the answering machine for all of them. They're not working. They're like, I'm gonna unlock anything on a Sunday. - And I can get on the internet. So at the same time, I'm searching '92 Ford Bronco. Looks awesome.

Two different colors, brown. Guys in it, look cool. Won't start on side of mountain. Key won't turn. - You find several things that we try, but nothing. - Nothing's really coming up. - An hour passes - Too many words in google. - We we've done several cycles of cars. I've been directing people around. Just defeated. It's hot. I'm out there getting sunburn. - Then. - We're gonna have to camp right there, we're thinking. - I'm like, listen, I'm calling AAA. Mike's like, hold on. Let me call my friend, my mechanic friend Craig, back in Fuquay. I'm like, well how, why didn't you come up with this idea before? (laughs). So he gets Craig on the phone and Mike was,

- Thank goodness he answered. - Mike talked to Craig. And I'm just gonna imagine what the conversation went like. Cu I could hear it from, from Mike's side. - Yeah. - He was like, Hey, we got the situation. We, this Bronco, we can't start it. And then Mike starts going, uh-huh, uh-huh, hit it with a hammer? Hit it with, hit, hit the key with a hammer? So Craig was saying listen, all you gotta do, listen. Very simple. Just take a hammer and hit the key with a hammer. Just tap the key with a hammer around the ignition.

Just tap a little bit, tap a little bit. tap on the end and you'll start right up. Then not, this is kind of like 11th hour, like hopeless advice. You're like what? - Yeah - Hit it with a hammer? - We're like, what? But we're like, we got a hammer. We have two hammers for putting the tent stakes in. - Yep. - So, Mike takes a hammer, (tapping noise). taps it all around. - He's like Michelangelo. - All around on the, on the key. - And we're just like totally total silent, like waiting.

- And then he is like, all right, - (Woosh) Totally free. (Whirring noise). But now it won't start. - Like you gotta be kidding me. - And then I was like, no, no, hold on, dude. This is the fuel pump issue. Stop. Put it, turn it back, turn it back. turn it back, turn it back. Turn it to on wait three seconds. Now do it. - His eyes were like this big, like looking at each other. - He was like, (whooshing noise). (Link laughs). - The Bronco starts up.

We did a victory dance. - Mike, Mike gets out of the front seat. You're running around to get in the front seat. I'm running around back. There's, there's like girls. Who've been sitting behind us. in this other car watching the whole time. Mike and I embrace. - I just, I saw you guys hugging on the side. - We're embracing each other in the back of the, behind the, behind the Bronco. Saying we did it, we did it. And then we look and these girls are like, (Rhett laughs). and then get in the truck. We drive off, we drive down the mountain, two hours. Go into the valley, need to stop and get some,

get something to drink. We're like, hold on. Don't, don't stop the truck. We've gotta drive three hours. up the other mountainside so that we can camp, Where we want to camp. There was no, maybe we shouldn't do that. It was we're gonna do that. So then for the next we, we didn't stop. We didn't stop. - I didn't turn the car off the rest of the day. Yeah. And then once we parked at the campsite, I didn't take the key outta the ignition. Everywhere we parked for the rest of the weekend, We kept the key in the ignition, and just hoped no one would steal all our stuff. (Board whirring). Anyway, the moral of the story is. - And the key is still in the ignition now, right?

- Moral of the story is. you should get a 20 year old vehicle. and you should take it to the top. of a mountain and see what happens. live a little bit. - Yeah. And if it's two different colors of brown, that's better. - More interpretive dancing. Is it my turn to interpretive dance? Or is it your turn to interpretive dance? - I think it's my turn. - Okay. - Just when, - Just when they thought it was okay. (emotional music). Just when they thought they were going to make it.

down the hill in the dookie brown Bronco, fate struck a chord. - Oh! Chord! - The key was lodged in the ignition. like a, A fat Badger. stuck in his burrowing hole. (blows raspberry). Until they tapped the badger on the. on the knee with a hammer. And he began to loosen up. It was no longer tense.

And he said to himself, you know what? I think I'm going to turn here. (emotional music continues). And we'll go down the mountain, in a flurry of. male embraces. (emotional music continues). (jaunty music).