Arctic Convoy With Giant Mack Trucks

only a few years ago the Eskimo diz dog team were the sole method of travel and supply in the Arctic man and his very existence were definitely limited by the strength and endurance of his dogs today man has erased these limitations 11 huge machines weighing 330 thousand pounds each roar were the dog team labored under a 200 pound load 600 diesel horsepower has taken the place of seven Huskies but near size means nothing in the Arctic quality that but means much more that gut search a sea to stand the sudden jolt when 165 tons plunged through the river ice the power when and where needed to pull out the ability to work and ride through water ice snow under conditions far beyond any known testing standards twisting turning rent me four hours a day this is the record of such an accomplishment by a convoy of Mack trucks into the heart of the Arctic carrying essential materials to the network of radar stations so vital to the defense of the Western Hemisphere this is a chapter in the history of the land where man is closer to his God as he battles on and on night and day sometimes to tragedy even death the Arctic is truly a land of deceptive beauty treacherous appeal rivers clutch hungrily at the trucks deep snows swallow fear and luck our partners as the Arctic Ocean cracks and all but gobbles up one of the convoy and the Arctic the game is for keeps there's no second guessing no quitting men depend on men and machines this is a record attesting to the heart and spirit of man and the endurance and quality of manufacture the story of the delivery of cement and steel by eleven Mack trucks to the dew line when the winter weather is good in the Arctic it is dazzling and transforms impassable swamps into an encrusted world of grotesque statues lakes and rivers are still valleys and ridges leveled by snows it's the only time you can move across this world any venture into the Arctic demands thorough preparation at Allentown Pennsylvania for instance the huge Mack trucks roll out of the manufacturing plant and because of their tremendous size must be shipped by rail to Seattle here along Puget Sound the tractors as serviced and winterized thoroughly checked and then the Alaska freight lines takes over barging all equipment materials and supplies to Valdez Alaska and on up the highway to the projects assembly depo at Eagle on the Yukon River you join the expedition at Eagle and as a member study the only available map you're so unfamiliar with the area it's like looking at a new world far to the north and east the dew line objectives stretch along the seventieth degree parallel in between an uncharted land of mystery following the trail which the advance crew has carved and gouged across the wilderness you weave in and out of 500 odd miles of unnamed mountain ranges clear to the Mackenzie River there the convoy is to be refueled from an oil refinery at Norman wells then you strike out north and east skirting Great Bear Lake out of the Timberline on to the Barrens the true octave copper my carnation golf fascinating fabled names you read about as a boy and now you are heading there at Eagle equipment is checked and ready despite the 50 below zero weather time becomes more acute for delivery must be completed before the dreaded cause of breakup unlocked the lakes and rivers and turn the tundra into a bog nothing is normal on this job imagine a tractor 12 and 1/2 feet wide a trailer 65 feet in length with built-in tanks holding 5500 gallons of diesel fuel tires 5 feet high a 600 horsepower engine hauling the gross weight of 165 ton 330 thousand pounds to the top of the world as you preheat the engine with hot hair in order to start it in the cold you realize nothing is ever normal for the pioneer the blast of the air starter is music to your ears you weren't weeks to hear those engines roar long cold weeks it's a glorious moment to be on the way finally on the way to the Arctic you can't believe it hardly a mile from the depo didn't even have time to adjust the seat or light up a smoke working back and forth in the ice you're keenly aware of the tremendous power at the instant command of your foot on the accelerator give those driving wheels a grip and you're moving perhaps the crash through was a good thing after all you certainly have a great deal more confidence in the machine what constructions strength to withstand such a dropping joke what power wallowing across the river you're surprised that the comparative smooth ride over ridges and through holes settling back you tell yourself gonna take all whale of a lot to stop this outfit and now you're not half so scared of what lies ahead in the Arctic iced inevitable treacherous ice you fear respect wheels grind and slide you watch the famous Mac four-wheel drive bogie at work it gives you the ability to keep moving where other trucks would bog down it's a good feeling to have the best on your team you settle back confidently and silently thank the chaps back at the factories for their ingenuity the miles are hard to come by and each is entered in the log book as a conquest you're becoming accustomed to the constant din of the diesels which are never cut dead except for brief services or it would take many hours to get them heated and started again you can't relax a moment wherever there's ice and snow there's danger even the picturesque crossing of rivers that steam in the extreme cold and instantly refreeze as soon as the convoys past your 12-hour shift seems much longer you wonder can it be done and in time even with a surprisingly good trail the gang carved out of this wilderness it's a tough rough go and no one has ever been anywhere in this country before with a truck these are valuable days for your learning through the experience of working together you and the other drivers are forming a team knitting your skills and hopes you're learning more about handling caring for the trucks and all the while you're inching into the Arctic it's 62 degrees below the morning you climb up into the open define mountains stretching in all directions spectacularly beautiful ranges but ominous of rough going ahead it's cold real cold yet you're thankful the expected high winds and deep snows of the altitude have not yet materialized other drivers guy is one by one you weave the lengthy Giants around sharp curves a foot too far and get toppled thousands of feet to the valley so you crawl along huggy clinging to the mountain all the while loudly cursing the trail building crew and emphasizing their mountain goat ancestry gradually you climb up out of the Yukon River Valley and head toward the hump a 5,000 foot pass that leads to the peel River watershed you're in Canada now the Yukon Territory to be exact you feel good and write home about getting somewhere from the air the Arctic is a picture world and 500 800 miles pass beneath quickly beautifully even the trail looks straight and smooth the very trail that caused torturous weeks of work and heartache beyond the Mackenzie the Arctic slope stretches endlessly ahead he would talk maybe that's where the good going is maybe but the Arctic is not a land of maybe it's terrifyingly harsh and factual fantastically rough it beats dulls crushes until you're an otamatone bouncing bouncing along you realize you are traveling the Arctic in luxury the warmth and comforts of the cab the wonderful meals and the bunk in the water guns riding over tons of steel on the trailers outside even the wolves and the polar bears are scarce in this forsaken land you are in a world of your own dark and more fearsome at night and on nearing the magnetic north pole the radio becomes unreliable you're alone very much then there are the dreaded 50/50 days when it's 50 below and a 50 mile wind whips the snow horizontally you work quickly with servicing on those days very quickly and if it's necessary to get a supply of ice to melt into water you always keep the convoy in sight for the Arctic feasts on lost men you lose track of time distance you even stop wondering if you'll get through it's almost as though you don't care the terrain is much worse in the pace slower you're awed by the vast expanse of nothing that is known as the barren lands you're tired of doing everything the hard way every your dream of home but then you feel further away than ever what's this boulders and rocks as far as you can see and you thought the Arctic was just a land of ice and snow you watch the trail building bulldozers battle their way inch by inch and your heart sinks yet you can't stay here or turn around you drive on jarring jolting struggling and the trucks take it you expect to hear a giant crash any instant as the going gets rougher and the punishment on the construction of the trucks becomes unbelievable you grind and crawl ahead over the boulders and into deep holes in the ice you wouldn't have believed any chassis could stand this wrenching yet it does and you crawl the Arctic is hitting you from all sides now and it hurts unwillingly you become experts at unloading the cargo even to the incredulous job of sneaking out over 60 tons of steel from under the bunkhouse you wonder what impossible chore will be next as you heat the jacks or de la thematic silently you hate it you find yourself listening for the plane it's a big day when it does buzz the convoy even the off-duty crews scramble out of the bunkhouse doesn't come so often now as you're more than a thousand miles from the base but it still means mail from home a new face perhaps maybe fresh vegetables even a cargo of tools and parts and there's always the bush pilots gossip it's a break in the routine and you love weather permitting the pilot checks landmarks ahead which are carefully noted on a map been used as directional beacons in this country a compass is useless the road is plowed by dead reckoning and where the going is easiest nearing the Arctic Ocean you're surprised by unusually deep snows but now you have the bit in your teeth you know you're going to make the very thoughts exciting you sleep and eat better you talk about driving over the ocean ice and high gear and call it high Glee gripes fade and laugh sir louder and you and your machine are going to make it come hell or the Arctic you'll never forget the day you roll out on the Arctic Ocean ice now you have it linked the sites are along the coast and you can run the ice for another two weeks at least and the visit of the seal hunting eskimo from copper mine you enjoy his evidence surprise not her amazement you tell him jokingly of the Bulldog conquering the Arctic he replies agreeably many dogs many dogs from an Eskimo that's tops unleashing its full fury the Arctic roars in as you discharge the drums of cement and bars of Steel at the first sight of the dew line but you are warm with a deep satisfaction of accomplishment you and the convoy are on top of the world delivering the essential supplies as you discharge cargo at one side and prepare to roll on to another you're aware that you and the max have far more than delivered a cargo for defense you've also pioneered method of Arctic transportation opening up then developing a vast new world of unlimited potentialities the Arctic you

Channel: Tim Twichell

Views: 1,430,420

Rating: 4.8667026 out of 5

Keywords: Extreme Trucks, Offroad heavy hauling

Id: 6AYwLzwGReU

Length: 23min 33sec (1413 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 22 2014

Reddit Comments

[u/theCOMMANDANT13]

Sweet

[u/Suh_its_AJ]

Goddamnit, Reddit, there goes 25 mins of my day