So in our attempts to spread some Christmas cheer to those who can't be at home, we (our dispatchers) threw together a little Christmas care package for a mining camp about 30 miles southwest of Ketchikan. To be honest, I had no idea what was in the package itself...just that I was about to be playing Santa for the miners.

The camp itself is situated on a barge located in Niblack Anchorage, and comes complete with bunks, offices, a cookhouse, and a couple other simple amenities one would find at home. On most days, it's a blowhole, sporting gusts and downdrafts strong enough to slam an airplane into the mountainside. On this particular day, the wind was calm enough to enter the valley without trouble...though there were some snow squalls moving through the area.

I was on the second-to-last leg of a 4-stop flight to locations all across Prince of Wales Island, having been to Coffman Cove, Whale Pass, and Edna bay. The only items left in the plane were inbound freight, and the 2 boxes to be delivered to the mine camp. The kicker to all this is that the miners had no idea I was coming...and nothing grabs one's attention better than a 450hp radial engine roaring by at 100 feet--especially in an area that rarely hears the sound of any engine. I did this twice for good measure. Sure enough, I spot 2 miners come running for the dock. I land, taxi up, tie down, and discover that I'd startled them all into thinking I was delivering an inspector to the mine rather than Christmas cheer. One of the 2 workers admits to me that the only reason he's there is to stall the inspector long enough to get their shit together--turns out the rest of them were still on the barge, frantically making sure paperwork was in order and things were organized.

Naturally, they were relieved to find that the only thing being dropped off were these 2 mystery boxes I'd been carrying with me all day long...and subsequently surprised to find that they were filled with meals fit for a king: prime rib, mashed potatoes, vegetable and cheese trays, booze, etc. They'd invited me in for some coffee, but considering the snow was becoming heavier, I had to decline--I would much rather be home than stuck in the bush for an indeterminable amount of time due to weather. I didn't find out until I'd landed back in Ketchikan that they were so thankful for the special delivery that they'd called the company owner on a satellite phone to thank him personally...and of course, the company owner previously had no idea this had even occurred (he and his family were/are on vacation in Hawaii). I would imagine he took that ball and ran with it, complete with a slightly confused "uh, you're welcome...any time..."

In the end, I got a reintroduction to what Christmas is all about--it's a wonderful feeling knowing I vastly improved the day for someone who can't be with their family during the holiday.