{"id":4845,"date":"2020-06-07T12:14:05","date_gmt":"2020-06-07T16:14:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=4845"},"modified":"2020-06-07T12:51:50","modified_gmt":"2020-06-07T16:51:50","slug":"episode-59-scared-really-scared-and-only-myself-to-blame-alaska-1959","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=4845","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 59 SCARED…REALLY SCARED…AND ONLY MYSELF TO BLAME (ALASKA, 1959)"},"content":{"rendered":"
EPISODE 59    SCARED\u2026REALLY SCARED\u2026AND ONLY MYSELF TO BLAME<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
June 4, 3030<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I have  done  my share  of stupid things so far but one<\/div>\n
of the worst was on the prospecting job on the tundra of  western Alaska<\/div>\n
in the summer of 1959.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
We  had a day with not much to do for some reason or other.<\/div>\n
Our camp consisted of a line of dark tents, a cook shack, and<\/div>\n
two S52 (Sikorsky) helicopters.  We had lots of  daylight\u2026sun<\/div>\n
never really got far below the horizon.   We were a hundred of so<\/div>\n
miles  inland from the Bering Sea\u2026even more distant<\/div>\n
was the Aleutian Island chain where the Japanese had faked an<\/div>\n
invasion  of North America.   This remans an empty land.  Startling.<\/div>\n
Fascinating.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
This  is  Alaska\u2026flat tundra for hundreds of miles, but occasionally cut by river and  creek valleys which you can see in the distance.<\/div>\n
Thousands and thousands of years ago when the climate was colder, great hulking Mastodons and even larger  Mammoths   lumbered<\/div>\n
across the land bridge that is now the Bering Sea because the seas were lower around the world and the ice caps of the globe<\/div>\n
were larger.  It was thoughts like this that drew me to the tundra.  Historic.  No, Prehistoric.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
TUNDRA<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Tundra as far as the eye could see in any direction.  Very hard to get<\/div>\n
lost I reasoned even if 30 miles or more away from camp.<\/div>\n
So I grabbed A good book\u2026I think it was Steinbeck\u2019s East <\/div>\n
of Eden.  Then waited for the lead pilot to greet us like<\/div>\n
he did every morning with his cheerful \u201cLet\u2019s Get Fucking Airborne\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
One helicopter began the slow  \u201cWhomp\u2026Whomp\u2026Whomp\u201d<\/div>\n
Then got up to speed.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cCan you drop me out on the tundra?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSure\u2026no equipment , how come?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot needed today.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I jumped in over the pontoon and we were airborne heading<\/div>\n
north west.  Eventually the S52 would swing due west towards<\/div>\n
the Bering Sea where we had a fuel drop.  Forty Five gallon drums<\/div>\n
of Diesel.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
It was a beaUtiful day around  mid-August.  The bugs were not nearly<\/div>\n
as bad by then because  the birds had been feasting for months on the<\/div>\n
little bastards.  So many birds nested in the tundra that we had to be<\/div>\n
careful walking.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cDrop me here\u2019\u201d About 20 or 25 miles from camp.   It would  be<\/div>\n
very hard to get lost since we could see great distances on the flat<\/div>\n
treeless tundra.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
My plan was simple.  I would find a nice folded slope on the tundra and tuck<\/div>\n
myself into a depression\u2026out of the wind\u2026then spend a couple of hours<\/div>\n
reading Steinbeck before walking back to camp.  That would take  a full<\/div>\n
day\u2026and  be delightful.   The Humble Oil Company of Texas to whom we<\/div>\n
were subcontracted had armed us with big 30-06 rifles but we never felt<\/div>\n
the need to carry a rifle on the open tundra so we stacked the rifles at<\/div>\n
the helcopter drop sites.   This day I did  not even take the rifle. Too damn<\/div>\n
heavy.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
All worked  out quite well for an hour or two.  Then I got a bit worried. Suppose<\/div>\n
a Kodiak bear did  happen to be crossing this great expanse of flat land.<\/div>\n
It would get my smell I supposed and maybe want to check me out.  What the hell<\/div>\n
could I do?   Climb a tree?  That\u2019s a laugh.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The only trees were down in the creek and river valleys that criss crossed the vast<\/div>\n
flatness of the tundra.    Those valleys and creek bottoms were Kodiak country because<\/div>\n
they had easy access to thousands  of big salmon heading up river to spawn.  And there<\/div>\n
were lots of dead salmon floating down.  Up top on the tundra I felt safe.   Safe?  Felt<\/div>\n
safe until I realized I was  all alone.  Alone!  No one even knew I was out here.  I had<\/div>\n
walked miles  from the drop site.  I was alone.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
That\u2019s my partner Bill Morrisson, doing some fishing down in a creek bottom near our camp.  These deep incisions in the<\/div>\n
tundra are where the Kodiak bears feast on salmon.  Around camp we were safe as there were so many guns.  Thirty men armed with <\/div>\n
rifles and pistols.  Disgusting.  In Canada, geophysical prospectors like us never carried  weapons. \u201cWhy are we not armed?\u201d, I asked<\/div>\n
on one  job.  \u201cNo guns for good reason\u2026so we cannot shoot each other\u201d.  In ten years prospecting this  was the only job<\/div>\n
where there were guns.   <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I had  been told  that the bears stay away from humans because we smell bad.<\/div>\n
Hope that was true.  Must be true.  No bath for weeks except occasional dip<\/div>\n
in tundra meltwater pools.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Then my mind shifted from Steinbeck to Kodiak bears   When alone, the mind<\/div>\n
plays tricks\u2026fears grow.  I decided<\/div>\n
it might be best to start the journey back to camp which  was miles<\/div>\n
away but visible.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The two big Sikorskys seemed busy for I could see them flying back<\/div>\n
and forth far in the distance.   One even flew near me but I would be invisible<\/div>\n
in my military bush  clothing.  And I did  not want to bother them.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
To get back to camp I had to cross a couple of small creeks that were cut<\/div>\n
into the tundra but no big river.   There was  some brush which made me a  little<\/div>\n
nervous but not enough to raise the hackles  on my neck.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I  got back to camp.  And there was trouble.  \u201cWhere the he\u2019ll have you been?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWe found you missing.\u201d  \u201cSent out the S-52\u2019s\u201d  \u201cHeard you were dropped somewhere\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
My partner, Bill Morrisson, sitting with feet dangling from a Sikorsky helicopter.  Doing what he must have done<\/div>\n
the day I decided  to go for a long walk with a good book.  \u201cWhy the hell did you do that..got me worried sick.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cJust reading a book?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWell, you are a goddamned fool.\u201d<\/div>\n
(True)<\/div>\n
Those lectures were nearly as bad as  my slow awareness that spending a few hours<\/div>\n
nestled in the trackless wilderness may not have been a good idea.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
This story may  seem inconsequential.  Minor blip in life\u2019s journey.  But I think of<\/div>\n
it often.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan  skeoch<\/div>\n
June 5, 2020<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
And so it ended.  I was chastised by everyone.  Then the whole incident was forgotten as the sun circled along<\/div>\n
the horizon and then popped up again.   And the Sikorsky went to sleep.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
June 2020<\/div>\n
(western Alaska, about 100 miles  inland from Dillingham, an mostly aboriginal<\/div>\n
village, town, on the coast of the Bering Sea.)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Employed by Dr. Norman Paterson<\/div>\n
Hunting Technical  and Exploration Services<\/div>\n
-Canadian arew \u2014Bill Morrison, Moe Chinery, Dr. John Stam, <\/div>\n
Don Van Every, Ian Rutherford, and  Alan Skeoch<\/div>\n
-along with 25 American  diamond  drillers.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

EPISODE 59    SCARED\u2026REALLY SCARED\u2026AND ONLY MYSELF TO BLAME alan skeoch June 4, 3030 I have  done  my share  of stupid things so far but one of the worst was on the prospecting job on the tundra of  western Alaska in the summer of 1959. We  had a day with not much to do for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4845\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}