My First Job at BC Tel

Alice Arm, British Columbia, Canada

MY FIRST JOB AT BC TEL


Our wonderful, almost level campsite
There wasn't 2 ft level anywhere on this hillside. Our tent and kitchen area, was on left under plastic, and Saws, Equipment, and Gas under plastic on right.

My First Job with BC Tel, in aug 1969, was with Herman Wiebe, who was our foreman, and a Temp Summer Student, whose name I do not remember.
We had to go to the site of the Alice Arm Passive, and remove all the branches, etc. from the trees that had already been cut, and then burn them.
We were scheduled to be there 5-7 days, but we ended up there for 10 days, due to weather, no Drinking water, no food, and no cigarettes!!!
I remember being so desperate for the later, that I made Cigarettes, out of Corn Flakes and even Tea, using toilet paper as a wrapper!
From an old Orange Rectangular Styrofoam 1960 era, survival kit, which we had taken in with us,
I remember cooking the old canned freeze dried pork chops, which were a cross between an old shoe and cardboard!
We learned to eat them fast, as soon as they came from the frying pan, then they were barely bearable!
In the survival kit was a chocolate bar from WWII rations, I think! It did have a few things useable, better than nothing.
For drinking water, we had a small pond about 20 ft from our tent, (in the left picture above) which we boiled and used. Beaver Fever anyone?
We had finished our work 6 days after arriving, but then the clouds, and rain hit, and we were stuck.
Many days we could see the Kitsault Beach, where the helicopter was sitting, but they wouldn't fire it up to come and get us, for some reason unknown to me.
In all my trips back up in there, I never went back to this site. I worked at Tchitin Passive site a couple times after this.


Left side, of Picture above, would show Alice Arm Townsite, Kitsault would be to the right of this picture.
This Radio Passive site, was directly across Alice Arm from Kitsault. Above what maps show as Pearson Point, located at Latitude - Longitude 55° 27′ 21″ N, 129° 30′ 11″ W .
Tchitin Peak would be in the distance, location of the Tchitin Passive. Latitude - Longitude 55° 34′ 17″ N, 129° 18′ 37″ W

It was One Day of Many Firsts for me Personally:

Quite an experience to say the least.
A trip I will never forget!



©