A squirrel almost killed me and a coworker today. Chip, as we call him, has been hoarding pine cones at the base of trees. In planters. Everywhere!
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| Chip regularly harasses Forest Service employees during District meetings. |
While leaving the ranger station to collect campground fees, I noticed the truck's accelerator was stuck. I had to keep my foot on the brake to keep it from going too fast in the 25-mph zone that surrounds town.
I had a Volkswagen bug that would sometimes have a sticky accelerator -- stomping the gas pedal usually did the trick. I mashed the truck's gas, and it lurched. Shit. Now I had both feet on the brake and rounded a corner to get back to base.
As I passed the fire cache, the firefighters were having their morning brief. Once I got to the parking area, the truck was really picking up speed. I put the transmission into neutral, thinking I had enough momentum to smoothly coast into a parking spot. Nope!
The incline leading to the upper lot was steeper than I thought. Immediately, the engine revved past the red line. Not wanting to block traffic, I slipped the gear back into drive, in hopes of getting just a little traction to get into a parking spot.
The engine continued to roar as the tires dug into the gravel road. I could smell rubber burning and both of my feet were still jammed on the brake. As gravel flew, I maneuvered the truck into a parking spot, hoping the parking block would help stop us.
I pushed the gear shift into park, lurching us to a sudden stop, inches from a neighboring Forest Service truck. As the dust settled and I turned off the ignition, the fire folks were all looking our way. I climbed out of the driver's seat, raised my arms and declared, "We're OK!"
Someone called out, "What happened?"
"The accelerator was stuck!"
The fire briefing resumed. Meanwhile, figured out what went wrong. Chip had stockpiled 15 pine cones inside the engine compartment!
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| A pine cone was lodged into a space that made the accelerator stick. |
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