Source: 2023 Q1 Beartracks, Pat Fagan
Four years ago, as a member of the Utah Back Country Pilot’s Association (UBCP), I was invited to participate in a new program they were going to undertake. The program was to be called Back Country Santa. A Navajo employee of a business in Salt Lake City was having a conversation with the owner and reminisced about a helicopter pilot that would fly to the reservation around Christmas time and deliver presents. This owner thought that was a cool idea and set out to solicit a massive amount of supplies for the Navajo Nation. As a member of the UBCP himself, it logically followed that aircraft should be employed to deliver the goods. The call was put out to members and I signed up as it sounded like fun. The plan was for everyone to pick up their loads at the hangar the business owner had at SLC airport. It’s an almost 4 hour flight to SLC for me which meant I would have to fly up the day before. Upon hearing that, the owner asked if I would like to park the airplane in his heated hangar for the night. This being mid December I readily agreed. I had no idea what company Smokey would be keeping but I was quite impressed. These were his dad’s personal transport while he flew a Kodiak. The next morning I was able to leave with my load while everyone else was arriving. We all delivered to Montezuma Creek which, prior to this event, was an abandoned, litter strewn stretch of dirt beside the highway. The tribe cleaned it up and graded it so it was suitable for most aircraft. I unloaded and headed for home before anyone else arrived which in hindsight was a shame as I heard there was a real carnival atmosphere with a huge outpouring of appreciation from the tribal members who turned out to witness the airlift. I really enjoyed the event so signed up to do it again the next year. They were going to refine things to allow those who didn’t want to fly to SLC for a load to pick up their packages at Blanding Utah. Anyone that didn’t want to land on dirt could deliver packages from SLC to Blanding. This was great for me as I could do the whole trip in one day. Unfortunately, I had to cancel at the last minute as weather would have allowed me to get there but I wouldn’t be able to get home. The following year was the Covid year, which really hit the Navajo Nation hard. Carol and I were already scheduled to take a cruise so I didn’t sign up but I understand they made two separate air lifts of badly needed supplies that year. I signed up again for 2022 and they had refined the program even further. Those who wanted to fly from SLC could but those that didn’t could pick up their loads at Monument Valley. Those that didn’t want to land in dirt could deliver to Kayenta or Polaca. Dirt flyers could deliver to Montezuma Creek or Navajo Mountain. They asked how much weight each pilot could haul and to what type of surface. They then assigned an initial destination and requested pilots return to Monument Valley for additional loads if able. My co-pilot neighbor Jason and I arrived as a box truck was being unloaded. All the boxes were the same size but of different weights depending on contents. Boxes were designated for elders, adolescents, and infants. Each box had its weight listed on it and they were color coded as to destination. They even gave us a box filled with stockings stuffed with goodies to be handed out to any children we met. We hauled an initial load of 12 boxes to Polaca where we were warmly received by Hopi tribal members. We hauled another 12 boxes to Montezuma Creek before heading to Blanding for fuel. We had enough time left to allow one more flight and when we arrived at Monument Valley they only had 14 remaining boxes to go to Montezuma Creek. The boxes were the lighter ones so weight wasn’t an issue but I wasn’t sure we could squeeze 14 in, but somehow we managed. My initial reaction hearing Monument Valley was to be the hub was “this is going to be a nightmare” as the airport is one way due to the massive cliff face that sits at the south end of the runway. Incredibly, it all went amazingly well and the logistical precision would have made any military planner proud. All told approximately 60 aircraft participated hauling 800 boxes that weighed in around 27,000 pounds. I can’t wait to participate again this year. You with me Jason?