Ditchmobiles....A Fact of Life

Just when you think everything is going fine, cruising down the road at a reasonable speed, you move over a hair. That's when the pull begins, and bingo, you can't fight it. You're a ditchmobile. No, this hasn't happened to me in a long time. And only once, thank heavens. It did have to be at New Year's, one of my busiest stretches of the year. But that was so long ago, I can't even recall if it was Dec. 30th or 31st.

Whenever I see the scars from vehicles that have gone into the ditch, I think that it might make for an interesting blog post. It's not that I would photograph and broadcast someone's misfortune. Maybe it's more that it is a good reminder for myself to do my best to stay away from the deceptive edges of the road. That is really the problem here. The snow does an excellent job of hiding where the road ends and the shoulder begins. In some cases, the shoulder is only inches wide and the ditch below it is quite deep. The snow acts like quicksand, and sucks the tire right in. You aren't going anywhere in that case.

Greg is quite adept at pulling cars out of ditches. Anyone up here with a big truck likely is. It comes with the territory. What I find interesting are the ways in which a ditchmobile finds a good Samaritan, way out here in the remote areas. If you are within walking distance of people, you can find someone willing to help. But if it's miles to the next residence or lodge, you are at the mercy of whatever traffic might be driving by. On a cold winter night, you might wait a while.

Last night, I was waiting at the end of the side road for a friend who kindly picked up a plow part in town for Greg. She was on her way home, and we had pre-arranged to meet at the Trail when she would be passing by. Since Greg was out plowing, I said that I would meet her. I sat out there with my knitting, pleasantly listening to the radio while I waited. She got there about ten minutes after our expected meet-up, but that was not surprising given the driving snow that was falling at the time. She apologized for her delay, and explained that she had stopped to help a couple in the ditch about a mile back. The three of them were unable to get the car unstuck, so she said that she would relay the situation to me.

It happened that I had seen Greg's truck parked at a neighbor's, so I drove back to where he was. After telling the story, I had not one, but two plow guys ready to help out. We drove down the trail, and sure enough, by the Loon Lake access road, there they were. Within about ten minutes, Greg and John had the straps and chains in place, and in a blink, Greg had backed up and the car popped right out and up on to the solid road bed. He made it look so easy.

Naturally, the couple was quite thankful and appreciative. We were more than happy to help them. It's a neat sort of karma that lets paths cross in the way that ours all did last night. That's reassuring when we think that it might be us next time in the ditchmobile.