The little hummer that could

Ok, so sometimes things happen unexpectedly to those of us that don't really know what we are doing, but it ends up very fun!

We took delivery of the topsoil and compost for the new orchard. It arrived in a dump truck with an extra trailer, one full load of topsoil and one of compost. To save a lot of tractor time moving this stuff into position, I asked the driver to pull through the gate into the pasture and dump next to the new orchard site. The ground there is high and seemed firm enough. I stress "seemed".

First came the topsoil, he backed into the pasture with the full load and the ground shifted a bit under the weight, but not enough to be concerning. After dumping though... he tried to pull out to get the compost.  As he pulled through the gate, the front wheels dug down deep into the dirt and stuck tight. Both axles were spinning trying to push forward, but no budging.

We considered our options, which were limited since there was no tow hook on the front of the truck. We decided that maybe we could pull it back into the pasture and take a faster run through the gate. To do this I grabbed a chain and  attached between the tow hooks of the hummer and the truck. I managed to pull him back into the pasture about a foot but the truck stuck again, sinking even deeper. We decided to try to dig a "ramp" behind the front wheels to let them ease back up with an abrupt edge, and discovered a huge rock underground stuck behind the tire. That's what had prevented this first attempt from working. Unfortunately removing the rock didn't help, as the tires had sunk too deep by then and we were afraid any more attempts to go backwards would cause the front axle to dig into the ground.

At this point the driver called the office to ask for the front tow hooks to be sent out.  That way we could pull it forward.  While waiting for it to arrive, we dug ramps in the front of the front tires and filled in with gravel, making a sort of  gravel road leading back to ground level. We also shoveled gravel under the rear tires to gain traction.

When the hooks arrived, we brought the hummer around to the front, attached the chain, and off we go!  The first try was disappointing, but repositioning and setting the hummer in low 4wd, plus locked rear differential, and just flooring it.... worked. The big truck actually pulled up and out of the hole.  I wish we had a video of this!

After the truck was out my 7 year old son climbed into the ruts. It was so deep that the ground level was above his waist!

To test fate a little more, we filled in the ruts with large river rocks and gravel, and actually succeeded in backing the trailer load of compost over the ruts to dump the compost right past the gate. The ground was so soft by then that it was heaving up several inches all around the truck. But it didn't get stuck! He was able to dump his second load and drive out with only a little slipping.

After it was over.. I asked the driver what the weight of that truck was. He replied 17,000 pounds EMPTY. I can't believe we succeeded in pulling it out of a nearly 3 foot rut with a lonely H2! It is very unfortunate we don't have pics or video of this experience.. it was certainly a fun afternoon and a challenging experience!