Operation Hill Top 14

The staff and cadets of 3045 Army held their first Field Training eXercise (FTX) of the regular training year on the weekend of September 19 - 21.  Dubbed Operation Hill Top 14, (where the 14 stands for 2014), the FTX took place in the same location as last year; next to the Second Bridge on the Road to Nanisivik.  The main objective for the weekend was to complete a 7km hike.  This year, the exercise was geared towards the first & second year cadets; the seniors were not required to participate.  However, two seniors were assigned as platoon leaders.  An FTX is the cadet equivalent of a school field trip.

            

Meetings were held several weeks prior to the FTX to organize a kit list, meals, tents, transportation, cooking equipment, fuel, lessons, and anything else we would need.  The cadets were issued sleeping bags, air mattresses, and duffel bags.  Additionally, the second year cadets were issued rucksacks because they were required to complete the hike by carrying some weight on their shoulders.    

            

I too was issued a sleeping bag and air mattress, but I packed my own rucksack with spare clothes, flashlights, granola bars, and a thermos full of hot chocolate.  I also brought my GPS, SPOT Device, and walkie-talkies.  Due to the sudden arrival of snow, I drove out to the Second Bridge several days before the weekend and surveyed the camping area to make sure the snow wasn't too deep to pitch tents.  And thankfully, it wasn't.

            

On the evening of Friday, September 19, everyone assembled in front of Inuujaq School's gym, fully fed and clothed for the weekend ahead.  I was overdressed; my outer clothing consisted of a Canada Goose Resolute Parka, light wind pants, Baffin Impact Boots, and thick gloves.  I had no intention of repeating last year's infamous episode of developing a serious migraine.  I still think it was because of my light outer clothing not protecting me from the cold weather.  After roll call, the cadets were divided amongst the drivers we recruited to transport everyone to the bivouac site.  Last year, we walked from the First Bridge to the Second Bridge, but this year would be different.  The hikes would begin from the camping site on Saturday.

            

We arrived at the Second Bridge after a 25-minute drive.  The cadets unloaded everything and placed them in designated piles: duffel bags, sleeping bags, food, cardboard boxes, cooking equipment, and tents.  A white Fort McPherson tent had already been pitched prior to our arrival.  The cadets only had to pitch another white tent and the green Arctic 5-man tent designated for Lt. May, the Commanding Officer of 3045, and myself.  Once the tents were pitched, the cardboard boxes were flattened and placed inside the tents as makeshift "floors".  Then the air mattresses and sleeping bags were laid out.  One white tent was for the male cadets and the other was for the females. 

            

Whenever the cadet corps goes camping out in the field we are required to have a few Rangers to protect us from aggressive wildlife (ie. polar bears).  They get paid for their duties and also receive rations.  They just have to bring their own firearms, ammunition, tent(s), and any other equipment they require.                   

            

As night began to settle, the cadets assembled for a quick briefing and hot chocolate.  Lights out was set at 10:30 and reveille would be at 7:30 the following morning.  Everyone was instructed to get a good night's rest because they would need the strength for tomorrow's hike.

We slowly emerged from our tents the following morning, breathing in the fresh Arctic air, and wanting a warm cooked breakfast.  Lt. May & I got the Coleman stoves working, melting snow in two large grey pots.  When the snow turned to boiling water, we tossed in all the main MRE meals for 10-15 minutes.  MRE stands for Meals-Ready-to-Eat and are made in America.  The Canadian equivalent is Individual Meal Packages (IMPs) and personally speaking, they are of much better quality.  Several minutes after breakfast began, Arctic Bay's mental health nurse and social worker arrived with freshly baked muffins to complement our meals.  The muffins were an instant hit and quickly disappeared off the tray.  The two ladies drove back to town for the rest of day but would come back for the evening bonfire.

            

Green Stars begin their 7km hike.

A snow plow on the Road to Nanisivik.

The 7km hikes began at around 11:30am.  The first year cadets, aka the Green Stars, were to hike 3.5km towards Arctic Bay, stopping at the liquor signs, turn around and go back to the camp site.  The second year cadets, aka the Red Stars, were to hike 7km in the opposite direction, towards Nanisivik, and stop at the Terry Fox Monument.  There, they would be picked up by the Rangers and brought back to the camp site.  Lt. May went with the Greens and I went with the Reds.  Since we assumed the hikes would take about 3 hours to complete, we took granola bars and juice boxes to keep the cadets nourished.  I gave Lt. May one of my walkie-talkies so that we could stay in touch. 

            

Camp Site.

The Red Stars and I followed the Road the Nanisivik, slowly trekking up a hill the road curved around.  We briefly stopped at the top to look at the camp site below and the small platoon of Green Stars.  Ahead of them, a large snow plow was clearing the road of heavy wet snow.  Aside from the sounds of our boots and occasional chatter, the area was enveloped by complete silence.  The dark gravel road and surrounding brown landscape had become covered with snow.  It felt like just yesterday, Lt. May & I were driving towards Nanisivik at the end of August.  (The blog posts about my visit to Nanisivik are coming.  All the background research is done.  Now I just have to find the time to put it all on paper).

            

We stopped from time to time to catch our breaths and to rest our legs.  On the Road to Nanisivik, there is a section locally known as "The Stretch".  It's a straightaway about 5km long.  The Red Stars felt a little intimidated, thinking they would never reach the end of it, but I encouraged them along and after some time, we got to the end.  About halfway down The Stretch, the Rangers pulled up in a pickup truck and gave the cadets new trekking poles.  The "gifts" raised morale for the rest of the hike. 

            

"The Stretch"

Surprisingly, my group completed the 7km hike but didn't reach the monument; it was just a kilometre or two further up the road.  By this time, however, it was 2:30pm and our legs were tired.  We were picked up by Lt. May because the Green Stars had completed their hike early.  When we got back to the camp site, we rested for a while.

            

The bonfire began at 7pm.  The firewood was brought in by truck an hour or two before.  The cadets stacked the wood into a large pile, several metres away from the camp site.  The Rangers got a small fire started and slowly fed it pieces of wood before it became a large fire.  The mental health nurse and social worker returned with hot dogs, bread, ketchup, mustard, marshmallows, Hershey's chocolate, and graham crackers.  First, everyone roasted hot dogs over the open fire using long metal rods.  There were enough hot dogs for two rounds.  When they were all gone, Barb, the social worker, taught the cadets how to make smores.  When making smores in the Arctic, you need to wrap everything in tinfoil and roast it over the fire.  Just roasting the marshmallows, as it's normally done down south, is not enough to make all the pieces stick together. 

            

Roasting smores.

The cadets were allowed to play with the fire after finishing their smores, using sticks and large pieces of wood as shields.  I was told it was a common practice whenever the kids go camping with their parents and/or relatives.  Under the watchful eyes of the Rangers and officers, no one got burned.  The Rangers piled more wood onto the fire, letting the flames rise once again to the point where you could call it a controlled inferno.  The intense heat caused everyone to step back a few metres.  When the fire became a collection of smoldering embers, we piled snow on top to fully extinguish them.  The cadets cleaned up all the garbage, collected all the roasting rods, and brought it back to the campsite.  The cadets were dismissed to their tents for the night.  Lights out was at 11pm.

          

Sunday, September 21, was teardown day, where the entire camp would be disassembled and packed onto pickup trucks, and driven back to Arctic Bay.  The teardown began after breakfast.  While the makeshift kitchen was being put away, the tents were cleaned out of sleeping bags, mattresses, duffel bags, and flat cardboard boxes.  The Rangers burned the cardboard boxes, and the cadets disassembled the tents and brought them and their personal belongings to the awaiting pickup trucks.  The cadets did a final garbage sweep of the area before being debriefed by Lt. May and myself.  We congratulated the Green & Red Stars for completing the hikes and for camping out on the land without the assistance of the senior cadets. 

            

Everyone then found a seat on the many trucks that were waiting to drive us home.  When the cadets were dropped off at their homes, they were instructed to wash their sleeping bag liners and throw the sleeping bags in the dryer for 10 minutes.  They were to return them the following Wednesday.

            

Overall, the Operation Hill Top 14 was a success.  We achieved all of our objectives and I didn't get sick.       

Garbage Sweep