K.W., M.L. and I were clearing out some brush in one of the campsites. We were using one of the newer toys at camp, the wood chipper. The wood chipper was a hell of a machine. It took branches up to 12" in diameter and turned them into wood chips. It was self feeding. There are two wheels that grab the branch and pull it through. Once the machine had the branch, it was going to eat it. Fortunately, even if you were somehow unable to let go of the branch there were a number of safety levers. Once the lever was hit, the machine would stop. Still, it was scary. M.L. and I would never be able to operate it on our own, but K.W. was more experienced than us and made sure we didn't get into too much trouble.
We finished up in the campsite and were preparing to move the chipper to another site. We pulled the chipper with an all wheel drive dump truck. It was the most powerful truck at camp and only K.W. was allowed to drive it. K.W. was always a bit more responsible than the rest of us. Also, he drove big trucks and operated heavy equipment semi-regularly, so he knew what he was doing. For the rest of us, the only vehicle we had experience operating were our cars.
Unfortunately, K.W. got the truck stuck. It wasn't his fault, the road was extremely muddy, we were travelling uphill and the chipper weighs a few thousand pounds. After trying to rock it back and forth, we had only succeeded in getting it stuck a bit more. That's when K.W. pulled an ace out of his sleeve.
Camp happened to own a large tractor with a back hoe attachment. This was also off limits to most of us. We drove down to the maintenance shop, picked up a length of chain and the Tractor. Now, we had two vehicles that only K.W. was authorized to drive, but only one K.W. So, per the usual, we bent the rules. K.W. got back in the dump truck and I got on the tractor. I was in no way qualified to drive the tractor, but I was eager to learn. M.L. was about to get the most dangerous assignment.
At first, we couldn't get the truck unstuck even with the tractor in low gear. Once we rigged the chain to the backhoe bucket, we were able to pull the truck out of the ruts. The truck still needed the tractor's assistance, but we could pull it with the tractor now. There was no reason to do what we did next, I don't think any of us appreciated the risk.
At some point, it was clear that the truck was completely free and could move under its own power. The chain began to slack and the truck and the tractor were both moving at probably 6 mph or so. Faster than walking speed, but not faster than M.L. could run. I told M.L. to disconnect the chain while we were still moving. My thought process was that if we took the time to stop the truck may get stuck again. Disconnecting the chain, is not difficult, under normal circumstances. There is a large metal hook that goes over one of the links. While, not difficult, it is not a trivial either. It requires both hands, and some concentration. M.L. had to run alongside two very heavy pieces of machinery while holding the chain in his hands. He then had to manipulate the hook to free the chain. At any point, if the speed of either vehicle had varied or if M.L. had tripped, it would have likely ended in disaster. Amazingly, he was able to get it done without incident.
It wasn't until later that we realized how dangerous and dumb we had been. There was absolutely nothing malicious behind the "plan" it was just a result of being young and reckless. M.L. is one of my best friends, and if he had been injured or killed, it would have been my fault. We were talking about it the other day, and we couldn't believe that I had suggested it and he had agreed to it. Incidentally, once we got the chain disconnected we stopped the vehicles to pick up the chain. The truck didn't get stuck. Not even close.
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