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May 5, 2008
Once the Muncho Lake site is established, the Otters start hauling their loads into the Driftpile Creek meadow, high in the mountains. Payloads consist of pretty much anything needed to support the exploration project that is non-perishable - lumber and plywood for building the tent frames, diesel fuel to run camp generators and equipment and the diamond drills used to bore holes deep into the mountains, propane for cooking and heating water, and jet fuel for the helicopters. Early in the summer, camp will be set up some 3 or 4 kilometers from this spot and fresh supplies will be hauled in on floats to Mayfield Lake, also nearby but down in the valley bottom.
May 12, 2008
Exploration camps are often set up in the same area year after year, particularly if mineral prospects in an area looks promising. The Driftpile project operated through several decades, so it made sense to build an airstrip to allow supplies to be flown in year-round. Although snow often lingers long into the spring and summer high in the mountains, the Driftpile Airstrip provided a good, solid landing area for aircraft for much of the year and allowed the aircraft to drop off supplies even closer to camp than the meadow. The expensive helicopter time saved could be used even more for exploration purposes, making the project much more efficient in later years.
May 19, 2008
Spring comes slowly in the northern-most part of BC. Miners in more southerly locations have been prospecting and mining for weeks or months by now, but winter snows hang on in the Cassiar mountains. The deep green colour of the wizard gathers heat from the sun's weak winter light and its snows are the first to go by March or April, but it takes the real power from the spring rays to melt the remaining snow on the ground. Still patchy in late May, it's often June when the higher mountain grounds loosen up enough to start digging for this summer's bounty. The snow melt also marks the start of the annual rush of water to the Arctic Ocean via streams and rivers flowing north, but the resulting high water often makes property access difficult.
May 26, 2008
Opening up the mine in the spring is a huge job. It's much more than just showing up and flicking a switch - the camp infrastructure built by Christina and Scott during their time here has to be methodically re-activated. One of the tougher tasks is starting the green power system that powers camp. While May has many warm days, the freezing nights keep snow and ice lingering at the top of the waterline. The first trip up the trail, a few days ago, was to loosen things up by chopping a foot of ice out of the head box and digging the waterline out of the snow. Yesterday's trip rebuilt the dam to trap the meltwater which will spin the Holloway Bar power turbine on its journey to the sea. The result? Now you can flick that switch!
