The Alaskan Adventure - Volume 15 - Feeling Alaskan

I don't know how it happens sometimes, but I will take a quick look at the calendar and realize that over a month or two has gone by and I can't even grasp where that time went. I'm starting to feel that despite how subtly and quickly the days pass, I'm okay with it. I'm trying to put less and less stock into time and being a slave to it and honestly, it's really helped the days to be so much less stressful and obligatory. I have my responsibilities with school and teaching, but spontaneity has become welcomed company. I try hard not to make plans and just let the phone and the day run its course.

Fall obviously came and went and with it has come some new opportunities for me. Not that they're so much new, as they were renewed opportunities that I just wasn't ready for a year ago. I've had the chance to go bird hunting (goose, duck, swan and other) and that was a lot of fun. First time I ever shot a shotgun in my life. We never had guns growing up as my mom and dad never really advocated for hunting. Despite having a humble, summer cottage in northern Wisconsin, hunting was never an activity for my brothers and I. There was never a gun in our house in my eighteen years living there and now I own two and it's a staple possession here in the village. The guys 'and' women here could tell you everything you would want to know or learn about firearms and hunting tips. Stories and curiosities about hunting and catching are regular conversation.

Having been here a year now, I'm was in a position to catch my first moose. Culturally and traditionally you don't talk about going out to look for moose, hunt them or make plans to go out moose hunting. You 'go for a ride' and if nature offers opportunities, you take them gratefully. The results are obvious. You don't really have an appreciation for how magnificent an animal the moose really is until you have a chance to see them up close swimming in the water or standing on shore from a boat. Even more humbling is the unbelievable size they garner when you have to throw a 100-200 pound (or more) moose leg or body part over your shoulder and carry or drag it 25 yards or more through thick brush, sometimes 1-2 feet of water or other obstacles. Now I'm sure some of my more seasoned hunting friends would give me a hard time and say, "Well, just drop it on the beach or shore next time and you won't have to work so hard". I know, I know. Definitely easier said than done. Not to mention also the humbling experience when a moose leg or rack of ribs is taking up your entire kitchen table to be cut and processed. It's surreal, it truly is. And it's an absolutely delicious meat. People in the village have been very fortunate this fall and there has been plenty of meat to be passed around for the elders, those in need and those wanting some fresh moose to fill winter freezers. Traditionally when you catch your first moose, you give the entire animal away, and I did. Respectfully you are able to keep the antlers and I was very proud to hang onto the 45-inch rack that my bull carried around.

And if I had to take a moment to touch on the actual moose itself, holy cow! Again, you cannot begin to appreciate the sheer size and strength these creatures possess. They are huge from afar, but when you get up next to them after catching, they are like standing next to a horse. Funny I should mention that too, because a friend here posted a picture on Facebook of a guy holding up the head of a horse laying on the ground and the caption said, "My first moose". My friend eluded to the fact that, that would be me, holding up the horse I mistakenly caught, instead of a real moose. I did good though, I caught the right one, lol. When you dress out the moose (cut up) in the woods, you simply cannot believe the size of the muscles and skeletal structure that makes up a moose. They have these amazingly strong legs and necks. If you had a chance to see how thick some of the trees and brush are and to know that these animals are carrying incredible weight in their antlers, moving in and out of these trees is truly mind-blowing. And I have seen some bulls run through the forest with the speed of a horse and again, they are carrying these tremendous antlers in and out of the brush with little to no effort. Equally impressive are their leg muscles to where I've seen a moose jump up a steep, 15-foot embankment with little to no effort after jumping out of the water. I could go on and on about different parts of their body structure, but I will simply say it is a truly, amazing animal to experience.

The fall also gave me an opportunity to explore more of the Yukon, down river. That was so much fun for me too, because it took me back to the days of being 'up north' in Northern Wisconsin. That's what we called it growing up. My parents had a small, humble lot that we first started camping on. Over time they slowly built a basement that eventually became our cottage and their retirement home. I treasured those days and weeks we spent at the cottage and miss them terribly. What we called our cottage, here they call 'fish camps' and most people have one to go to. If you get a chance to go down river, what you find is 'nothing' and that is what I absolutely love. When I say nothing, I simply mean it's just you and nature and nothing else. The peace of the woods, the water and the animals you're lucky to see. I found a quiet place I liked going to in one of the sloughs down river and spent a lot of time there. A slough is a tributary of the river that flows into the larger Yukon. They are usually smaller, shallower and so, so peaceful. One night I floated for 45 minutes and there was not an animal or a bird in sight and there was no sound anywhere. I couldn't even hear the water. Lol, maybe because I'm starting to go deaf, but it was one of the most peaceful experiences I have ever had. I dozed off a couple times as the water of the slough just carried me along in silence. My hope next summer is to find a place to put up a tent on a more permanent basis and start having some of my own getaways. Certainly something peaceful to look forward to.

The last few weeks have also offered a new set of experiences that I didn't have last year. I bought my first little boat this summer and had to have that brought up from the river. Similar to getting a boat out of the water back in Wisconsin, only here, you could just pull the boat out of the water and leave it on the beach above the ice and flow of the river. Some people do choose to do that, but I wanted to have it a little closer to my place to fix up in the spring. I had three friends who threw mine on their trailer and helped me to get it up to my apartment. I cannot say enough how good the people are here for helping one another out. Trading favors is what it turns out to be and it is just a way of life here. That's one of the things I absolutely love about the people here. As I was saying, there were some new experiences that were pretty cool. As neat as it was to talk about and see the 'breaking of the ice' in the spring, where people anxiously anticipate the first breaking of the ice, the same enthusiasm is garnered for the 'coming of the ice'. Villagers talk about word they hear from upriver, in the interior where the river first starts to freeze over. People talk about how the ice is making its way down river from village to village and predictions are made as to when it will reach Mountain. Then it comes. You look down and go down to the river to see the huge masses of ice that start to flow past our village. Then as the weather grows more consistently colder, you can see the river 'slow down' and the ice begins to grow solid and the river comes to a stop. Amazingly, you still have those few brave (or goofy, lol) souls who keep their boats in the water to gather logs or check for the coming of the eels. They have been known to find themselves stuck behind ice-islands, requiring a rescue, but for the most part make for some good stories and fun adventures.

As I mentioned above the coming of the eels is another event I hadn't experienced before. There is a huge migration of eels that makes its way up river and people love to use dip nets to catch on the edge of the ice. Some days they bring in hundreds and it's an incredible site. From what I'm told they are a very rich tasting creature, and much loved here as a meal in the village. You also see a big migration of the Grayline. It is a fish in the salmon family and we usually see them in late fall and throughout the winter. I had a chance to ice-fish for some two weeks ago with a group of people and it was a lot of fun. It's a 30-minute ride on four-wheelers through the tundra and over some smaller streams and sloughs to the 'hot spot'. I didn't catch that day, but my friends did and it was a blast. I tell people and swear to it, that I could be on the water or ice, lol for hours, not catch anything and still be just as content, having a good time. The same love of fishing I had back in Wisconsin since I was a kid growing up. If the fish weren't biting, I was just happy to be on the water, hanging out with my dad or brothers.

I guess I have to at least speak a little to the new normal we're going through here in the village. Obviously, the Covid-19 Pandemic has changed our world and it is no different here in Mountain. We unfortunately don't have the medical facilities we would have in a bigger city. We have our clinic, but no hospital. The nearest hospital is an hour away by plane or helicopter and it is unlikely that they would be flying us out unless it is an emergency. So the concern is a little higher and taken more seriously here in the village. Especially since we have a large number of elders in the community who would really struggle if they were to contract the virus. As of the weekend, we now have 7 confirmed cases in the village and they are expecting more. The village is on lockdown and there is a 5 pm curfew where you need to be in your home for the safety of everyone. School also sadly has been closed and we are limited to passing out learning packets and calling students twice a week to make sure they are doing well and if they need help. It saddens me greatly. I would much rather be in my classroom with my students learning, laughing and having fun, the way it was meant to be. Simply put, this new normal sucks and I miss the way of old. I truly hope we can get back to where things are more normal, like they used to be.

My final addition to the winter was a new member to my household. Yukon, a half-husky, half-labrador who is my new buddy and companion. I had been thinking about it for a long time, but just wasn't ready to make the jump. Obviously, it's a big responsibility and I thought, "Alright...let's do this!" So I did. I was stuck on what to name him and first posted and introduced him as my new puppy, 'no name'. It was so much fun then to see the flood of name suggestions from people and Yukon was coincidentally the most recommended. When I did some playing on the floor, he responded time after time to Yukon...so Yukon it was and it has been a perfect fit. He has been amazing and I look forward to having a camping and boat buddy next summer when I start exploring the river in the summer again. Can't honestly say that three hour blocks of sleep are my favorite thing right now, but as soon as Yukon and I are fully potty trained, lol, we'll be good to go on more sleep. Looking forward to sharing of his adventures much more as well.

That's all for now. Until next time...stay tuned!