Let’s take you back to the year 1970 – if you weren’t born yet, then you’ll have to use your imagination. I was living in Vancouver, and had just finished an 8-month stint working for a subsidiary of W. R. Grace as a mining exploration geologist. Came the New Year and I took some time off before seriously looking for new employment. During a job interview with a consulting engineering firm, they asked me if I would be willing to hire on with them by first spending the winter in Labrador logging diamond-drill core. In so many words, I told them that you’d have to be nuts to sign up for a miserable gig like that. Well, I suppose that got us off on the wrong foot, and we parted company. That wasn’t the end of it, though. A couple of months later, they contacted me and asked if I was interested in running a big mining exploration project in the Canadian Rockies for the summer. “Now you’re talking!” was my response. I hired on and started all of the planning and preliminary work in their office in Vancouver on March 3rd. I was the ripe old age of 22.

My room-mate Mike and I were living in a high-rise apartment in the West End. Since I knew that the Rockies’ project would have me leaving town in early May, we decided to give notice to vacate our apartment by May 1st. I’d then stay in a hotel until it was time to head out to that project. In the meantime, March proceeded smoothly – I worked in the office every day and was making good progress getting everything organized for the summer. It was very enjoyable work and I loved every day of it, probably the most enjoyable office work I have ever done. Then things took a big turn, and not for the better.

It was a Wednesday, April 1st, when I arrived to work in the office and was immediately told by one of the bosses that I had to leave immediately for California. He said that they were managing a diamond-drilling project for a client and they needed someone down there for a while to keep an eye on things. I barely had time to pack a bag and then they drove me to the airport – turns out this was no April Fool’s joke. United Airlines flew me to San Francisco via Seattle, then an Air West flight took me on to Redding, California. Upon arrival, I was met by another of the bosses. We spent several hours discussing the project, and it looked like it would be an enjoyable challenge.

The next day, John flew back to Vancouver. There I was, ensconced in the Holiday Inn in Redding, with a rented 4×4 pickup to get around, and a company credit card to use for all expenses. He had given me detailed directions to follow to reach the job-site, and the next morning I set out for the first time. It was a considerable drive to reach the site. First, I had to drive 24 miles south on Interstate 5 to Cottonwood. There, I would exit and drive 20 miles on paved roads until I reached California State Highway 36, which I then followed for another 21 miles. This brought me to a turnoff, Tedoc Road, which headed south into the mountains. At this point, I locked the hubs, put the truck into 4-wheel-drive and drove the dirt road – it worsened the higher I went. Finally, after 10 hard miles, I arrived at the drill site. Yep, it was right where John said it would be, but I had to drive some rough roads to get there, and in the process climb from 1,400 feet elevation on the highway all the way up to 4,000 feet at the drill site. Here is a picture I took looking down on the drill rig – if you look carefully (zoom way in), right in the center of the photo on the upper of the two roads sits a triangular structure with a vehicle parked beside it – that’s it.

Looking northwest down to the drill rig.

This was steep, rugged country. The drill sat in the midst of a block of mining claims belonging to our client. Each morning, the guys who operated the drill would drive to the site from wherever they lived and resume work, then leave at the end of the day. I was to do the same. They seemed like a nice crew, and we hit it off immediately. They all knew exactly what they had to do, but I, on the other hand, felt like a fish out of water. Before this, I had never even set foot on a drill-site. Not only that, I had no experience with drill core. Allow me here a brief explanation of what goes on at such a site as ours.

A drill, which is cylindrical and hollow, bores down through the rock. It is made of metal, and the tip of the drill is coated with diamond or carbide. It is powered by a motor, and uses water to cool the drill as it goes. Holes can be drilled through hundreds of feet of solid rock. The drill can be pulled back to the surface and the core of solid rock can be removed. It is laid out in order and is examined by a geologist to determine mineral percentages and stratigraphic contact points (that would be my job). This gives the company information which can be used to begin or abandon mining operations at the site.

Well, not only had I never supervised a drilling operation, I had never logged drill-core. When I saw the trays of core that had already accumulated, I knew I was in trouble. Back in Redding, I found a consulting geologist in the phone book and went to see him. For a modest fee, he spent time with me and we examined some of the core I’d brought back to town with me. He gave me some useful pointers and made me feel more confident about what I had to do.

So began my regular routine. Each day, I’d have breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant. They would provide me with a nice bag lunch to take to the job, then I’d set out. It was a long drive, the better part of 2 hours to get all the way in to the job-site. I’d spend the day with the crew, mostly, but I’d also drive and walk the surrounding roads to do some exploration and some mapping. As much as I grew to hate the long drive each day, I had to admit that it was scenic. This picture shows the typical countryside I’d drive each day along the state highway.

Along Highway 36, about 10 miles west of Cottonwood, California.

My days were long – because of all the driving, sometimes I wouldn’t get back to town until 9:00 PM or even later. Once back, I’d go to some eatery and relax. A Shakey’s pizza parlor soon became a favorite spot, where I’d consume an entire large pizza and a pitcher of beer all by myself. I remember one evening when a man played a handsaw with a bow to entertain the customers.

I settled into a routine. Getting up early, the long drive to the job, the day spent there with the crew, the long drive back, then staying up late and drinking way too much beer. By April 6th, I had gotten all caught up with the core logging, so that felt pretty good. We finished the second drill hole and started a third. Sometimes the drill would break down and we’d have a break until it was repaired, but every day it was running, I’d be out there, and that could be 7 days a week. By the 9th, we finished the third hole and started a fourth.

One day, to break the monotony of the drive out to the job, I decided to do something foolish. There was one spot along Highway 36 where the paved road dipped suddenly – a sign warned you to slow down. I wondered what would happen if, instead of slowing, I gunned the engine and actually picked up speed as I reached the dip. Well, it went as expected – the truck became airborne, all 4 wheels off the road, then slammed back down hard a moment later down in the dip. What a rush! I only did it that one time, but it sure was fun.

My evenings were spent in my hotel room watching TV. I didn’t know anybody in Redding, so it was a lonely time. Once in a while, I’d phone a friend back in Vancouver, but otherwise I did way too much drinking to console myself. On the 11th, I took the day off and drove up I-5 to have a look at Mt. Shasta.

Looking north from the town of Dunsmuir to Mt. Shasta, about 13 air miles distant.

Looking east from the town of Mt. Shasta

A telephoto view.

Another telephoto view.

It was a nice break from my hectic daily routine. How I would have loved to climb the mountain, but I had neither the time nor equipment. It wasn’t until 1988 until I actually climbed it, and then again in 1990. I was taking the day off because one of my bosses was flying in that evening. I picked him up at the airport, and we spent the entire day of the 12th out at the job-site. It went well, but he wanted me to start to do more mapping on the group of claims.

He flew back to Vancouver on the 13th. It was a rainy day in Redding, but by the time I reached the job-site I was greeted with 4 inches of snow. That was a surprise, as the weather up until then had been hot and sunny. It snowed again on the 14th, making for a cold day. That didn’t stop the drilling, though. The routine continued, and I kept mapping. I was getting a real taste of the nasty bush that carpeted the hillsides around the job-site. By the way, here’s what the views looked like to the north from Tedoc Road that I drove on each day.

The peak on the left with the snow on top is Bully Choop Mountain, about 21 air miles distant.

The snowy peak way out there near the right edge of the photo is Mount Shasta, 82 miles away.

The company I worked for was a consulting engineering firm, and as such we often supervised projects for others. That was the case on this drilling project, and our client was Viking Mines. On the 17th, their president, one Bill McLaren, arrived – I drove him to the site where he had a good look around. We then drove back to town and had a few beers together before he flew out. Two of our drillers had quit, and I met their replacements that evening. The next morning, the 18th, I drove them to the job-site where they joined the rest of the crew. I logged core and did more mapping before returning late to town.

Looking from Redding 43 miles east to Mount Lassen.

I took the 19th off, a Sunday, while the truck was serviced and stayed in Redding for a welcome break. The town, which had only 18,000 residents at the time, had a drag strip and that’s where I spent the day with a 6-pack. It was good entertainment, and I even had a chance to drive a Kawasaki 500 motorcycle that a guy had brought to the raceway.

AA fuel dragsters

Back out at the job on the 20th, the weather started out fair but by afternoon it turned cold, windy and snowy. On the 22nd, I had a bulldozer at the site to do some work for us while I mapped. On the 23rd, I phoned my boss in Vancouver and told him that I absolutely had to be back there to vacate my apartment by the end of the month. He promised me I could return on the 29th, but seemed annoyed that I had to do so – I think he was pissed off that I’d have to leave the job-site, because that meant that they’d have to replace me with someone else.

On Saturday the 25th, I logged 200 feet of core from our 4th hole, and it had good mineralization. On the 26th, it snowed all day at the site, and again on the 27th. Late that day, one of the bosses arrived in Redding. We visited the site together on the 28th, and after returning to town, his wife flew in. I spent the evening finishing up some maps I had been working on, one final task before leaving.

Finally, I flew out of Redding early on the 29th – I was starting to think they’d never let me leave. Back in Vancouver, I partied until all hours with friends, then the next day Mike and I moved out of our apartment, meeting our obligation at the eleventh hour. I think that my bosses somehow felt that I had let them down by having to return to town, and never quite forgave me for it. Oh well, too bad so sad. Things were never quite the same with them again after that, though.