A “mini” gripping tale of adventure. 

I say “mini” for two reasons: one-my son could be thought of as a “mini me” and he was involved, and two-it’s a simple experience that may seem trivial to many, but for me was profound.

Last Saturday, my fellow Griptioneers Mike and Andy, and our Dad decided to make the trek to our cabin. It’s the time of year where we can’t drive to the cabin because of snow and a gate closing the road to larger vehicles. We can hike or take our mini bikes (a third reason to use the word mini in explaining this tale). We chose to do both. I brought “mini me” (Tyler) and we rode the mini bike to the cabin.

So what’s so gripping about this experience? Well, it was the lack of gription and the stress it created in me. I was trekking along on the mini bike with Tyler when we came upon an ice patch under a bridge. I decided to go for it, straight through the middle, when I began sliding. I put both my boots down and did my best to prevent me and the bike from falling over on top of Tyler and my leg. I was wearing my Merrell hiking boots, which I love, but was quickly reminded that it doesn’t matter how much grip my shoes have, on ice, it’s hopeless.

So there we were, stuck, only 5 feet from asphalt. Tyler began yelling at me to go and then started screaming and crying as I tried with all my might to find an ounce of traction on the ice. My stress intensified as my two year old’s screams pounded through my ears. My right hamstring started to shake from the fact that it was being pushed harder than it had in the past 3.5 years!

“Tyler, calm down!” I yelled. “Calm down while I figure out how to get us out of this!” I finally just lifted Tyler off the bike and tipped it on it’s side. I slid one boot into the side of the bike to allow for some stability while I sat us both down on the ice. I then slid down the ice with Tyler on my lap to the asphalt below. After getting to safety, I noticed I could walk on the side of the ice patch in the snow to the asphalt above. After setting Tyler down and helping him calm down a bit, I was able to grab hold of the bike’s handlebars and drag it to the asphalt. Me, Tyler, the mini bike, and my wet shorts were safe.

Thank goodness this mini gripping tale had a good ending. After hiking through more snow, sinking up to my waist at times as the soft slushy snow gave way under my boots; we made it to the cabin! Essentially unharmed, aside from my exhausted right hamstring that would barely allow me to walk up and down the stairs to work for three days.

This was a mini gripping tale in my life that reminded me of a few things. One, I am more out of shape than I ever want to admit. Two, Tyler is still too young to know that screaming just aggravates stress and does not help Dad think in difficult situations. And three, although ice proved once again to be an enemy to gription, my Merrell boots ROCK and I highly recommend them to all of you! They kept my feet essentially dry the entire time and the only reason my feet got wet at all was from the snow falling in from the top of my boot as I sank in the slush.

Thanks for reading my gripping tale of adventure. Feel free to comment below and email us your gripping tales-no matter how big or “mini” they are.

-Griptioneer Dan

“Mini Me”