Alert-120

Another thing about the military is that no one tells you anything. It was 2 hours before our flight, and I hadn’t been told we were going to Alert instead.

I had overhead some of the guys sharing the news amongst each other right outside my door. I got ready for one of them to knock on my door to let me know as well, but their conversation faded down the hallway as they walked away. Men. 

This flight change was confirmed on the TV down in the lobby that displays the arrivals and departures. It was great news, and for the first time, I could feel my heart in my ears as Alert was finally within reach.

***

Our original plane, 617, was still grounded in Pituffik. Large plastic drip trays had been placed under the engines to catch any excess oil that might have still been making its way out. Our new plane roared outside, 607. The same model, but at least it was working.

Boarding the new plane was even more chaotic than last time. There were more Air Force personnel on this flight, and everyone was scrambling to get situated. Deer in headlights moment.

I went to put my bag on one of the unclaimed seats when a very intimidating Air Force dude yelled,

“Can’t sit here! Crew only!” Of course, he was yelling so I could hear him over the engines, but I thought it was a little weird. There were 5 more people behind me, and half the seats were already full. Ok man, I thought and moved to the other side of the plane.

He tried this again with one of the guys behind me, only to be chastised by another crew member who I can only imagine told him there wasn’t enough seats for there to be reserved crew seats.  3 of the 5 ‘crew’ spots were taken by the contractors.

Roughly about 2 hours later, we finally made it to our destination. The Most Northern Permanently Inhabited Place on Earth. It’s a mouth full and honestly sounds less cool, but it’s very cool. We finally made it to Alert, Nunavut.

And here is where the whirlwind begins.

30 MINUTES IN ALERT

Coming off the plane, it was maybe only slightly colder than Pituffik was and thankfully no wind. I was immediately mobbed by military crew all yelling, “Welcome to Alert!” and shaking my hand. I could barely see their frost covered faces with the fog surrounded everyone from breath hitting air making everyone look like some sort of wizard.

We were ushered into a bus, and I finally got a chance to look around. A flat, snowy wasteland as far as the eye could see. It was pitch dark except for the large yellow light posts. The kind of strength that sport stadiums have that make it seem like it’s day in the dead of night. The landing strip was very well-lit, but the bus quickly succumbed to darkness as it made its way towards the main base.

Over the radio, I could hear call signs like ‘Smokey’ and ‘Muskrat’ being called. They must be important to be called so many times. Turns out they were firefighters which need to be present at every plane arrival and departure. Mark was talking to me, but I don’t remember what he said. I was trying to take it all in.

We finally reached the base and drove through what I can best describe as an industrial area (plot-twist, that’s just the whole place) with various sizes of metal buildings. These were maintenance bays, storage sheds, and vehicle garages.

Eventually, we stopped at a building with the sign, “The Great Canadian Alert Railroad Station”. It was the gymnasium. Think of what an old elementary school’s gym would look like. Weathered but well-kept waxed floors, painted murals of various teams, and old wooden benches lining the sides. We were greeted by some high-ranking military personnel who shared a brief introduction of themselves and the station, the expectations, and what was going to happen next.

I was viscerally aware I was the ONLY new person arriving. I’d eventually have my own personal info intro session, my own personal tour with the operator – Hannah, and be the only newbie on station so everyone immediately knew who I was. Or did they?

There is a mechanic named Marvin with a last name suspiciously close to Hodgkinson. Whoever was creating the roster must have thought Marvin was coming back up to the station and filled out his information accordingly, with the mistake of keeping my last name. So instead of Valerie Hodgkinson – GAWLab 2, it read Marvin Hodgkinson – Mechanic. But I didn’t know this until later that night so until then I was really confused on why people were joking around calling me Marvin.

My carry-on was checked and had my photo taken before I was whisked away to the ACTUAL main base where I was met with what is called the ‘Clap In’ or something like that.

I had heard a message in the gymnasium calling all available personnel to the ‘clocktower’. Shit, I thought, something must be happening. Turns out they were being called for the welcome party.

As we entered the main station, dozens of new faces happily cheered, “Welcome to Alert!” and clapping. I know it was supposed to be welcoming, and it was, but I was so overwhelmed that I just tunnel visioned followed Mark in front of me to an adjacent hallway with all our luggage where I was tracked down by Hannah.

Hannah is a Trent University alumnus who has a degree in Biology and is the current Gaw Lab Operator so I would be working with her pretty closely for the next four months. She helped me take my bags to my room and I finally saw the room I would be staying in.

And you guys thought I was joking when I said there was a wooden plank covering the window. Behind that plank is a window that is completely encased in ice. You can feel the cold radiating off it without even touching it.

The room itself is almost liminal in a way. It looks small, but there is quite a lot of room at the same time. To the right of where I was standing is a nice dresser with a large mirror, and then computer desk with TV and provided laptop directly connected to the Wi-Fi, armchair, nightstand, and a closet. Behind the closet is a bathroom sink and counter with lots of room to store toiletries, and of course, my bed. I didn’t have time to unpack though as it was dinner time.

1 HOUR IN ALERT

The dining hall, The Igloo Gardens, is quaint and has much better vibes than the Pituffik Buffet. The first thing you’ll notice about the base is that there are Christmas lights everywhere which I am not sure are there all the time or for the Holidays. But it adds a nice sense of cozy with the blue, red, green, and yellow lights. Even in the hallways leading to the bedrooms, the ceilings are lined with these lights that strobe slowly and I’ll be real, seeing this pulsing hallway of colourful lights almost puts you into a trance when you’re just trying to get back to your room.

For dinner I had chicken souvlaki, braised cabbage, and potatoes. As part of the health and safety of the base, I have to wear a mask until Monday and sit at a table away from the rest of the base when we eat. So not only are you new, but you are so obviously new as you are marked with a mask and made to sit at the leper’s table. I am obviously over-exaggerating, I completely understand and agree with these precautions, I just think it’s funny.

Afterwards, Hannah showed me around Base, and it went something like this:

Hannah: So here is this room we do said thing in here and it is open said time- [Insert Name Here], meet new Gaw student Val, Val meet [Insert Name Here]. Val this is [Insert Name Here] also known as [Insert Radio Call Sign Here]

And it kind of repeated like that for an hour until I had a chance to go back to my room and unpack a bit before TGIF. TGIF [Thank God It’s Friday] is when everyone meets at the Arctic Club (one of two bars on station) for a fun debrief of the week and what’s to come like any fun games, or events taking place. Hannah introduced me to the group as probably the shortest addition to the station, can’t believe she would just publicly out me as 5’1 to a crowd with an average height of 6ft.

Sidenote for my friends: THEY HAVE HARD ROOTBEER HERE. I’VE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER IN MY LIFE TO SEE CRAZY UNCLE ON THE TOP SHELF OF THE BAR.

4 HOURS IN ALERT

After TGIF, I spent some time in the Gas Hut – the indoor smoking area, and where I finally had an actual conversation with some of the other people at the station that weren’t Mark or Hannah. A few people were pretty eager to start a D&D game, especially after I said I was DM. It was like the room lit up or a halo shone above my heard, I didn’t know that was the skill-set that would become my namesake, either way, I made sure to send mom an email asking her to mail my D&D stuff up ASAP.

There are many different places in the station. The Arctic Club and The Wolves Den are the two bars – the Wolves Den actually being the farthest northern bar in the world by about 10 ft. There is also a gaming room that is surprisingly well equipped, a plant nursery, a few hobby rooms like a music room and craft room, and many nooks, and crannies to lounge around in.

This is one of the common areas called The Beach. Apparently there used to be sand here once upon a time

The plant daycare is placed right outside of the gaming room. Honestly, it’s one of the most inviting rooms I have ever seen.

The gaming room is pretty sweet, and I love the murals along the wall. After hanging out in the Gas Pit for a little while, I stopped into the Gaming Room to see if there were any D&D supplies, and I met a man named Brad who was sitting in the same place as I saw him before going to TGIF playing some militia resource management game. He ended up showing me a lot of cool wildlife photos and photos of the local ice cave.

6 HOURS IN ALERT

Another thing besides the twinkle lights everywhere is the artwork. Lining the walls from small canvasses to large murals is artwork. In my room there are at least 8 different paintings from past GAW students, and it definitively improves the atmosphere. It’s charming and I plan on painting something to put up in the room to add to the legacy.

So far, I’ve only decorated the mirror and dresser in my room and put up some string lights. The lack of sunlight so far has just made me really tired, and I just feel like napping all the time.

20 HOURS IN ALERT

I am glad we got here for the weekend as it gives me time to get settled, explore, meet people, etc. I won’t go into too much detail because nothing too eventful happened except for playing volleyball and then badminton once the ball hit a light and almost took it down. It was very fun, and I don’t feel as alien anymore.

Walking to and from the main gym, however, you notice how deafeningly quiet it is. The void leaves just enough room to hear the crunch of the snow under your boots and the words shared with whoever is walking with you. Somehow those sounds feel much more pronounced when there’s nothing to muffle it. There’s no white noise created by traffic or ventilation systems. There is just nothing. The few times I have been outside the station so far, I have been with others, but I would like to at some point stand outside by myself and take it in.

24 HOURS IN ALERT

There is a little tradition in Alert where once you are done your drink you have to tip it on its side to prevent anyone from placing their cup in yours. I was sitting with my back towards the rest of the dining hall because the leper table was full for dinner, so I didn’t see the people who I had just played badminton to the end of the gym period with slowly finishing drinks and compiling their cups.

Nor did I see one of the air force guys sneaking behind me, a stack of 8 cups in his hands.

As he slams the 8 cups onto my own, he says,

“Welcome to Alert!”

I had been cupped…