This happened after a heavy snow fall that left the access road to the Niobe site impassable.

It was decided to take a Cat up there and clear the road, only it was very cold and the Cat would not start on its own, so it had to be jump started. The Cat was then loaded onto a lowboy trailer for the trip. The Cat was left running for fear of not being able to get it started up at the site. We followed a few minutes behind the truck.

As we dropped down into that first creek bed (coulee) on the way to town we joked "Well they made it through the first one". When we got to the second curve there sat the truck and trailer without the Cat aboard. I guess it was being hauled without being tied down. The Cat was setting on the ground, but it was still running.

It was decided to load the Cat back onto the lowboy. When the Cat hit the ground the hydraulic lines had broken. They got the Cat on the trailer but the blade dropped down and caught the end of the trailer. Now the truck can’t be moved because the blade of the Cat is hanging over the end of the trailer. Next it was decided to remove the Cat from the trailer so the truck could be moved but then the blade dug into the ground and the Cat would not move off the trailer. Next it was decided to pull the trailer out from under the Cat.