I know, Duck Me. 🦆

Must be a beautiful day on the Catskill Scenic Trail. Darn nail I ran over this morning on Burnt Hill Road. Fortunately I was able to reinflate the tire to make it home, slow leak and I have a full size spare I’m installing safely from home rather than on the shoulder of the road from the driver side.

Fortunately I have a full size 35 inch spare that has similar wear to the other tires and I’m 90% sure the other tire can be plugged. It’s those dang BFG KO All Terrains, had the same problem 15 years ago with the last set I ran. But it’s all I could get during the pandemic.

Those 35s are mad heavy to lift and bolt to the wheel. I was worried the spare tire holder would be rusted up but the spare came off with ease. And YES, SAFETY POLICE, 🚨 I support the weight of my truck on a 4×6 block of wood to raise the bottle jack under the axle. It works fine, it has sufficient compressive strength I’m not climbing under the truck or jacking it that high. I did not die yet.

I forgot how heavy 35s are to lift! I lifted with my knees but wow did it truck take a try or two to get it up in the bed. But I’m tired now, I’m kind of glad I didn’t change my tire on the roadside, even if it ultimately went smoothly after getting home. I really needed an hour to rest after the hour of wrangling the tire. Ultimately I did at 7 1/2 mile hike to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center and Meads Lane in the evening.

I was afraid that the spare tire holder would be completely rusted up and I wouldn’t be able to get the tire down or the lug nuts would be on super tight and I couldn’t break them free or the wood block I use to extend the bottle jack to the axle on my lifted truck would have rotted and cracked under the weight. Maybe it was catastrophizing but I don’t think ultimately I would have gotten hiking on the Catskill Scenic Trail even after the tire change. It’s fine, it got cloudy by evening and I like hiking at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center.