Chapter 5k

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NASS LIGHT ROUTE
MICROWAVE SYSTEM
CHAPTER #5

MY FIRST JOB AT BC TEL

My First Job with BC Tel, was with Herman Wiebe,
and a Temp Summer Student.
We had to go to the site of the Alice Arm Passive,
and remove all the branches, etc.
from the trees that had been cut, and 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!
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 bearable!
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, but they wouldn't
fire it up to come and get us, for some reason unknown to me.

Picture on right, above, shows Alice Arm Townsite,
Kitsault would be to the right of this picture.
The passive site, was directly across Alice Arm from Kitsault.
It was my First BC Tel Day, my First Plane Ride (Goose),
my first Helicopter ride (Bell 47), and my First Chain saw use.
Quite an experience to say the least.
A trip I will never forget!