Hi again all,
Well, my luck still holds. I did not get to Anchorage as scheduled due to the flights being booked up two weeks ago. This week I was supposed to fly to Selawik, one of our bigger villages with over 1000 people for a four day stay. Monday morning dawned with thick ice fog and we waited at the airport for two hours before the flight was cancelled. Ice fog is a haze that doesn't even appear to be around you but it limits visibility at a distance. Wind has no effect on it either. Even the Alaska Air jet sat on the ground for a couple of hours before it departed. We rescheduled for that evening but again we were fogged out. Tuesday morning was the same routine, so we just cancelled the trip altogether as the biggest thing we were going to do was TB testing. We inject and then read the site in 2-3 days for a positive or negative and if we had left Tuesday evening, we would not be able to start injecting until Wednesday. Of course the skies cleared and the sun came out that evening and has been that way ever since.
Patty did fly to Point Hope again Thursday and this time it was beautiful. She enjoyed the trip and got to roam a bit in the town. This whaling village on the Chuckchi Sea which is part of the Arctic ocean, is another one of our larger villages, also with over 1000 residents. As she was walking down the street a local on a 4 wheeler came up from behind and asked if she wanted to by some scrimshawed whale baleen. Patty said she was amazed; it's like they just know when a live one is in town. She did not buy any though. The driver that picked them up from the airport told her the men were putting ugruk skins (bearded seal) on the boats they use for whaling. This is in preparation for the breakup which they expect soon. Patty did see the edge of the pack ice leading to open water on her flight. She did get some really good pictures of which most have been posted on the website if you are interested www.samsicles.net According to Patty the flight out was smooth but the wind picked up on the return and she swears the plane was going down the runway sideways. I am scheduled now to go to Ambler next month with the military for four days returning Friday, and going back out to Selawik with them the following Monday. All I can say is we shall see.
We had plans to stay home Saturday and fill out papers for the house we are in the process of buying in Anchorage. Cathy said she and Aucha were riding to the camp across the sound and she kept after us to go. Now I know the day dawned with the temps close to the minus teens, but the sun was shining on the temp probe we have giving a reading of single digits above zero. There also appeared to be no wind according to our wind gauge. (My upstairs neighbor keeps a cover on his 4 wheeler and all we have to do is look at how much it is moving to gauge wind speed. It kind of reminds me of the Cajun wind gauge-the string that if wet-it's raining, if you can't see it-it's foggy, string gone-hurricane, etc. The reason for this is one night we looked out at the cover and it was just whipping in the high wind-then it blew away never to be found. It has since been replaced of course.). So Patty and I fumbled about for a while getting dressed which is a workout in itself. We grabbed all our extra equipment including our emergency gear, our camera, and our .44's, hooked up our sled as Cathy said we needed it, and met them to gas up. It was then that we found out her motive. Aucha was going to cut firewood in the mountains and Cathy did not want to go with her as this is a bit of work. The sled it turned out was so we could load up trash and haul it back to town. At least we can be of service to someone. The camp we were going to was Cat's camp, the widow of the man who disappeared early this winter. On the ride out we passed the wreck of his homemade airboat in which he and one of the village women perished. We stopped and Aucha made us shut down the engines on the snowmachines. She climbed into the wreck, picked up a wreath that had blown down, shook the snow out of it, and placed it once again in a prominent spot. After a moment of silence we cranked up and continued on our way.
The way across the sound in a few different directions depending on where you are heading, have trails marked with willow branches. These branches also have reflective tape on them so it can be navigated in the dark. They are placed I believe by the Search and Rescue folks. They not only serve as navigation aids but since so many machines travel the trail, it is relatively smooth. Also if you have trouble, eventually someone traveling the trail will come along and offer assistance. It is to me an odd feeling when I stop to think that I am on frozen water in which the ice is an unknown thickness, the depth of the water is unknown, and the ambient air temp is around zero into the minus range. It is a pretty safe way to travel though since the temps have not been above freezing for almost five months. There can be areas of overflow though. The tides continue even though the top is frozen and cracks are not uncommon. Overflow is when the water drops or rises enough to stress the ice and flow out of cracks on top of the ice. It probably is not deep and we have been told if we encounter it (which we have not) to not slow down-go really fast as the machines can run on top of water. This I have witnessed on a number of occasions as locals cross the partially frozen sound early or late in the season and also race on water. I however do not plan on doing this unless I am caught suddenly and there is no other way.
We arrived at the camp without to much difficulty although parts were really bumpy. We spent a little time at the camp warming up as it was probably below zero and colder than we thought when we left. The inside is of rough hewn logs for support and as ribs for the roof. The walls were 2x4s with insulation and visquine on the inside. There were two wood stoves and a gas heater. The lighting was from gas lanterns hung on the support logs which were connected by copper tubing to a source outside the camp. It was quite comfortable and cozy inside. After warming up we loaded the trash onto the sled, unhooked the sled and followed Aucha for a ways across the tundra towards the mountains. They do not cut wood anywhere near the camp, it is all gathered from up on the mountains which are a few miles back across the tundra. When we stopped and Aucha continued on, it really brought home how immense this wilderness is. She was a fading speck in the distance and was nowhere near the base of the mountains. I look around and again I was amazed that there is nothing but frozen wilderness out there for hundreds of miles. I am continually in awe and probably always will be. This is why I write about it time and time again. When we shut down the machines the silence is almost palpable. It is not an eerie quiet, it is for me a peaceful and calming quiet that reaches to my soul. It is I suppose as close to a religious experience as I will ever get.
We returned to the camp, hooked up the sled and started back. Patty and I riding double and Cathy on her machine. It wasn't long before Cathy and I were racing. Yea I know, stupid. When we stopped, Cathy looked at me and said, "at 75 miles per hour my snot blows back in my throat"-frozen snot at that. I had to laugh as I knew what she meant. We got home safely although a bit sore from the pounding as the trails are not all smooth ones. After the 20 minutes or so of peeling off layers and trying to get comfortable again, I realized my cheeks were burning on both sides. I reached up, touched the area and felt swelling. I did not wear my goggles on the return and the metal rims of my glasses sitting on my cheeks burned them. I guess this is a small price to pay for being able to do what we did today. How many other folks can say they spent their Saturday like that? Yea, yea, I know some of you (all of you?) are saying who would want to. The answer--ME!
Carlo
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Last updated:
08/29/05