Operation Hill Top 19 – Part 1

A first year cadet holds a support beam for a white Fort McPherson tent.

Operation Hill Top 19 was going to be a little different than the previous field training exercises (FTX) held by 3045 Cadet Corps in mid-September.  This FTX is the first of two during the regular training year and is primarily for the first & second-year cadets.  The main requirement is to complete is a 7km hike.  The first-year cadets just have to walk the distance while the second-year cadets have to hike and carry backpacks filled with supplies.  The hike prepares these young minds for the more arduous FTXs down south.  Senior cadets can join for supervision and to practice their leadership skills.

            

The corps’ recruitment efforts are going very well.  It’s only been a month and half since the start of school and we’ve managed to recruit around 10 new cadets.  This has led the ranks to grow to almost 30 cadets on parade.  That’s quite good for a community just shy of 1000 people.  However, the influx of recruits caused corps administration to rethink the planning & execution of the FTX.

            

Cadets packing the green tent.
September 11.

There would be 22 cadets out in the field and, unfortunately, the corps does not have enough tents for everyone to stay for two nights.  (The FTX is usually a two-night affair).  It was decided the new recruits would stay out for a day, do the hike, remain for the bonfire, and then be driven home in the evening.  Everyone else would leave the following day.  I think the last time something like this was done was in 2013 when I first arrived in Arctic Bay.  The Canadian Rangers assigned two Rangers to provide polar bear protection.  We need two Rangers because of the high number of cadets.

            

Second Bridge.

Planning & preparation began several weeks in advance.  The cadets checked the tents & Coleman stoves on September 11 and packed sleeping bags on September 20.  It was a good idea teaching the new recruits these skills even though they wouldn’t be sleeping at the camp site.  The decision would pay off some time in the future.

            

Operation Hill Top 19 began on the evening of Friday, September 20.  Everyone involved, except for the first-year cadets, assembled at the school’s gym at 6pm for roll call and to load the trucks with supplies.  We then drove to Frank’s Shop to pick up more supplies and then continued to the camp site by the Second Bridge.  The Second Bridge has been the go-to area for this FTX since 2013.  We camp here because we’re next to the Road to Nanisivik.  It’s easier to hike 7km on a road and if there’s an emergency, we can quickly evacuate someone or everyone to Arctic Bay.  We arrived at the Second Bridge at 7:30pm. 

            

Frank recruited a few helpers to help him set up a white Fort McPherson tent the day before.  They also stored some supplies in the tent so that we wouldn’t have to make two trips to bring everything to the camp site.  Thank you.  This tent would serve as the Supply & Command tent.  The cadets immediately went to work setting up the remaining tents and moving their personal belongings into their assigned tents.  All the food and cooking supplies would be stored in the Supply tent.  I would also sleep here.  The male cadets would sleep in a different white tent and the female cadets would sleep in a green tent.  The Rangers brought their own tent.  It took about an hour to get the campsite ready.

            

Snacks were given out & hot chocolate was prepared for the cadets once everything was in order.  Everyone then retired to their respective tents and slowly fell asleep.

            

Breakfast MREs.

Reveille was at 7:00am on Saturday, September 21.  I was the first one to emerge from my tent.  The weather was cold but there was no snow on the ground.  Slowly, the cadets & Rangers woke up and got ready for the day.  The Coleman stoves in my tent were lit and large metallic pots were filled with water collected from a nearby river.  Breakfast MREs were opened and distributed to the cadets.  The Supply/Command tent became the Mess tent for the next hour.

            

I taught several classes after breakfast.  The class the cadets enjoyed the most was using proper radio communication procedures because they got to play with walkie-talkies.  The other classes I taught were identifying types of clouds, packing a backpack for a hike, and what to do when you’re lost.  These classes get taught every year but it never hurts to review.  There’s only so much stuff we can cram and keep inside our minds. 

            

Ice over a stream.

The second-year cadets were given a break because the senior cadets needed the Supply tent to prepare lunch.  Lunch consisted of more MREs.  The first-year cadets ate their lunch at the local Anglican church.  They would then be driven to the First Bridge to begin their 7km hike.  Coincidentally, the distance between the First & Second Bridges is 7km.

            

First-year cadets about to begin the 7km hike.

Second-year cadets begin their 7km
hike.

The main event had finally arrived.  The second-year cadets were given bright red backpacks and packed them with garbage bags, toilet paper, juice boxes, and granola bars.  One cadet had the honour of carrying a small first aid kit.  The cadets were also given walking sticks.  One Ranger would drive up and down the road, checking on both groups, while the other would walk with the first-year cadets.  I would hike & supervise the second-year cadets.  We began walking up the road towards Nanisivik at 1:30pm.

            

Operation Hill Top 19 Camp Site.

The hike is always the same, but the experience is different due to the cadets involved.  I was supervising 7 cadets.  The biggest hurdle was at the beginning: walking up a steep hill.  Once we were over the top, we continued along the road at a steady pace.  The size of the group stretched with every step we took.  It became obvious that some cadets had more energy than others.  I stayed at the back, making sure no one was left behind.  I should have instructed the cadets to come back together but I could see for many kilometres, so I let the cadets walk at their own pace.  The risks of encountering polar bears at this high altitude are very low.  Plus, I was able to take several interesting landscape pictures with the cadets in various spots.  We stopped twice for snacks and bathroom breaks.

            

I used my GPS device to inform everyone when we walked 7km.  The 7km mark is just past the long straight portion of road known as “The Stretch”.  The road bends to the left up a hill, and several metres after that, you’ve walked 7km from the Second Bridge.  Ranger Roland was waiting for us in a red truck to take us back to camp.  When I walked up to greet him, he informed me that we had completed the hike way ahead of schedule.  I looked at my watch and realized that he was right.  I had originally scheduled the hike to take 4 hours but it had only taken us just under 2 hours.  Ranger Roland suggested using the extra time by visiting the old Nanisivik Airport.  I agreed after gaining approval from the cadets.  I hopped in the back of the truck and we were on our way.

            

Nanisivik Airport.

It’s been quite some time since I visited the old, abandoned, and decrepit Nanisivik Airport.  I think it’s been a few years.  The Nanisivik Airport was built in the 1970s and ceased operations in 2011.  Its gravel runway was long enough to accommodate jet planes and it serviced the Nanisivik Mine & Arctic Bay.  (The mine closed in 2002).  Since the airport’s closure, the remaining structures and equipment have been left to rust & decay.  I still wonder if the territorial & federal governments are even talking about cleaning up the site or repurposing it, since the Nanisivik Naval Facility is close to completion?  Hopefully, something will be decided soon.

            

The airport was devoid of life until we arrived.  The weather was a little colder because we were high up in the mountains.  Ranger Roland drove around the main buildings and stopped in front of the Maintenance Garage.  We all got out and went inside.  The large orange bulldozer & yellow CAT loader were still inside.  The top floor was full of stacked cardboard boxes, discarded papers, old electronics, tools, nails, screws, and just junk.  It would take too long to list every item we found. 

“If humans were to just disappear from the face of the Earth all at once, this is what we would leave behind,” I commented to the cadets.  “It would be like that tv show, After Humans.”

Creepy Hallway.

Nanisivik Airport Terminal. What's left of it.

We walked through the creepy hallway that connects the Maintenance Garage to the Terminal Building.  The terminal appeared to be in far worse shape.  Everyone had to watch where they stepped.  There was broken furniture & pieces of wood all over the floor.  Many ceiling tiles were missing and all the glass windows were broken.  It was as if the building had been turned into a rage room.  This place definitely needs to be cleaned out.  At least the old orange payphone from my previous visit was still here.

We continued our exploration by checking out the First Air cargo sheds.  One is a half-cylinder structure and the other looks like a small house.  There were only large open spaces and defunct heaters inside these structures.

The last structures we examined were the power generators and electrical shack.  The generators are located inside blue sea can-like boxes and the electrical shack is a separate yellow structure.  The generating equipment looks disabled but I told my cadets not to touch anything.  I didn’t want a sudden, shocking emergency situation.  Thankfully, no one got hurt.

Disabled generators.

Abandoned dumpsters, oil barrels, &
vehicles.

Another pickup truck arrived at the airport just as we were getting ready to leave.  The driver was Frank.  He had come looking for us.  I quickly told him how we ended up here.  He told me the first-year cadets were at the camp site, sipping hot chocolate and waiting for us.  My cadets got into both pickup trucks.  I did a head count, making sure we weren’t leaving anyone behind.  I gave the go ahead and we drove back to the Second Bridge. 

To Be Continued . . .