Wilbo's Truck Almost Makes it Up Coal Hill, 2053 feet

Wilbo's truck did surmount this ridge. Wilbo doesn't know the name of the ridge just south of Coal Hill. It doesn't have a name on the online topographic map. He knows it is 2053 feet high because the State of Pennsylvania posted a sign near the summit. As he climbed the next ridge, his accelerator pedal went soft; he floored it and nothing happened. His engine stalled, his battery light reddened and his truck coasted to a stop ten feet from the ridge top, on the right shoulder. After it had been towed by Jim's Atlantic Towing (814-371-9903) to Johnston Motors, a Chevrolet and Cadillac dealership, Wilbo learned that his gas pump had suffered a malfunction.

Looking at the topographic map, Wilbo noticed that Coal Hill tops out at 2070 feet, has a benchmark of 2037 feet, and spreads east to west a little south of Luthersburg, Pennsylvania. How the State of Pennsylvania came up with 2053 feet for Coal Hill's summit wasn't an issue Wilbo had time to investigate.

Wilbo allowed the car to sit, thinking he could restart it once it cooled or the battery gathered charge. Too bad he didn't think of putting it in reverse, allowing gravity to power it as he turned it around. Surely the gasoline could flow once the engine was lower than the rear gas tank. Of course, cars whipping up the incline going south or zipping over the ridge going north would have felt annoyed to encounter a gravity-powered truck doing a turnaround, blocking both lanes for an instant. The first rule of motoring: thou shalt not allow ones vehicle to become an obstacle or a hazard for fellow motorists.

Wilbo called information to request numbers of local General Motors dealership in the town of Dubois, Pa, a town of 8000 people. Fortunately, the dealership dispatched a flat-bed tow truck, but it was too late for mechanics to look at the repair that evening. Fortunately, next door to the dealership stood the Bobette Motel and Diner, a old-fashioned motel with a rack rate less than 40 dollars a night, wireless internet, and a diner operated by the mother of the motel's owner. She waited on Wilbo last night, talked about her son's affection for computers from Apple and served him a delicious slice of blueberry pie, homemade by her and fresh as spring.

Victim of the Alleghany Mountains