Alaska mag Jul_Aug 2017

GEAR: WILDERNESS GADGETS SOUTHCENTRAL’S WHALE WATCHING The Magazine of Life on the Last Frontier

The

WILDLIFE Issue

DESTINATION KAKTOVIK Tourists Set Their Sights on Polar Bears

Jans’s On the Edge: Romeo Returns to Juneau Alaska on High: A Photo Essay The Birds of the Pribilofs A Guide to Shrooming

07/08.17 V OLUME 83, NUMBER 6

FEATURES

54

Alaska on High A photographic essay

By Matthew Quaid

62

Ravens I Have Known Who can know the mind of a raven?

By Steve Descloux

66

Destination Kaktovik

A balancing act between itself and tourist season

By Michael Engelhard

A salmon’s run ends somewhere on the Yukon.

Photo by: PEP ROIG / Alamy Stock Photo

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DEPARTMENTS

KtoB

QUOTED

20 Experience Whittier

24 Photographic Pioneer Park

26 Ten Tips

50

Wilderness Survival

28 Geography

Alaska’s Five Biggest Lakes

NOME

Escape

“Kaktovik residents out visiting late often carry a spray can of bear repellent as minimum insurance. They leave front doors unlocked, allowing escape into an Arctic entryway if you are attacked.”

–MICHAEL ENGELHARD P. 69

32 Sense of Place

Jane’s Addiction Thar She Blows!

Adventure 38 Try This

The Promise of Discovery

42 Out There

Road Block

48

PRIBILOF ISLANDS

44 Sportsman

Blacktails on Admiralty

46 Gear

Gadgets

PLUS: 6 My View North 10 Letters 12 Alaska Exposed 16 On the Edge 48 Natural Alaska 50 Alaska History and Culture

52 Subsistence 79 Alaska Interview 80 Where in Alaska

On the Cover: A young polar bear strolls new ice forming on the Beaufort Sea, not far from Kaktovik on Barter Island. –Photo by Patrick Endres/patrickendres.com.

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TOP: ALASKA AND POLAR REGIONS COLLECTIONS, ELMER E. RASMUSON LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS; BOTTOM: KEVIN MCCARTHY

34 Rambles

THE EXPLORER II Built to accompany intrepid explorers, engineered for adventures to extreme frontiers.

It doesn’t just tell time. It tells history.

OYSTER PERPETUAL EXPLORER II

rolex

oyster perpetual and explorer are ® trademarks.

A Publishing Year Life takes unexpected turns

N

OT QUITE A CALENDAR YEAR HAS passed since I became editor of Alaska, but a publishing year has.

An annual subscription to the magazine comprises 10 issues, and this July/ August 2017 issue is number 10 under my belt.

I’ve been a staff member of some sort of magazine for nearly 23 years—including nearly 13 years as managing editor of Morris titles Gray’s Sporting Journal, American Angler, and Fly Tyer (Morris also publishes Alaska)—but professionally speaking, these past 10 issues have been the most enjoyable I’ve known.

In late 2002, the late and much-missed David Foster hired me to join the staffs of the aforementioned titles, and he often said his time with Gray’s was the most satisfying of his career. And no wonder. When he took over as general manager of Gray’s, the magazine was struggling. He turned it around, and he took great pride in the success of a great magazine, which appeals to a small but well-defined audience of hunters and anglers.

I’ve been blessed in that Alaska was in good shape before I came along. My main job has been simply to not mess it up. Fortunately, a lot of smart and talented writers and photographers either live in Alaska or have been so moved by their time in the Great Land that they want to express it to the rest of the world. These folks make my job easy—just pick the best stuff and present it to the vast Alaska readership.

In addition to the people who contribute to the magazine from the outside, we are lucky to have smart and talented folks on the inside, too.

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Susan Sommer is a lifelong Alaskan and knows a great deal about her home state. She has kept me from looking foolish (a tall task) on more than one occasion, and Melissa Bradley is a very hard-working and excellent saleswoman. Ron Vaz pulls the best color from each image and does a great job with each design.

Seth Fields has increased our online traffic.

These folks not only make my job easier but also more enjoyable.

And the readers, you reading this right now…

You all help make it worthwhile. The most important thing for us is to put a magazine in your hands that showcases Alaska’s beauty and history, the wildlife and the people—a sort of National Geographic of Alaska. An occasional kind word from any one of you does our staff a world of good. Thank you.

As editor, I could write about the joy of having say, even having final say. And it’s a great facet of the job, but I can honestly say we work as a team. Each of our staff members contribute to the magazine’s editorial direction. And it’s great to see a final product that looks better because of it.

An interesting note... Along about 2004 or 2005, Dave mentioned that Alaska had an opening for an assistant to editor Andy Hall, who spoke with me about the job and his expectations. Talks never turned serious, but I often wondered, What if ? Funny how life turns out.

Russ Lumpkin editor@alaskamagazine.com

What’s your worst mosquito experience?

This month at

alaskamagazine.com Log on and explore life on the Last Frontier.

Anytime a single mosquito buzzes my ears.

I’d trade 50 bites to get rid of one buzzer.

The Magazine of Life on the Last Frontier EDITOR SENIOR EDITOR

Russ Lumpkin Susan Sommer

Thousands of them when I camped on PRODUCTION COORDINATOR David L. Ranta the Little Susitna.

GEAR EDITOR Bjorn Dihle While “watering the bushes” I had to CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Nick Jans spray my backside with bug dope.

Michelle Theall

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION DIRECTOR OF MANUFACTURING

Give us your best shot!

Renee Gilbert of Anchorage took this shot of a black bear sow and her cub near the city.

It was one of the most popular photos last month on Alaska magazine’s Facebook page. Visit facebook.com/AlaskaMagazine to see more amazing imagery from the Last Frontier and post photos of your own.

➜ FACEBOOK POLL: Every issue, we run the results of a poll or survey taken from our facebook page. Check in to participate at facebook.com/AlaskaMagazine.

While camping I woke up in the morning with both eyes nearly swollen shut by mosquito bites. I tend to react more severely than most people to insect bites. I’m usually the guy who smells most like DEET during the summer months.

Melissa Bradley Kris Miller Donald Horton

PRODUCT MANAGER

Mickey Kibler

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Ron Vaz

DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER

Seth Fields

DIGITAL IMAGING MANAGER

Erik Lewis

Denali. Trying to take photos next to Wonder Lake.

Camping in Hope, early summer.

Mosquitoes found the rust hole in our 1971 Volkswagen Bus and we woke up in a dense, buzzing cloud of doom. It was wicked awful.

I grew up in Florida... where mosquitoes are a round-the-year nuisance. THAT is the worst!

ALASKA ADVERTISING SALES

Alaska magazine, 301 Arctic Slope Ave., Suite 300, Anchorage, Alaska 99518; (907) 275-2152 melissa.bradley@alaskamagazine.com

CIRCULATION

ProCirc: 3191 Coral Way, Suite 510, Miami, FL Kolin Rankin, Consumer Marketing Director, ProCirc Mike Bernardin, Circulation Coordinator, ProCirc Retailers: To carry Alaska, call (646) 307-7768

SUBSCRIPTION INQUIRIES

Orders, address changes, problems:

800-288-5892

www.alaskamagazine.com Email: alaskamagazine@emailcustomerservice.com Product Information and Back Issues:

706-823-3526

W W W. A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E .CO M

A publication of Morris Communications Company, LLC 735 Broad St., Augusta, GA 30901 PRESIDENT DIRECTOR OF CIRCULATION

Donna Kessler Scott Ferguson

Morris Communications Company, LLC CHAIRMAN William S. Morris III PRESIDENT AND CEO William S. Morris IV

FACEBOOK: facebook.com/AlaskaMagazine TWITTER: twitter.com/AlaskaMagazine YOUTUBE: youtube.com/AlaskaMagazine PINTEREST: pinterest.com/AlaskaMagazine INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/AlaskaMagazine

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Alaska, ISSN 0002-4562, is published monthly except for combined July/August and December/January issues by MCC Magazines, LLC, a division of Morris Communications Company, LLC. Editorial and Advertising Offices: 301 Arctic Slope Ave., Suite 300, Anchorage, Alaska 99518. Not responsible for the return of unsolicited submissions. Known office of publication: 735 Broad St., Augusta, Ga. 30901. U.S. subscription rates: $24 for one year; $46 for two years. Canada and Mexico add $20 per year (U.S. Funds only). Outside North America add $40 per year (U.S. Funds only). Our trademarks registered in the U.S. Patent Office and in Canada: “Alaska,” “Alaska Sportsman,” “Life on the Last Frontier,” “From Ketchikan to Barrow,” “End of the Trail,” “The Guide Post,” “Main Trails & Bypaths,” “Alaska-Yukon Magazine.” Periodicals postage paid at Augusta, Ga., and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Alaska, PO Box 433237, Palm Coast, FL 32143-9616. In Canada, periodicals postage paid at Winnipeg, Manitoba; second-class registration number 9771, GST No. 125701896. Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement No. 279730. © 2017 Alaska magazine. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. Volume 83, Number 6.

Contributors >

STEVE DESCLOUX (“Ravens I Have Known,” page 62) has lived and worked in Alaska most of his life, the majority of that time on and around Kodiak Island but also in such far-flung places as Wainwright Village and umiat. Enjoying outdoor Alaska tops all his favorite pastimes.

ERIKA SCHNEIDER (History and Culture, page 50) has a history degree from Dartmouth College. she has spent her adult life living in the parts of Alaska accessible only by boat or plane. Erika writes about her life in remote Alaska at theverystillnorth.com.

Born and raised in Alaska, MATT QUAID (“Alaska on High,” page 54) enjoys spending time in the mountains while capturing images of the amazing landscape and numerous wildlife. More of his photos can be seen at greatnorthernimages.com.

July/August 2017 A L A S K A

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Where do you read Alaska?

Epic Discovery I just discovered Nick Jans in the May 2017 issue of Alaska and bought his book, A Wolf Called Romeo, and it will be a gift for my husband. He and I were in Alaska September of last year for our honeymoon. We spent a couple of days touring and then took a cruise. We both fell really hard.

I’ve attached a shot of the three Magdovitz boys displaying their favorite magazine during the pre-game of Super Bowl LI. My sons, Joe and Zach, and wife, Tamar, fell in love with the Great Land about 20 years ago and we have been back many times. Super Bowls aren’t quite up there with Alaska visits, but they’re pretty great—especially when the Patriots win.

Sam Magdovitz Philadelphia

What a mystical and magical place. We can’t wait to return, and in the meantime, we read and watch anything Alaska that we can to hold us over.

JOY NEWBERRY Paducah, Kentucky

Epic Fail Hello Mr. Lumpkin, I enjoyed your article (“An Epic Road Trip,” May 2017), but I am requesting of you in the future will you please mention the dates of your travels.

Last year my family made a trip to Alaska leaving our home town near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, the first of June. As we traveled north on the highways leading to Alaska we found that, had we delayed our trip till July, we could have taken in more of what Alaska has to offer—even if that would’ve meant more mosquitos.

MICHAEL MALLORY Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Michael, Thank you for reading my column, and I apologize for not putting the date—or at least the month. I should have. But so you know, I made the drive from Anchorage to Homer in late July. —Russ Lumpkin, editor

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I am former Alaskan commercial fisherman, and Alaska has been a lifeline in keeping my memories vivid and alive. Thank you. My wife Jenny Orton and I recently visited Budapest, Hungary, where I can be seen sitting at the edge of the Danube River with the Parliament Building in the background.

Tom Bell Ludington, Michigan

Facebook Poll Results Where in Alaska did you first see a bear?

Below are a few reader comments from the poll question posted on facebook.com/AlaskaMagazine << Anthony Kosobud: Katmai National Park while walking the inlet and watching a grizzly and her cub digging for clams. Momma got our scent, so she stood up and then the cub followed.

The sun gave mom a beautiful glow after a morning rain let up.

Hannah Sauder: On Chichagof Island where I lived from ages 4 to 8. We lived right along a river, and I remember not being able to go outside to play because the brown bears were eating fish right outside our house.

Kari A. Mergenhagen: Denali! This bear is digging up a ground squirrel nest. Just an amazing experience. >>

Gust Petersen: Diamond M Cannery west of South Naknek, on our porch in 1952. Since then I have seen about 500 or more.

Ian Johnson’s shot of the aurora over Hoonhh was one of the most popular images on Alaska magazine’s Facebook page in the last month. Visit Alaska at facebook.com/AlaskaMagazine to see more stunning imagery from the Last Frontier and to post photos of your own.

Where do you read Alaska?

I read Alaska on frequent business trips around Southeast Asia. A colleague took this picture of me in a colorful tuk-tuk in Bangkok, Thailand. I was born and raised in Talkeetna. Having Alaska with me on these trips keeps me connected to the Alaskan way of life.

Tom O’Dell Sunnyvale, California

<< Patty Kay Spinks: Kenai Peninsula, Cooper Landing in the Russian River.

Amy Newman: September 2001 in Juneau.

My husband (then boyfriend) had just moved to Juneau (it was our second date), and we visited the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor’s Center. We heard a knock from the center above, and saw a ranger frantically waving at us. ‘Wow, they’re friendly!’ we thought. Turned around to see she was alerting us to a brown bear right in our path. Ever chivalrous, my husband jumped behind me to protect himself should the bear attack (it didn’t). It has become a joke in the family. Recently, our 8-year-old daughter quizzed her dad on bear safety and asked, ‘What do you do when you see a bear?” He replied, “Hide behind Mommy.”

While hiking down for two nights at Phantom Ranch and taking a break on the South Kaibob Trail at the Grand Canyon, I read Alaska. This picture was taken at Cedar Ridge, about halfway down the 7-plus mile trail.

Rick Ukena Ashland, Oregon

Connect with us! Send us pictures of where you read Alaska and submit letters to the editor at editor@alaskamagazine.com.

JULY/AUGUST 2017 A L A S K A

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ALASKA EXPOSED Honed In

A coastal brown bear (Ursus arctos) fishes for spawning salmon in a stream near Kinak Bay. WORLDFOTO / alamy.com

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ALASKA EXPOSED

Saw a Sawfly

Though most are yellow or green, a pinkish-color elm sawfly (Cimbex americana) munches on a willow leaf near the Parks Ridge Road. The species is known for coiling its posterior around twigs or leaves while it feeds.

Focal length: 50 mm Shutter speed: 1/80 sec Aperture: f/2.5 ISO: 125 KATE WOOL/ katewool.com

JULY/AUGUST 2017 A L A S K A

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The Wolf Comes Home

BY NICK JANS

Mendenhall Lake

A genuine lone wolf, Romeo was a wolf without a pack but befriended canines, including Nick’s dog Dakotah, and humans in the Juneau area for more than six years.

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I

DROVE NORTHEAST ON THE GLACIER

Spur Road in my old minivan, feeling like a limo driver on the ride of his life.

Behind me lay the curled form of a black wolf, head raised. Seven years after his death, Romeo was headed home, to the mountain shores of the lake where he once roamed, on the fringe of Juneau. Ahead, the Mendenhall Glacier caught a burst of winter light. I watched with misty eyes and nodded.

Some of you know the story of Romeo, the friendly, wild, black wolf. He first appeared as a gangly young adult in 2003, perhaps the lone survivor of the Nugget Basin pack. Three had been trapped; then a pregnant black female had been killed by a taxicab. That summer, dog walkers and hikers began to glimpse a black wolf—a young male who sometimes approached to within a few feet of dogs. There wasn’t a hint of aggression or food-seeking; in fact, the wolf struck play postures and whined. Even if a terrier mutt took exception, he would side-step the

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M JULY/AUGUST 2017

assault and cock his head. If a dog accepted his invitation, something social would ensue, from sniff-arounds to whirling play sessions that sometimes verged on ballet.

In time, the wolf found not one but dozens of like canines and their people and built bonds that could only be called friendships. One of these was with our cream-colored 9-year-old Labrador, Dakotah, and with time, us as well. As dwellers along Mendenhall Lake’s western shore, we found ourselves living within the core territory of an affable wild wolf, who had a crush on our dog. They were nuts for each other from the first encounter; in fact, it was Sherrie who gave the wolf his name as he waited one winter dawn for Dakotah to appear, and she murmured in a protective mom tone, “Well, there’s that Romeo wolf again.” In those not-so-long-ago days before Facebook, Romeo went Juneau viral, and the name stuck. He seemed a tragic figure, marooned between worlds.

NICK JANS

Romeo is reunited with Juneau

[RIGHT] In the vicinity of Mendenhall Lake, Romeo charmed Juneauites for six years before being killed by poachers.

[BELOW] After years of interagency red tape and fundraising, an exhibit devoted to Romeo opened this past January at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center and will be viewed by more than half a million people a year.

Even in Alaska, this sort of stuff doesn’t happen—but it did. The steadily growing number of Juneau dogs and owners who had forged relationships with the black wolf grew. Folks who had little experience with wildlife sometimes used bad judgment by crowding too close or pushing forward snippy dogs. But Romeo’s good-natured tolerance deflected conflicts. Without doubt, he recognized and sought not only individual dogs, but also certain humans. He’d sometimes trot over to say hello, even when I skied out with no dogs. Despite rumors, I never saw anyone feed or touch the wolf.

Juneauites and members of the various agencies whose jurisdictions overlapped Romeo’s realm sat back and watched agape as this inexplicable magic continued: a year, then another. The wolf we called Romeo became the poster child for Alaska’s wolves. This in a time when the species was subject to a predator-control program that featured aerial shooting by

private pilot–gunner teams.

In the case of Romeo, living scarcely a 20-minute drive from the governor’s mansion, the forbearance displayed on all sides could only be described as extraordinary.

Still, dark mutterings percolated. There were clearly those who wanted the wolf gone, or better yet, dead.

Oblivious to our angst, Romeo fared onward. Though without a pack, he not only survived, but also prospered. He had become the single-most watched and accessible wild wolf in Alaska, and probably the world, but much of his life remained cast in shadow. He disappeared for days or weeks at a time, who knew where. Alaska wolves live hard lives, averaging less than four years. Each time I saw him from the very first day, I watched as if it would be the last time.

And then it was. In September 2009, a full six years since he’d first appeared, Romeo vanished. Persistent online sleuthing by Romeo friend and advocate Harry Robinson and resulting operations by federal and state wildlife enforcement led to the arrest of two serial poachers who had illegally shot him at point-blank range.

Despite roiling community emotions, the killers were given hand-slap fines and no jail time. It was a bitter reminder of just how little the state of Alaska values a wolf.

Part of the court’s decision, however, included the provision that Romeo’s hide be put on permanent loan to the U.S. Forest Service for the construction of an educational exhibit at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, featuring a world-class taxidermy mount of the wolf.

The deal seemed certain at the time. I was appointed as the facilitator for the project, the guy who would find the right people to make it happen, and help raise the ten grand or so we figured it would cost.

But Romeo, in death as well as life, proved a lightning rod for human emotions. The state of Alaska has seldom seen eye to eye with the feds, especially when it comes to wolves. The wrangling is best left to imagination. Suffice to say it took not

the one or two years I thought, but seven; two alone to complete the actual transfer of the hide, and two more mired in formal steps and slow-motion details. Meanwhile, the project morphed from a simple taxidermy mount to a Smithsonian-grade exhibit with a designer, interpretive panels, a sound wand to hear Romeo’s recorded howls, and a bronze cast of his paw print.

Back and forth between agencies, gathering and coordinating the high-end craftspeople necessary for the job, and raising the money (much of it in under 25-dollar dabs) took three years. People told me it wasn’t going to happen. At times I believed them but kept going.

All the pieces, however, came together with breathtaking speed this past January.

Two hot-shot exhibit builders led the charge, with my friend Vic Walker and I pitching in, starting with moving the completed wolf mount from my buddy Joel’s garage to the Visitor Center. A faux-rock outcropping of foam blocks over wooden framework practically flew onto the wall in less than four days, detailed down to moss and glacial striations, the interpretive panels, sound wand, and bronze paw print. And atop that ledge lay Romeo, casting a relaxed, alert, Mona Lisa gaze about the room, so lifelike and himself that he seemed about to yawn, stretch, and rise. The Forest Service hosted a grand opening, complete with ribboncutting and speeches and presentations, attended by an overflow local crowd.

Emotion hung thick in the air. Romeo had come home.

Nick is a longtime contributing editor to Alaska and author of the national bestseller, A Wolf Called Romeo, available from nickjans.com.

JULY/AUGUST 2017 A L A S K A

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Unalaska Port of Dutch Harbor

Heart of the Aleutians

Adventure & Discovery • Birderʼs Paradise • Hiking & Exploring Phenomenal Wildlife • Bountiful Fishing

877-581-2612 | www.unalaska.info

07/08.17

Whittier sits at the end of the Portage Glacier Road.

Photo by: P.A. LAWRENCE, LLC./ alamy.com

Whittier

Billed as the gateway to Prince William Sound, Whittier attracts thousands of visitors each summer for boating, fishing, and wildlife tours. The U.S. Army developed Whittier in 1941 as a year-round ice-free port during the lead up to WWII. Anton Anderson served as the chief engineer of the tunnel project that now bears his name; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the longest road and rail tunnel in North America.

Abandoned after the conflict, Whittierâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s port took on new significance during the Cold War. New construction boomed and many of those buildings are still in use.

The town was named for American poet John Greenleaf Whittier.

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Whittier

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BY THE NUMBERS

Population

A steep one-mile hike up to Portage Pass at 800 feet above sea level affords views of Whittier and Portage Glacier, which is in retreat and can no longer be seen from the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center on Portage Lake. Small tarns (alpine lakes) dot the pass.

Rest a while and absorb the scenery, then continue down 1½ miles to the shore opposite the visitor center. The Portage Pass trailhead is just on the Whittier side of the tunnel. It’s always a good idea to check the Whittier webcam before committing to this hike: avcams.faa.gov/sitelist.php.

Year the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel opened to public access

62.4° Average high temperature in July

197.8 Average inches of rainfall per year

TOP PICKS

Local Tidbit:

Food

Lodging The Inn at Whittier offers rooms, suites, a cozy bar, and dining with a view. innatwhittier.com

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Swiftwater Seafood Café uses fresh seafood harvested locally, meaning the rockfish or halibut in your fish and chips practically jumped from Prince William Sound right onto your plate. swiftwaterseafoodcafe.com

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M JULY/AUGUST 2017

Hike the lush coastal Emerald Cove Trail at the end of Shotgun Cove Road.

Prepare to get wet feet crossing a shallow stream or two.

Compiled by Susan Sommer

DESIGN PICS INC / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

Hikers along Portage Pass get a look at the Portage Glacier.

EXPERIENCE

2000

Overheard:

“In a moment of weakness, and surprisingly, no alcohol was involved, I have been persuaded to sign up for Mt. Marathon again.” ~Mountain runner on the grueling annual Independence Day race in Seward.

ONLY IN ALASKA

Like extra insulation covering the walls and ceiling of the cozy Salty Dawg Saloon in Homer, dollar bills sport messages from near and far.

MEDIA

Sold and Bought

Book set chronicles the transfer of Alaska from Russia in 1867

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TOP COURTESY KAY COOPER

Two books by author Michael Dunham cover the lives of the primary principals of the Alaska Purchase: Willam Seward and Russia’s Tsar Alexander II.

Two short biographies, The Man Who Bought Alaska and The Man Who Sold Alaska, by Anchorage writer and author Michael Dunham commemorate Alaska’s sesquicentennial— 150 years as part of the United States. Each delves into details of the men who decided the land’s fate: Tsar Alexander II of Russia and U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward.

Dunham paints portraits of these politicians with an artist’s eye to three dimensions. The tales are not a mere recounting of events, but cast with shadows and highlights such as conversations, loves found and lost, family dynamics, backroom deals, and political posturing. A handful of photos rounds out each book.

To order copies or learn more, visit the publisher, Todd Communications, at alaskabooksandcalendars.com.

Compiled by Susan Sommer

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PHOTOGRAPHIC

Pioneer Park in Fairbanks

BY MICHELLE THEALL

Inside Pioneer Park, Gold Rush Town comprises 29 cabins that were built in the 1920s and moved to the park from their original sites.

Open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Pioneer Park offers everything from a riverboat and salmon bake to a Native village and square dancing on its 44-acre spread in Alaska’s second largest city.

The S.S. Nenana sternwheeler, permanently moored in a meadow in the park, provides tours with a diorama illustrating the ship’s journey as part of the Yukon River Fleet.

The park was initially built in 1967 to commemorate the centennial of Alaska’s purchase from Russia.

The Palace Hotel and Bathhouse served miners in the first part of the century in downtown Fairbanks’s red light district. In 1957, it was renamed the Chena Hotel and relocated ten years later to it’s home in the park across from the Palace Saloon.

In 1968, the site was named Alaskaland, which confused visitors who expected the place to be an amusement park akin to Disneyland.

In 2002, the name changed again to Pioneer Park, which it remains to this day.

Golden Heart Revue seeks to entertain and inform with musical comedy sketches about the history of Fairbanks and its people.

Inside the park, there are 29 cabins built in the 1920s that were moved to the park to form Gold Rush Town, an area of the park used by local merchants to sell gifts and snacks and to replicate the city’s mining history.

The Alaska Salmon Bake provides all-you-can eat king salmon, along with halibut, steaks, and Bering Sea cod. There’s a ton of outdoor and indoor family seating, making diners feel as if they’re at a local picnic.

For kids, Pioneer Park provides a carousel with music from the late 1800s, miniature golf, a couple of vintage train cars, and a playground.

To learn more: http://old.fnsb.us/ParksandRecreation/PioneerPark/default.htm

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A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M JULY/AUGUST 2017

(THIS PAGE) AGE FOTOSTOCK / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; (OPPOSITE PAGE) COURTESY JODY OVERSTREET

A good time while taking a peek at the past

COOL JOB

Night Owl

Photographer Jody Overstreet leads late-night tours You won’t find Jody Overstreet commuting to and from Anchorage during rush hour, but you might bump into her on a lateevening stroll when she’s leading a group of photographers seeking the aurora in winter or as she’s running her sunset tour until after midnight in the summer. She hauls about 30 pounds of photography gear and delights in teaching photographers of all levels about the best places to find Alaska’s unique vistas and dramatic lighting. They occasionally bump into a moose.

Overstreet owns Alaska Photo Treks. Her associate guides include some of the state’s best-known photographers. The company offers a set schedule of tours plus custom outings,

Lifelong Alaskan Jody Overstreet works outdoors most of the year as a professional photographer and photo-tour operator.

workshops, and classes. Her specialties are the Sunset Photo Safari and its winter counterpart, the Twilight Photo Tour, as well as the Anchorage Aurora Quest to capture northern lights during the darker months.

“I meet the nicest people and get a lot of fresh air, and it sure beats a desk job,” says Overstreet. Her hometown, Homer, is one of her favorite places to shoot with its “beautiful blend of coastal scenes and mountains.” alaskaphototreks.com and jodyo.photos

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K E T C H I K A N | J U N E A U | S K A G W AY JULY/AUGUST 2017 A L A S K A

25

TEN TIPS

Wilderness Survival

A compass and map can help keep you oriented and if necessary, reorient you.

Be prepared to come back alive and well The best way to survive a brief and unexpected interval in the wilderness is to be prepared before you leave. We share ten tips for backcountry travel. into the river could chill you quickly. A small crackling fire might be your only hope of fending off hypothermia.

2 Never leave the trailhead without food and water, even if you plan only a short hike. You never know when you might decide to see what’s over the next rise and before you know it, you’re several miles out.

which is pretty much all of Alaska.

3 Always bring bug dope. Always.

4 Pack matches or a lighter. An acciden-

tal spill from a kayak or a slip of the foot

26

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M JULY/AUGUST 2017

5 Make plenty of noise in bear country,

hunker behind a natural wind break, and keep your core warm.

8 Keep your wits. Don’t wander from your planned route. (See #10).

yet, take one with you. Refer to it as you travel so you know where you are and what landmarks to look for should you become disoriented or lost.

9 Alaska has plenty of edible flora, if not all palatable. There are poisonous mushrooms and poisonous berries, but blue-colored berries are safe. A good pocket guide can be invaluable to keep in your pack.

7 If you do need to “shelter in place” until help arrives, don’t panic. Build a crude shelter from spruce boughs,

10 Leave a plan with someone you know and trust to call on authorities if you don’t return at the appointed time.

6 Study a map before you go, or better

Compiled by Susan Sommer

DESIGN PICS INC / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

1 Alaska’s weather changes constantly.

Wear non-cotton layers and always take rain gear. Even hats and gloves are often a summertime staple in locals’ backpacks.

MADE IN ALASKA

Survive in Style

A survival tool built by a survivor Grayson Davey was just 12 years old in 2013 when he founded Alaska Paracord Designs after spending three cold, wet nights stranded on an island in the Talachulitna River near Skwentna with his father and friend. Their boat motor had quit suddenly and a sweeper flipped the skiff, dumping them into the river with all their supplies.

Once rescued, Grayson came up with the idea for the Alaska Survival Bracelet, an ultra-portable survival tool that includes military-spec 550 paracord for lashing shelter materials; firesteel and ceramic scraper for starting a fire; and waxed jute tinder that will light even when wet. There’s a whistle built into the buckle, too. Additional designs, the Fire Bug and Fish’n Flame, hang from a keychain to hook on a backpack or life jacket or to carry in a pocket. The Fish’n Flame includes materials such as hooks and 40-pound test line as well as the basic fire-starting components. alaskaparacord.com

Alaska’s Five Largest Lakes Each one is unique

Lake Iliamna, at 1,150 square miles, is Alaska’s largest lake and the third largest in the nation. Connected to Bristol Bay via the Kvichak River, Iliamna is said to host a sea monster similar to Scotland’s famous Nessie. Some say the strange sightings are likely a white sturgeon or a sleeper shark. It’s also the spawning grounds for millions of sockeye salmon each year.

Becharof Lake, on the Alaska Peninsula, is 458 square miles. It was named for the navigator Bocharov of the Imperial Russian Navy during the Russian-American period. Drop a stone into the lake’s darkest water and the rock will fall 600 feet to the bottom.

Teshekpuk Lake is 315 square miles and Alaska’s third largest, but it’s the world’s biggest thermokarst lake.

Thermokarst is a marshy, irregular surface full of hollows and small hummocks formed as permafrost thaws.

Because of the lake’s prominent signs of climate change, 28

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M JULY/AUGUST 2017

The Alaska Range provides a backdrop to Lake Iliamna, Alaska’s largest lake and largest in the U.S. other than the Great Lakes.

the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Science Foundation, and other partners established an observatory there to measure changes.

Naknek Lake in Katmai National Park and Preserve is 242 square miles. It’s famous for bear viewing at Brooks Camp and for sport fishing.

Tustumena Lake covers 117 square miles within the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. At a maximum of 950 feet deep and with powerful glacial winds blowing down its length, Tustumena’s choppy surface often sends small boats scurrying for cover.

Compiled by Susan Sommer

(THIS PAGE) TOP TWO: COURTESY PARACORD DESIGNS; BOTTOM: DESIGN PICS INC / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; (OPPOSITE PAGE) PHOTO BY ALASKA SHARKS

GEOGRAPHY

MUST HAVE

DID YOU KNOW

Jaws, not Paws

Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer Generalities and Minutiae

Your Alaska Atlas & Gazetteer will quickly become thumbworn and well-loved as your go-to source for detailed maps of the state. Use it for trip planning, dreaming about your next trip to the Last Frontier’s far reaches, and simply learning the names of rivers, mountains, towns, parks, and more. Need to know the average hours of daylight or amount of precipitation in Fairbanks or Juneau during a specific month? This reference has it. Also listed in detailed charts are campgrounds, publiclands information, and mileage between major destinations.

An exhaustive index of place names and physical features will help you find what you need quickly. $19.95, garmin.com/en-US/

Not all Alaskan animals are cute

Salmon sharks look very similar to great whites but are smaller and rarely, if ever, attack humans.

Shark! Yes, Alaska has sharks—salmon sharks being the most well-known.

Salmon sharks range from the Seward Peninsula on the northwestern coast, to the far tip of the Aleutians, across the waters of Southcentral, and all the way down the Panhandle. Salmon shark numbers have dwindled in recent years, possibly due to overfishing, but there are conservation efforts mounting to re-establish a healthy population.

They grow to more than 10 feet long but average about six to eight feet. The largest salmon sharks weigh in at over 660 pounds. Gestation takes nine months, and the pups are born completely independent, ready to fend for themselves.

Sharks take a back seat to Alaska’s charismatic megafauna, but research and recreational interest such as diving and snorkeling tours for them are growing.

JULY/AUGUST 2017 A L A S K A

29

Brazil Expedition Uncovers Thousands of Carats of Exquisite Natural Emeralds Brandish a whopping 50 carats of genuine South American emeralds in a handcrafted new necklace design for less than $100!

H

alfway into our ambitious trek through the rain forest I had to remind myself that “Nothing good comes easy.” These days it seems that every business trip to Brazil includes a sweltering hike through overgrown jungles, around cascading waterfalls and down steep rock cliffs. But our gem broker insisted it was worth the trouble. To tell you the truth, for the dazzling emeralds he delivered, I’d gladly go back to stomping through jaguar country.

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What is the source of our emerald’s timeless appeal? The enchanting color of the Stauer Carnaval Faceted Emerald Necklace comes from nature’s chemistry. Our polished and faceted, well-formed natural emeralds are immediately recognized as something special. Indeed, when we evaluated these emeralds, color was the most important quality factor. Today, scientists tell us that the human eye is more sensitive to the color green than to any other. Perhaps that is why green is so soothing to the eye, and why the color green complements every other color in your wardrobe.

Emeralds are, by weight, the most valuable gemstone in the world. Now you can wear genuine emeralds and feel great about knowing that you were able to treat yourself to precious gems without paying a precious price. A top-quality 50 carat emerald necklace found on Rodeo Drive or 5th Avenue could cost well over $100,000…but not from Stauer.

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Bull Wink

A bull moose enjoys an incoming tide while convalescing at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Portage.

Photo by: DESIGN PICS INC/ Alamy Stock Photo

31

SENSE OF PLACE

Jane’s Addiction

The intrigue of delivering the Chilkat Valley News

BY JOHN M. GLIONNA

Haines

From her office in downtown Haines, Jane Pascoe plots the delivery of the Chilkat Valley News from the printer to the people.

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A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M JULY/AUGUST 2017

I have written headlines and cutlines for the photos I have taken during the week. Then, before we can go home, before the paper is sent electronically to a southeastern Alaska town hundreds of miles away, we have to proofread each page three times.

Let me tell you, a’s start to look like e’s at 1 a.m.

After I hit the sack, the paper is brought to life. By morning, even before the sun comes up, before I rise, the thing is printed and ready for distribution in Haines.

But here’s where the trouble starts. And here is the reason I came to Haines in the first place, on a six-week temporary reporting job last November and December.

JANE PASCOE

I have come to call it Jane’s Addiction. The Chilkat Valley News is a weekly newspaper (circulation 1,500). Our deadlines are on Wednesday and we all stay until midnight or later laying out the paper. There are four of us: a layout guy, part-time copy editor, and two reporters.

In my early journalism career, I skipped the stop in a small town like Haines. I landed a job as a police reporter in Norfolk, Virginia, where the daily paper had a circulation of 140,000—ten times that of the weekly in Chilkat.

I saw this gig in Haines as a way to find out what I missed. I wanted to write headlines and take photos, I wanted to deliver papers.

Boy, did I get my wish.

Because, up here in southeastern Alaska, there is a madcap weekly battle just to get the paper into town.

That’s where Jane’s Addiction comes into play.

Jane is the wife of the newspaper owner. She’s Australian and her accent is a breath of exotica here. She pays the paper’s bills and each week, drives herself half-crazy making sure those four boxes of papers can get to town.

Each week, it’s a battle against the foul and fickle Alaska weather, where snow and rain and fog and gloom can sock the town and hinder the one-propellerplane airline from landing here.

The papers are printed in Petersberg, down near Ketchikan. The first leg is easy enough: The printers put the boxes on a commercial Alaska Airlines flight to Juneau.

But then it gets tough. Alaska Airlines doesn’t fly to Haines. The owners of the seaplane airline will carry Jane’s papers, as freight, but freight not guaranteed space—U.S. mail and luggage take priority. Jane has to buy a ticket and actually take the flight herself or get someone else to do it, to be able to get the papers delivered by air.

And many weeks, especially during the winter, the weather messes with pilots here, making the Alaska bushpilot job one of the nation’s most dangerous professions.

Sometimes, Jane will send her husband, Tom, on the Thursday morning flight to Juneau, where he picks up the papers and flies right back. She has advertised in the paper that she’ll pay $100 to anyone who will take the half-hour puddle-jump from Juneau to Haines to retrieve the papers.

Carry the four boxes, make $100 bucks— enough to buy a few oranges here.

So far, no one has accepted her offer.

The author spent more than 20 years writing for the Los Angeles Times but wanted to know the small-town-paper experience.

He took a temporary job with the Chilkat Valley News, which sits on Main Street in Haines.

So that leaves the ferry. The Alaska Marine Highway connects a bunch of small towns throughout southeastern Alaska and has a direct route from Juneau to Haines.

But even the daily ferry is no sure deal.

The ferry people will not allow freight without a passenger, so Jane has devised a secret way to get around all the bureaucracy. I can’t go into detail here.

For Jane’s sake, it’s best that I just let the mystery be.

But trust me, it’s genius.

Still, every week is a nail-biter. When things go well, the papers arrive on Thursday. When things go bad, really bad, they don’t arrive until Monday.

For the last two weeks, I have had the privilege of playing paperboy again.

One day I drove the three miles out to the ferry terminal and picked up the four boxes. Then we drove back to the office and had to hand-stuff a green holiday ad flier into each paper. It was like a backwoods assembly line. My fingers were black from newsprint.

Then we had to place address labels on the papers that go to the post office in town. Nobody has home delivery here; they come to town and check their post-office boxes.

As Jane did the labels, I counted out papers, in stacks of 25, for delivery at local business outlets. The IGA gets 150 a week but the Captain’s Corner Motel only 10.

Then, on that first delivery day, Jane and I hit the streets. She pulled up to each locale and I ran in with the new papers. At each stop, people were there to greet me.

“Finally! The paper!” they said.

Sometimes, people were even waiting for the pleasure.

Because, in Haines, people don’t just read the weekly paper; they study it.

Before I leave each shop, however, I have to collect the unsold papers, for which the merchants are given credit.

Every Thursday, if the paper does arrive, is a sprint to get the thing delivered hot off the press.

Or in Alaska, cold off the plane. Or boat. Or truck.

The weather report is in for this Thursday.

Things don’t look good.

For 26 years, John M. Glionna was a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, working on the metro, state, national, and foreign desks.

He is now a Las Vegas-based freelance writer.

JULY/AUGUST 2017 A L A S K A

33

RAMBLES In the 1980s, Cook Inlet belugas numbered 1,300. A recent count, however, stands at 340.”

Thar She Blows!

BY LOIS SIMENSON

The highlight of most any whalewatching trip is the chance to see humpbacks breach and dive—and opportunities such as this one abound in Southcentral.

34

“A

whale is aiming straight for our boat!”

I shout to my husband, Marc, as he downshifts the motors to a low idle near Gull Rock in Kachemak Bay. I rush to port, gripping the gunwale. A humpback whale is barreling toward us. My heart thumps adrenaline, and I think Is this whale going to ram us? Then it dives. The sea swirls as it closes over the 40-foot cetacean, dwarfing our Bayrunner.

Moving to starboard, I summon X-ray vision to penetrate the emerald bay as the whale glides soundlessly underneath our boat. We wait. The humpback shoots from the water several hundred yards distant in a full-bodied, half-twist breach.

Whoomph! It displaces water and dives again. I’m ashamed for thinking the whale would intentionally hurt us. They’re smarter than we are, it seems.

Usually, I hear a humpback before I see it: Spray

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M JULY/AUGUST 2017

propelled high above the sea-surface like a catapult.

The mist hangs momentarily, then dissolves. I glass ahead of the spray, anticipating the whale’s next appearance and am rewarded with a glimpse. Its fluke displays black-and-white markings unique to each whale, like a fingerprint.

Our cabin overlooks a gravel beach across Kachemak Bay from Homer. Humpbacks sometimes enter our cove during high tides. Last summer while standing on our mooring float, a small humpback broke water and rolled next to the float, one eye checking us out. We stared at each other, his lone eyeball rolling around, then he sank from view.

Some nights we hear the drizzly breathing of a humpback as it sleeps in the cove. One night, we howled at one whale’s loud comic snoring in July’s rosy twilight. It sounded like a sleeping King Kong, sawing wet logs. Who knew whales snored?

(THIS PAGE) DANITA DELIMONT / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; (OPPOSITE PAGE) TOP: ERIC M. BEEMAN; BOTTOM: COURTESY LOIS SIMENSON

Whale watching options in Southcentral Alaska

In addition to humpbacks, whale watching in Southcentral also includes orcas (such as these three), belugas, and grays.

Seward’s Resurrection Bay

Last July during a boat tour of Kenai Fjords National Park, humpbacks breached all around our boat. Two younger whales took turns breaching in the choppy seas. As our 95-foot vessel rocked in the rough water, I tried capturing a photo of one whale lob-tailing, waving its fluke high in the air. Click! Got it!

Alas, my photo was blurred from the waves splashing the windows, but I couldn’t bring myself to delete it. That blurry photo was a hard-won prize. I like the full-day boat tour, because my chances are greater to see whales.

We see orcas on these tours too, near the outer islands. To me, humpbacks are the most exciting to watch. They frequent Kenai Fjords National Park between April and September.

Each spring, gray whales migrate through Alaska coastal waters on their way to summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi seas. April and May are best for gray whales.

We’ve taken the spring boat tours out of Seward to see the grays. For those preferring to stay onshore, drive Lowell Point Road south of Seward. It overlooks Resurrection Bay and whales can be spotted with binoculars.

Whittier’s Prince William Sound

Tour operators out of Anchorage take whale watchers on full-day boat tours through Prince William Sound. Most tours showcase tidewater glaciers, but orcas are often seen.

Years ago, while I surveyed sizeable chunks

The author looks across Kachemak Bay, hoping to see whales.

of glacier ice splash into the sea, a pod of five orcas slipped past on the opposite side of the boat. Thankfully, someone saw them and hollered. I prefer the large boat tours for this reason; with so many eyes to spot whales and other marine life, I rarely miss anything.

Anchorage’s Turnagain Arm

Each summer we stop at Beluga Point along Turnagain Arm to see beluga whales. From the rocks, we watch them glide through the water, white backs gleaming. Baby belugas are dark gray, then turn white as they mature to about 15 feet long. Unlike other whales, they can move their heads up and down and side to side, making them seem more playful.

The Cook Inlet belugas chase hooligan in the spring, then salmon in summer and fall. In the 1980s, Cook Inlet belugas numbered 1,300. A recent count, however, stands at 340. In 2008, the Cook Inlet belugas were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Their numbers have dwindled due to several known and unknown factors. Aware of this, I appreciate seeing them even more.

Homer’s Lower Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay

Several tour companies navigate lower Cook Inlet, Kachemak Bay, and the Barren Islands and Kodiak in the Gulf of Alaska. Halibut charter boats on their way to and from fishing grounds often encounter humpbacks, orcas, and minke whales. Sea-kayaking is an adventurous option for a personal whale-watching experience; visitors can rent kayaks on their own or take guided tours out of Homer.

Every summer, I look forward to humpbacks returning to our cove. At twilight, I’ll listen for the tell-tale whoosh. With luck, I’ll hear them sing. I imagine a low vibration that gradually escalates to a high, echoing frequency. I’ll drop onto all fours and lower one ear into the cold, shadowy sea—to listen.

“What are you doing down there?” Marc will ask from the cabin deck above.

“Listening to whales,” I’ll reply.

“You can’t hear them from the beach, only underwater,” he’ll say.

“I know,” I’ll say, and then close my eyes, thinking if I concentrate and listen long enough, I’ll hear them sing—my secret between the whales and me.

Lois Simenson lives in Eagle River. Her story about wildland firefighting in Alaska won a 2016 Alaska Press Club award for the Best Alaskan History category.

JULY/AUGUST 2017 A L A S K A

35

07/08.17

E XPE RIE NC E T HE L A ST F RO N T IE R

Whale of a Fluke

A group of tourists visiting Kenai Fjords enjoys an accommodating humpback.

Photo by: RON NIEBRUGGE/ alamy.com

37

TRY THIS

The Promise of Discovery

BY TOM WALKER

U

These tangled antlers tell the story of a death struggle that took place in the not-so distant past and are now on display at the Eielson Visitor Center in Denali National Park.

38

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M JULY/AUGUST 2017

NDER AN AZURE SKY STRETCHING

unblemished to Denali’s icy dome, the morning air crisp and fresh after autumn’s first frost, our tundra hike captivates the senses. We walk through a palette of gold, amber, and lime, serenaded by flocks of sandhill cranes winging overhead. The noisy wedges migrate south guided by the towering summits of the Alaska Range and other natural cues.

Our passage churns up the scent of blueberries, fallen leaves, and in places, crushed spruce boughs and rich, black loam. Parka squirrels stand sentinel by their burrows, chirping warnings as we

pass. We flush a small flock of willow ptarmigan, already molting to white.

Negotiating alder thickets we make noise to warn off bears; on open tundra we ramble, glassing for caribou. Every hike carries the promise of discovery but this one reveals the extraordinary.

Not far from the undeveloped trail, just where the hills begin to flatten, I spy, in a tangle of golden willow, a splash of white, huge and immobile. Through binoculars, bleached antlers sharpen into focus revealing a charnel ground.

We go closer, investigate. On the edge of a tundra ridge, the locked antlers and bones of two enormous bull moose lay

TOM WALKER

You never know what you’ll find hiking a wilderness trail

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All antlered animals establish breeding dominance with head-to-head jousts, antler against antler, strength against strength.

40

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M JULY/AUGUST 2017

likely Simon Hamm of Camp Denali made the initial discovery in early spring, weeks before I found them. Others claimed the distinction. Designers working on the new Eielson Visitor Center planned to airlift the racks there to form a dramatic outdoor centerpiece. Others, including me, wanted them left in place, to allow other hikers to revel in a sense of discovery. A few demanded that the remains be left alone, the site a hallowed ground.

Park visitors need not hike to see the entangled racks. The locked antlers are now on display in front of the Eielson Visitor Center in Denali National Park.

Tom Walker is a writer and nature photographer who has resided in Alaska for 51 years. This author of 14 books lives near Denali Park.

TOM WALKER

wolverine, and the stains of gray jays and on a thick bed of matted hair, the wind magpies. When each of these predators whispering news of a titanic struggle to the death. Last fall the bulls had slammed entered the drama is unknown. Perhaps the scavenging birds came first, but near a together in rutting combat, entangling trail shared by people, wolves, and bears, their racks so tightly that no amount of we can only imagine. their combined strength could pull them After discovery of this natural drama apart. Each rack spans 60-inches, the writ large, the remainder of our hike crowns of animals in their prime. seemed almost anti-climactic. We All antlered animals establish breeding watched a red fox hunting the scarlet dominance with head-to-head jousts, tundra and cranes circling on rising antler against antler, strength against thermals. On other hikes Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve found owl strength. How many times had these feathers, bones of sheep and caribou, the dominant bulls fought challengers, skull of a bear, all grist for wonder, but fended off rivals? How many times over never anything so powerful as this find. the years had they broken free from The seasons pass and news of the contact without locking up? Injuries from sharp tines are common, punctures in the locked antlers spreads. The site becomes a destination, the undeveloped trail to neck and shoulder, but death, mutual death, is rare. How many antlered animals Moose Creek a beacon. No one knows for sure who found the antlers first, but quite meet their demise this way? No doubt only a few, and from my perspective, I hope mercifully few.

The breeze stirs the sere grass, the drying leaves, and tufts of hair, lifting the scent of rage, turning to fear, and ultimately, catastrophe. The slide from battle rage to sudden, inextricable weakness must have stirred panic in these moose. I can only imagine the frantic efforts to break free, the yanking back and forth, to and fro, the tundra churning to mud beneath them. Which of them died first? And how?

Did both bulls die of starvation? Exhaustion?

Or were they crumpled Most moose and other powerless but alive on the ungulates exit the rut tundra when the first only tired and with minor scrapes. On the wolves, or perhaps bears, rare occasions they raced to the feast? become entangled, Scattered about is the they are at the mercy spoor of wolf, grizzly, fox, of their environments.

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Photography by John Whipple

Art

The Western Arctic Herd is one of more than 30 named herds in Alaska and the largest. Over the last 14 years, however, the herd’s numbers have dropped by more than 60 percent.

OUT THERE

Road Block

Caribou study finds that even a little interference is a lot

T

HE FIRST STUDY OF CARIBOU MIGRATION IN

Alaska took place around 1920. There were no roads in Alaska then, and Olaus Murie, who later served as president of The Wilderness Society, traveled by dog team to map the migratory routes of the herds, which have some of the longest terrestrial migrations in the world. Murie studied Alaska’s caribou for only six years, and nearly 40 years passed before scientists picked up where he left off. In the late 1970s, scientists began to track the movement of caribou by utilizing radio-transmitter technology.

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website, Alaska has 32 caribou herds; the largest is the Western Arctic Herd (WAH), which numbered nearly 500,000 in 2003. By 2016, however, the herd declined by 60 percent. This rapid drop garnished much attention not only from wildlife biologists, but also subsistence hunters who rely on caribou meat.

These days, scientists track herd movements via global-positioning systems (GPS), which read GPS collars that have been placed on members of the herd. Kyle Joly, caribou vital-sign-monitoring lead and wildlife biologist for Gates of the Arctic National Park and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Park, receives GPS position readings every four days. Given time, GPS readings, compared to tracking with

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radio transmitters, can track the entire migration route, not just one location at one particular time.

Joly explains that one day he watched his computer slowly generate the data from the caribou collars, and the picture of a “big cluster of points,” showed evidence of an unnatural break in the movements. It quickly became clear that there was a “visually obvious line for the cluster where the Red Dog Road is located.”

The Red Dog Road is a 52-mile road connecting the Red Dog Mine to the Chukchi Sea and a port that is 17 miles south of Kivalina, a town of about 300 in the Northwest Arctic Borough. Currently, the Red Dog Road is the only major roadway in the range of the WAH. Prior to the data analysis, the relationship between caribou and roads had been studied only by observing herds from the road to see if the caribou sensed the road and gave it a wide berth.

Conventional wisdom was caribou crossed together in herds and as a herd, the group avoided the road. For the first time, the GPS collars allowed researchers to observe how caribou moved over multiple seasons and multiple years as well as the behaviors of individual animals. The researchers concluded that the Red Dog Road, which sees little traffic, significantly impacted the migration patterns of caribou in the region in terms of when, how, and where they moved.

Subsistence hunters are responsible for nearly 95 percent

(THIS PAGE) DESIGN PICS INC / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; (OPPOSITE PAGE) CHARLOTTE E MAUK SLIDES, ARCHIVES AND SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, CONSORTIUM LIBRARY, UNIV OF ALASKA ANCHORAGE

BY BREE KESSLER

Olaus Murie, here in the early 1960s with his wife, Mardy, on the Sheenjek River, was the first to take a scientific look at the migration routes of Alaska’s caribou.

of the WAH harvest, while sport or recreational hunters account for the remaining caribou deaths. It’s crucial to think about both the human and animal environments in this region as one ecosystem; changes to just one small aspect of the system can greatly affect the entire structure.

Likewise, the research study that utilized the GPS collars to track caribou over time doesn’t really answer the question of why the WAH is declining so rapidly. The study does, however, illuminate another problem: If a herd re-routes its typical autumn journey in order to avoid a road, then an entire village along the herd’s traditional route may not have meat for that winter.

The answer to ensuring the survival of the caribou and bountiful harvests for locals isn’t as simple as to build roads or not to build roads. Janet Mitchell, former administrator for the city of Kivalina, shares that years of advocating for her community finally convinced truck drivers who frequent the Red Dog Road to listen “to traditional knowledge from our people,” which says that the herd will follow the scent trail left by the caribou at the front of the herd. So, if the first few caribou are given the opportunity to cross the road uninterrupted, then the rest of the herd is likely to follow.

Janet understands that the drivers “have quotas they need to fill” and are in a rush to haul their cargo. Yet, she clarifies how imperative it is for the drivers to stop their trucks before the caribou pass in order for the caribou to maintain their traditional route. This stoppage could be for just a few hours to a few days depending on the movement of the herd in a particular year.

Speed and duration of the caribou can change yearly and are influenced by various factors such as weather.

Just in the last year, Janet notes, the community had a good year with lots of caribou coming close to Kivalina; therefore, simply stopping the trucks has made a big difference. But still, she says, “We are finding it hard to keep the ‘real’ Alaska. What I mean by real is all the sights people come to Alaska to see–the sea and land animals. If something

changes that and disturbs the animals’ cycles, what is the attraction for coming here? To those who like to visit Alaska to see wildlife, help us to protect it.”

Currently the state of Alaska is considering a proposal to construct a 200-mile long road through Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve from the existing contiguous road system into northwestern Alaska, one of the world’s largest remaining roadless areas, to explore mining prospects in the Ambler region.

“What makes our findings a cautionary

tale for other potential development,” urges Joly, “is that the research shows that just one single, low-traffic road could greatly affect caribou migration and the herd’s availability to people who depend on them.”

Bree Kessler is a freelance writer and researcher who lives year-round in Denali National Park. Learn more about her travel writing and urban Arctic placemaking activities at breekessler.com.

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Me, plus bears, plus darkness equals no, thanks.”

ALASKA SPORTSMAN

Blacktails on Admiralty

BY TERRY WIELAND

Admiralty Island

During his hunt for blacktails on Admiralty, the author and his hosts lived aboard the Alaskan Grandeur, but only partly because it’s the lap of luxury. No one in his right mind camps among the brown bears if there is a boat stay on.

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UNTING SITKA DEER ON

Admiralty Island is like no other hunting you will ever do. It’s hunting where external factors can become overwhelming — factors like constant pouring rain, impossible terrain, and the ever-present possibility of coming face to face with an Alaska brown bear.

Admiralty has the highest concentration of brown bears per square mile in all of Alaska. They are the rulers of the island, and the Tlingit word for Admiralty is Kootznoowoo, which translates as “fortress of the bear.”

There is also no shortage of deer on Admiralty. In fact, they are the only big game to share the huge island with the bears. Given their numbers, getting a Sitka deer should be relatively simple, and it might be, but for the obstacle course of bears, terrain, and bad weather. Come out at the end with a deer, and you’ll feel like you’ve really accomplished something.

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M JULY/AUGUST 2017

One day, I went ashore with my guide, Zac, and a desire to climb to the “alpine,” where the rain-forested slopes give way to treeless mountain and continue up from there to Admiralty’s snow-capped peak.

Along the shore, the virgin timber creates a fairytale land of massive trees, deadfalls you walk under like Marble Arch, and thick, dripping moss. You feel like Gulliver in Brobdingnag, and then you start to climb. It is steep, muddy, snowy, greasy, and overgrown with brush.

At any moment, a deer may emerge from the bushes, show himself for a second or two, and disappear. You have to be constantly ready for an instant shot.

Trophy judgement is reduced to a simple question: Does he have antlers? Since you also have to be ready in case that sudden noise is a bear, your rifle becomes a precious object.

Zac and I made it up to the treeline in four hours, through heavy overcast and

TERRY WIELAND

A hunt for deer among the bears and precipitation of various sorts

wet snow, sometimes pulling ourselves up hand over hand. Far below, we could see our boat, the Alaskan Grandeur, lying at anchor near the mouth of the bay. We wolfed our lunch and decided against taking—or trying to take—a buck that showed himself 400 yards farther up. It was four hours back down, and darkness would fall by the time we reached the shore. It was a simple equation: Me, plus bears, plus darkness equals no, thanks.

We did, in fact, make it to the water just as dusk shrouded the island. We were muddy, soaked through from sweat and melting snow, with leg muscles that quivered like jelly. The warm cabin of the Grandeur was home and mother.

The Sitka deer is essentially the same animal that is known, farther south, as the Columbian blacktail. It’s about the size of a small whitetail but with antlers similar in configuration to the mule deer.

For some reason, deer that come off Admiralty seem to have antlers that can politely be described as non-typical. We took four heads in our group, and all were strange, almost freakish. Whether this is due to genetics, inbreeding, or rugged terrain and thick brush affecting them as they grow, is hard to say. My own, when I got it, was an old buck with one side forked like a divining rod, and the other like a can opener.

The one we spotted up on the mountain resembled a modest mule deer, but at least it was symmetrical. Maybe I should have tried for it, but the long range, the conditions, and our prospects for getting it back down the mountain look better in retrospect, sitting here warm and dry, than they did at the time.

Another day, I went ashore with the intention of perching on a mossy knoll deep in the forest, and simply waiting and watching. It rained and rained, and gradually I felt it soaking through as such rain will do. A drop here, a trickle there, and pretty soon you’re wet from your toes to your forelock. My camera was in the bottom of my backpack, and after about two hours it suddenly went berserk, screeching like a car alarm.

Water in the bottom of the pack had risen until it hit the battery and triggered this frantic optical call for help. That was it for that day. No deer was likely to appear after the camera’s hysterical

Admiralty Island is basically one long mountain, rising out of the sea, with its lower slopes clad in virgin timber.

performance. The camera itself was dead and gone—for all time, as it turned out.

The final morning, with the rain pausing for breath and a watery sun making a valiant effort to penetrate the cloud and fog, I set up in a grassy basin surrounded by trees, with a creek running through. After the mountain and the rain forest, it was almost idyllic.

I’d been there an hour when a buck came out of the brush, picked his way along

the creek maybe 50 yards away, and then paused to look around. I rolled over, put the crosshair behind his shoulder, and that was that.

My guide, Jimmie, smiled and nodded.

“Now wasn’t that easy?”

Terry Wieland counts this hunt on Admiraly among his most memorable. He is the Shooting Editor for our sister publication, Gray’s Sporting Journal.

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GEAR Gadgets

Gadgets that enhance your enjoyment and safety in the wild

BY BJORN DIHLE Whether you’re out for a picnic, embarking on a pack-raft mission, or trying to fill the freezer with wild meat, Alaska is rarely a gentle place. Expect a certain level of discomfort and, at the risk of sounding melodramatic, danger. I’m not big into tech or electronic gadgets—banging rocks together and breaking sticks is how I get my kicks most Friday nights—but they sure can make the outdoors more comfortable and safer.

Editor’s Choice Garmin InReach Explorer This tiny satellite communication and GPS device is a game changer. You can text and receive messages from anywhere in the hinterlands. Throw in preloaded Delorme topo maps, basic weather reports, digital compass, barometric altimeter, accelerometer, and all sorts of other stuff I haven’t figured out how to use yet and get ready to fall in love again. Want a weather update? Need to tell your honey you’re going to be a day late getting back from a hunting trip? On top of a mountain when the fog rolls in and not sure how to find your way back to camp? Break your leg and need to be rescued? The InReach Explorer can help resolve just about all your problems. The battery is rechargeable and has a very long life—on a 10-day hike on Kodiak Island, while using my InReach liberally, I used only 30 percent of the battery. I can’t recommend this product highly enough. garmin.com;$450

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Midland X-Talker T75VP3 Two-Way Radios Whether you’re out wildlife viewing, backpacking or hunting, it’s nice and sometimes critical to have a two-way radio to communicate with your partner. The Midland X-Talker, with a rechargeable battery pack, 36 channels, and a range of up to 38 miles, is a good option. I regularly use Midland two-way radios for checking the weather on kayak trips, guiding, instructing outdoor classes, and communicating on wilderness trips and other outdoor pursuits. For its affordable price, the Midland X-Talker is a great addition to any outdoor safety kit. midlandusa.com; $90

Thermacell MR450 Handheld Insect Repeller Mosquitoes and other biting bugs can be an outright existential terror. Come June or July, the biting bugs in Alaska can leave some people with PTSD. There are all sorts of products on the market—ranging from smelly but worthless to deadly but harsh on your skin. Ideally, what you want is something that works effectively with minimal toxicity. The MR450 uses butane cartridges to burn allethrin, a compound that has a low toxicity to humans but is deadly to insects (It’s highly toxic to fish and aquatic invertebrates, so be careful where you use it). Thermacell claims the MR450 will clear a 15-x-15-foot area of 98 percent of biting bugs.

I found the MR450 did a better job than most deterrents. Its nearly odorless and silent and, hands down, a better alternative than any DEET-based products. thermacell.com; $35

Cabela’s Alaskan Guide RGB Headlamp The Alaskan Guide Headlamp helps you take back the night.

Whether you’re out in the field, at home in a power outage, or out dancing—there’s a red, green, and blue LED flood beam that will turn you into a disco hero—this is a high-quality and versatile torch. I found that the red and green lights enhanced details of the forest and woods better than the light of a traditional headlamp. It’s small, just 2.9 ounces, solidly built and easy to use. Runs up to 53 hours using the spotlight and up to 150 hours using LEDs. I brought it on a number of wet adventures last spring, and it’s still running strong on its first set of batteries. cabelas.com; $40

Backcountry Access Link Radio This radio is designed for group communication in the mountains, with an emphasis on backcountry skiing. It has more than a two-mile radius of communication for rounding up partners at the end of the day or in the case of an accident. With a smart mic (you can turn it off and on even while wearing a heavy glove) that you can clip to a backpack strap, you can store this 12-ounce radio in your pack and out of the elements. It uses a long-lasting rechargeable battery that stands up well against the cold—four days in extreme subzero temperatures. If you’re looking for an ideal radio for mountain recreation, this is it. backcountryaccess.com;$150

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The Pribilof Islands

BY KEVIN MCCARTHY

Pribilof Islands

The cliffs of the Pribilof Islands host more then 2 million breeding birds, including horned puffins and other alcids.

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LASKA IS A WILD AND REMOTE PLACE,

and it occurs to me while flying far out over the Bering Sea that few places, even in Alaska, are as wild and remote as my destination: the Pribilof Islands. Located 300 miles off the coast, the islands of St. George and St. Paul, are home to more than 240 different species of birds and are best known for seabird colonies with two million birds, principally least auklets, murres, and fulmars breeding on the cliff faces. The islands support the greatest number of nesting alcids and seabirds in Alaska. Sixteen different species of alcids have been recorded in the Pribilofs.

This is a birding trip of a lifetime, one I have dreamed of for many years. Ornithologists rate the Pribilofs, and especially St. George, as among the world’s premier birding sites, sometimes referring to the islands as the “Galapagos of the North.”

The Pribilof Islands consist of two main islands, St. Paul and St. George, and three smaller islands: Otter, Walrus, and Sea Lion.

Only St. Paul and St. George are inhabited.

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M JULY/AUGUST 2017

St. Paul is the largest island and at only eight miles wide by fourteen miles long is not very large.

The Pribilof Islands were discovered in 1786 by Russian fur traders. In 1788 the Russian American Company enslaved and relocated Aleuts from Siberia, Atka, and Unalaska to the Pribilofs to hunt fur seals.

Today, with approximately 600 individuals, the Pribilof Islands represents the largest Aleut population in the world.

Virtually all land ownership is by Native Aleut village organizations. On St. Paul it is Tanadgusix and on St. George is Tanaq. The islands are now considered part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

Windy, cold, and shrouded in fog for most of the summer the islands are an unlikely tourist destination, yet tourism is a thriving business, albeit most are either serious birders or wildlife photographers. Upwards of 250 wildlife enthusiasts visit each spring and summer, primarily to St. Paul. St. George is actually a better island for birding, with as much as 90% of the breeding

ALL PHOTOS KEVIN MCCARTHY

Premier birding and more

seabirds in the Pribilofs on St. George, but the lack of a hotel or restaurant, and infrequent flights on and off the island make visiting St. George problematic.

Even on the more frequently visited island of St. Paul, accommodations are spartan. There is only one place to stay on the island, the new King Eider Hotel, which is located in a warehouse type of building at the end of the island’s runway. Clean and functional, the hotel has 120 double rooms and shared bathroom facilities.

There is also only one place to eat: the Trident Seafoods cafeteria, where you’ll dine along with all of the workers of the processing plant. In season, the plant processes halibut, as well as the more lucrative fisheries for snow crab. But one does not visit St. Paul for luxurious accommodations or fine dining—you go there for the wildlife.

The islands are home to two endemic species that are signature birds of the Pribilofs, the red-legged kittiwake (Rissa brevirostris) and red-faced cormorant (Phalacrocorax urile). Seventy-five percent of the world’s population of the red-legged kittiwake breed in the Pribilofs. Other seabirds include black-legged kittiwakes; crested, least, and parakeet auklets; and horned and tufted puffins. There are also large numbers of nesting dunlin and an endemic race of rock sandpiper.

There are only four common breeding songbirds: snow buntings, Lapland longspur, long-billed winter wren, and gray-crowned rosy finch. Rounding out species of particular interest to me

include the McKay’s bunting, the only endemic Alaskan passerine, and various Asian vagrants.

Birding is not the only wildlife attraction in the Pribilof Islands. Even by Alaskan standards the scenery is breathtaking, with some of the best wildlife viewing in Alaska.

During the summer months the islands are home to 800,000 breeding northern fur seals. The commercial harvest of fur seals continued from the time the Russians discovered the islands up until 1985. Today only a limited subsistence hunt by the local Aleuts is allowed.

The islands are also home to a very healthy population of the blue morph arctic fox, a sub-species that is endemic to St. Paul. The slate-blue coloration is due to a recessive gene. This handsome fox is often observed around the many breeding bird colonies, looking for an opportune meal.

The best time for birds is late spring, mid-May to mid-June, but a visit any time during the warmer months will be memorable. Come prepared for cold, rain, and heavy fog. Waterproof boots are a must to get off the roads and wander the fields, often with wet, knee-high grass. It is also advisable to allow extra days in Anchorage prior to departing for the Pribilofs since flights are often canceled due to heavy fog on St. Paul.

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The cliffs of the Pribilof Islands host more then 2 million breeding birds, including crested auklets and other alcids.

JULY/AUGUST 2017 A L A S K A

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Marvin “Muktuk” Marston

A pioneering advocate for equality

BY ERIKA SCHNEIDER

arrived in Alaska early in World War II. A major in the U. S. Army Air Corps, he worked at Elmendorf Field on Fort Richardson and was in charge of special services, which included organizing recreational activities for soldiers. His lasting legacy, however, was the Alaska Territorial Guard, an idea inspired by an observation of Alaskan ingenuity.

In March 1942, Marston brought comedian Joe Brown to Alaska to entertain troops. After a visit in Nome, Marston flew Brown and a small group of soldiers to Gambell for a sightseeing trip. When it came time to return to Nome, they discovered that the plane’s engine needed work. High winds impeded their efforts.

They first tied the plane down, then they needed to freeze water on the ropes. In a village with no running water, this was a significant problem. A group of Alaska Native men had gathered at the landing strip, watching the proceedings.

Marston wrote about what happened next, “In astonishment I saw the insur-

After witnessing the ingenuity of Native Alaskans, Marvin Marston came up with the the idea of the Alaska Territorial Guard, which utilized the skills of primarily Natives of various groups but also whites as a first line of intelligence and defense concerning enemy movements during World War II.

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mountable problem solved in a matter of minutes. How did they [the Native men] do it? They just zippered down and soaked the ropes with urine until it froze. I said to myself, These fellows know everything.

They had to know everything to have lived for generations under the most rugged conditions man has known. Suddenly, like the sun breaking through the storm clouds, there came to me an idea for their defense and ours as well.”

Marston believed that the remote villagers could help the United States in the war effort by providing intelligence about Japanese troop movements and defending the land in case of attack. Marston took this idea first to a higher up in the Intelligence Division, Major Castner, who was himself well known for defending the Aleutian Islands. Castner liked the idea and said he would pass it along. A few days later

Marston found out that the plan had “been referred for study.” The plan was passed further up the chain of command, but Marston was told that the military did not have authority to enact it. Dedicated to his idea and disappointed by the inaction, Marston then took his plan even further up, to the Commanding Officer for the Alaska Defense Command. Explaining that it “pays to be cautious,” the Commanding Officer told Marston that the plan for a tundra army would not be approved. Marston was infuriated; he wanted swift action.

Having exhausted his options within the military, Marston sent his plan to Ernest Gruening, who was territorial governor of Alaska from 1939 to 1953. Independently, Governor Gruening already had the idea of forming a civilian guard. When Gruening saw Marston’s plan he saw a lot of potential

(THIS PAGE) ALASKA STATE LIBRARY, ALASKA-NATIONAL GUARD-07, ALASKA STATE LIBRARY PHOTO COLLECTION; (OPPOSITE PAGE) ALASKA AND POLAR REGIONS COLLECTIONS, ELMER E. RASMUSON LIBRARY, UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS

M

ARVIN “MUKTUK” MARSTON

in it. Marston was then appointed as a military aide to Governor Gruening.

Marston was relieved. “At long last the sea of red tape was parting.”

The Alaska Territorial Guard was officially created in June 1942. Marston was put in charge of the guard in Western Alaska, an area of about 200,000 square miles. He travelled the area from Bristol Bay to the Seward Peninsula, recruiting Natives, trappers, miners, and homesteaders to defend the territory.

During his travels, he earned the nickname “Muktuk.” In a village north of Nome, a Native man invited Marston to an eating contest. Marston stayed up all night with the man, eating the chewy, oily whale skin and blubber known as muktuk. He also developed a profound respect for all who survived and thrived in these harsh areas, especially Native groups. In the preface to his book Marston wrote, “The Eskimos of the Arctic are the most self-reliant and resourceful individuals I have ever met.”

During World War II, the members of the Alaska Territorial Guard were given these patches. Also, the U.S. Governnment sold war bonds to help fund the war efforts. A promotional poster for the Fourth War Loan, which sold from January 18 through February 15, 1944, depicted Native Alaskans of the ATG.

Eventually, the Territorial Guard had more than 6,000 civilians enlisted. While they did not see battle, they served an important strategic role. They helped support the lendlease program and guarded the only platinum mine in the Western hemisphere.

Additionally, Marston’s attitude of respect helped other military officials see that Native Alaskans had valuable knowledge and skills.

In a time when other U.S. soldiers were tasked with the internment of Alaska Natives and Japanese, Marston was a pioneering advocate for equality.

Erika Schneider has taught in rural Alaska since 2008 and currently teaches 6th grade in Dillingham.

find your adventure...

Haines Alaska VisitHaines.com 800-458-3579 | 907-766-2234 JULY/AUGUST 2017 A L A S K A

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Subsistence

There are more species of the genus Cortinarius than any other mushroom in Alaska.”

Gathering Mushrooms Carefully Enhancing the fun in fungi collecting

The following excerpt is from Alaska’s Mushrooms: A Wide-Ranging Guide, which is a comprehensive look at the fungi of the Last Frontier.

The book features detailed descriptions of 114 species along with color photographs and information on mushroom seasons and habitats, hints for collecting mushrooms, directions for making spore prints (an essential test for identifying mushrooms), and warnings for toxic species. Alaska’s Mushrooms is published by Graphic Arts Books (2016) and available everywhere books are sold. >> 52

A L A S K A M A G A Z I N E . C O M JULY/AUGUST 2017

DESIGN PICS INC / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO

BY DR. GARY A. LAURSEN AND NEIL MCARTHUR

Alaska is vast and all too often uncharted when it comes to mushroom collecting in any one of its six geographic provinces: Arctic, Interior, Northwest, Southcentral, Southwestern–Aleutian, and Southeast. There are literally thousands of mushroom species in Alaska and few mushroom collectors. This book contains only a sampling of some of our best-known species and easily identified forms found in more populated areas.

Anyone can use this book to become familiar with some of the mushrooms most often encountered and the techniques used to identify them.

From May through September, and even into October in a good year, you will encounter many intriguing mushrooms in Alaska. If you find a mushroom you wish to identify, gather both mature and immature specimens. Note their overall appearance, color, shape, size, and particularly the mushroom’s spore-bearing surface, the hymenophore composed of or housing gills, pores, or teeth, usually found on the undersides of caps or on upright corallike fingers. Use a mature cap to prepare a spore print, an important clue to mushroom identity.

Once you’ve gathered your samples, read the brief introduction to each of the seventeen mushroom groups and find the category that most closely matches your mushroom. If you find a description that matches all the features of the mushroom you have gathered, you are probably close to identifying it. Any mushroom that you’ve never seen before and that you intend to eat should be identified in more than one current field guide and verified

by a local knowledgeable expert. Only then should you carefully but fully cook and then consume the mushroom, proceeding with extreme caution.

For the record, most mycologists [scientists who study fungi] dislike using common names of mushrooms. This is perhaps perceived to be a weakness in not knowing a Latin binomial of a fungus, or a sense of clearly separating the professionalism they wish to portray in contrast to a more relaxed approach to studying and working with fungi. We have included common names here because this work is written primarily with you, the enthusiastic beginner, in mind.

We have pulled our common names from two primary texts, Arora (1986) and Lincoff and Nehring (1984). One thing to note is that a common name to a fungus in the West may not be the common name used for the same or very similar fungus in the East. In essence, common names may end up being confusing, or too similar so as to cause confusion and mycologists emphasize clarity rather than promulgate confusion—or add to it. Take, for example, the name, “Fuzzy False Truffle” for Geopora cooperi, a true truffle in reality, or the “Scum Lover” for Multiclavula mucida, which I’ve only seen on relatively dry ground. This is why, in some cases, we show two or three common names for the same fungus. Feel free to choose whatever naming convention you wish to use. It’s your day in the field and our goal is that you feel inspired, inquisitive, and empowered, whether you’re learning something new or merely refreshing past associations with the world of fungi.

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Y

ou get up here high enough, and there are no roads. You get up here early and often enough, and you can photograph animals that are very sure-footed, small enough to live in a pile of rocks, or at the top of the food chain.

Matt Quaid says he does whatever it takes to get up here, employing snowshoes, skis, or cramponsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and sometimes all three.

His passion often pays off in spectacular fashion. >>

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Two billy mountain goats rest 4,500 feet above a freshwater and glacial lake in a southcentral Alaska valley.

Alaska on High A pure wilderness

A photographic essay

by Matt Quaid JULY/AUGUST 2017 A L A S K A

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[ABOVE] A pika comes out of its home, hidden at 3,000 feet in the middle of a boulder field in Chugach State Park.

[RIGHT] A Dall sheep ram rests in the snow above the clouds and at 1,500 feet up in Chugach State Park.

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[LEFT] A black bear reaches the 2,500-foot level as it works down a steep mountain slope on the Kenai Peninsula.

[BELOW] After sounding the alarm call to its neighbors at 3,000 feet, a hoary marmot eyes a golden eagle thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s circling above Chugach State Park.

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[ABOVE] An ermine on the Kenai with a fresh-caught red-backed vole soon cached its prey somewhere at the 1,500-foot level.

[RIGHT] A brown bear stalks a group of six Dall sheep rams from above 4,000 feet at Chugach State Park.

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Ravens I H When ravens catch his eye, the author often gets distracted from chores and outdoor pursuits.

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ave Known Who can know the mind of a raven?

By Steve Descloux

PATRICK J. ENDRES / ALASKAPHOTOGRAPHICS.COM

I

STEPPED OUT THE BACK DOOR OF OUR KODIAK HOME on an errand to the tool shed one late-winter day and immediately noticed a loose gathering of ravens on the frozen snow across the swamp behind our house.

Quick-counting by groups I figured 13 birds, perhaps three family groups, all contrasting beautifully against the snow and ice-covered ground as they flapped and leaped about, hollering and shrieking.

The sun had made a weak appearance and was beaming intermittently in the open shallows of the sluggish creek.

The mild conditions had apparently prompted a mid-winter bathing lesson for the youngsters.

I immediately returned inside for my binoculars and for about a half hour enjoyed a rare view into the world of my shiny black, raucous neighbors who live in the forest of Sitka spruce on the hill above the swamp. The larger parent birds didn’t participate in the cold bath but stood watchfully nearby on the crusted snow as their young splashed about in the open shallows. They made noise aplenty in their ablutions, and I must say I would have done the same in those frigid waters. Some of them ducked under and wet themselves fully, while others seemed more reserved and enjoyed a version of a sponge bath. The parent birds walked about on the frozen snow and monitored the progress, croaking now and then as if offering suggestions to their students. Ravens are always interesting and entertaining if one has the time and patience to observe.

My wife and I always enjoyed watching for the new broods in the proximity of our home during late summer when the parents begin teaching their young flight.

Scientists will tell you animal intelligence cannot be proven even in ravens. From my own simple observations, their intelligence is very difficult to deny. I stood leaning on my shovel and watched one of these early flights around my

immediate neighborhood one summer and had to laugh aloud in amazement at the cleverness of the parents. After passing over our house and turning down the street, they guided the youngsters through the spruce tops and back out over the swamp, then lined them out away from their home turf down toward Beaver Lake. Both adults dropped behind their brood, then suddenly, silently, they reversed course in stealth mode, low and fast over the swamp and hid out in the dense spruce foliage on the hill where they nested.

They’d fooled the four babies into thinking (if ravens can think) that they were all going on another field trip. They’d ditched their children! It seemed obvious to me that they were teaching them a lesson about minding their bearings.

The adults remained hidden, kept silent for about 20 minutes, and seemed to be listening and watching (as I was) to see if any of their babies had sense enough to come back the way they’d gone. None did. Finally, one of the parent birds began a hoarse call. Krrruk! Then an apparent listening silence for about 30 seconds and, Krrruk. Krrruk!

The questioning sound echoed over the swamp in the still air. I couldn’t see the parent birds but had noted where they’d flown into the trees. It was impossible to tear myself away from this little drama, wondering whether the fledges would return. The parents’ croaking and listening went on for perhaps another 20 minutes, then they gave in and launched from their respective perches and silently (grimly it seemed) flew into the swamp in the direction their young had gone.

I watched awhile for their return, but my previous errand regained priority, and except for frequent glances swampward, I left off the vigil and never learned what the final act may have been. I had no doubt the parents would locate their brood. My guess is that the kids would be found perched together in a tall spruce screeching for mom and pop as I had seen them do during their initial flight lessons.

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While rearing young, the male and female ravens share duties.

I recall another fine autumn day on Kodiak Island when I had climbed alone to the backside of a mountain in search of some better deer hunting far from the activity of the roads. Wind whipped heavily on the peak, and I found a spot at the base of a rock outcrop to hunker behind out of the cold breezes while munching a sandwich. My views out over the void were a fine reward for the effort it cost in achieving this god-like seat. Below and to my right the dense green forest of Sitka spruce blanketed the long fingers of the islandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s north-end. The interspersing bays sported a beautifully contrasted, deep, breezy blue.

Before and to the west lay a wide valley, rough and hilly, darkened here and there with stands of spruce encompassed by nearly impenetrable gray thickets of tag alder. Tawny grasses on the intermediate slopes of steep mountains across the valley shimmered in the wind. Gray-black rocky peaks crowned it all on a level equal to my own. Frothy creeks brawled down the steep mountainsides, emptying the vast vaults of snowmelt stored in the fractured rock. Here was natural wild country where deer and bear could be found.

The rough ground immediately before me ended at a cliff that fell away perhaps 200 feet into steep scree that disappeared into the alders. The wind blasted straight up this rocky face and quite suddenly my musing gaze was interrupted by three ravens soaring in the air at the edge of the cliff 20 feet before me and with the apparent purpose to come and play in this hurricane blast. So close were they I could see the whiskers on their beaks.

Then they swooped up in the air stream like Blue Angel fighter jets, tumbling and rolling about in the blast as high as it would carry them.

Then, like kids at play, they plummeted down outside the airy torrent

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and re-entered the stream from below. Their shrieks and yells punctuated the obvious fun they were having. I could imagine no other reason for their antics and sat spellbound by their aerobatics until my backside went numb from sitting on the cold rock. As I moved on around the shoulder of the peak to continue hunting, I felt privileged by this rare opportunity to observe their performances. I wondered to myself if these flights were merely a fun exercise in the life of wild ravens or whether there was some actual purpose.

Another incident occurred when my wife and I were living in Anchorage. There are always plenty of city ravens about town and in a way, though I always enjoy watching them perched on lamp posts or comically hopping along on the ground, it saddens me to see them hanging around the parking lots of fast-food joints, waiting like bums on the street corners for the handouts well-meaning folks toss out of the car windows.

One day in early summer my black Lab, Chinook, and I were on a walk out along the paved coastal trail in the area near Point Woronzof when I spied a dirt trail leading uphill through the brush and into the birches. The path was too inviting to pass up so we diverted for

A conspiracy of ravens finds scraps in the snow.

PATRICK J. ENDRES / ALASKAPHOTOGRAPHICS.COM

perhaps a little more scenic adventure. Chinook was always on board for new places and an obedient companion who could be trusted without the leash. I was pleased to see no human tracks in the damp places of the trail; only that of an adult moose and, seeing no calf sign, I felt confident in allowing Chinook his freedom.

The path led us mostly uphill through tall, thick stands of birch fully haired out in summer greenery. The lush understory of abundant berry brush, pushki, and devil’s club hung over the trail, raking at my clothes as I moved along enjoying the fragrances of the warm shade. Our way became steeper, and as we climbed I began to see blue sky ahead through the leafy canopy indicating a clearing. Suddenly, the sound of ravens whooping and squawking echoed through the trees. Thinking they must be feeding on a dead animal, I called Chinook back to me and snapped on the leash. He looked at me with disapproval but didn’t complain; he heard them too and knew we would investigate. As we neared the top of the climb I began to see two tall, metal-latticed towers through openings in the trees. Antennas sprouted from various mountings, apparently having to do with commercial aircraft that over-flew the area on take-offs and landings. I saw several ravens leaping and flapping about, but as we emerged from the canopied trail into the open, all motion and sound from the ravens ceased. Six large ravens crouched on and near a big nest at one end of the structure. Another raven, presumably a parent, perched on a handrail just above them.

I was highly pleased. It was obvious to me that these birds were pre-fledges and were likely waiting to be fed. I had read in one of my books about ravens (Mind of the Raven by Bernd Heinrich) that both male and female tend the babies at the nest, alternating in hunting and bringing food. What an opportunity to observe this in action! Or so I thought.

Lying back on my elbows in the morning sun at the edge of the clearing I began to wait, ogling them periodically through binoculars.

The six fledges neither moved nor made a sound. I was amazed at their discipline. Chinook lay by my side, impatiently poking my arm with his black nose now and then as if to prod me to move on.

After a long, silent 10 minutes, and just as I was ready to continue on our way, the other parent bird appeared, flapping quietly up the hill from

the other side of the clearing to land on a low part of the tower opposite the nest. Still not a sound came from any of the birds. The noise these babies had been generating before my arrival told me of their hungry anticipation for the arrival of the morning portion. I trained my binoculars on the recent arrival and could see that its beak and gullet were bulging with breakfast. After perhaps another five minutes I couldn’t, in good conscience, hold the hungry fledges hostage any longer.

Chinook was happy to be moving again, his tail waving high behind him, as we made our way down the trail to the far end of the clearing.

As we moved down into the covering trees at the lower end and out of sight of the birds I stopped and peered back through openings in the leaves with my binoculars hoping to see what I had missed at close quarters. For perhaps several minutes more I waited. No sound. No movement. Finally, giving up for good and with Chinook’s smiling, tongue-lolling assent, we continued down the hill. I kept my ears tuned for the anticipated feast, which I’m sure eventually came off with much noise. But the family had outwaited me. How smart these birds are! And how does a raven teach its young to keep silent when the situation demands it?

I am amazed anew at every encounter with these amazing wild creatures, and they always leave me asking the same question: Who can know the mind of a raven?

Steve Descloux moved to Kodiak Island with his family in 1957, as a boy of four, and spent all of his early years there. Two Tales of Old Kodiak is his memoir of those days. He now lives in Wasilla with Diane, his wife of 43 years.

Their shrieks and yells punctuated the obvious fun they were having. I could imagine no other reason for their antics...”

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Destination Kaktovik A balancing act between itself and tourist season

(SPREAD) RAY BULSON/ RAYBULSON.COM; (INSET) MICHAEL ENGELHARD

by Michael Engelhard

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aves slap the hull as Capt. Robert Thompson takes his cabin boat out of the sheltered lagoon, rounding the spit where whale carcasses rest like some ruined prehistoric behemoths.

About 25 polar bears rummaging the bone pile pay the boat no attention, engrossed in spoiled blubber scraps dumped there by locals to make room for fresh whale meat in their freezers.

An extension of Barter Island, the spit stretches half a mile outside of Kaktovik, an IĂąupiaq-Eskimo whaling village of about 300 nestled against stark shores on Alaskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Beaufort Sea. >>

[SPREAD] A polar bear and her cub explore the whale pile outside the village of Kaktovik. In recent years, the whales gather in numbers great enough to attract tourists.

[INSET] Robert Thompson is one of seven coast-guardcertified tour-boat captains.

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(SPREAD) HEMIS / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO; (INSET) MICHAEL ENGELHARD

he bears, as happens every year, have been marooned after the sea ice—their preferred platform for seal hunting—broke up during the summer.

This year, in Kaktovik, the ice went out by July, one month early, the earliest ever, according to Thompson.

“The bears are here [in such numbers and for so long] because of climate change,” he says, silver-haired, with eyebrows like bits of black felt, while the breeze ruffles his parka hood’s wolf skin.

Indeed, 2016 had the second-lowest Arctic summer ice cover on record; dozens of bears linger on the outskirts of town landlocked and hungry and napping much, in a state of walking hibernation. They are waiting for freeze-up, when cold once again seals the lagoon that separates Barter Island from the mainland and puts a lid on the rest of the vast Arctic Ocean. In the meantime, the bone pile provides the castaways with survival rations.

Three bowheads, Kaktovik’s allotted annual quota, have been landed this fall. And there, near the airstrip’s hangar, the bears feast on the carcasses. As a rule, they eat peaceably, rooting around and not always looking snow-white and sometimes mingling with grizzlies. The cetacean buffet can draw up to 80 ursine gourmands at a time to the vicinity. A Native subsistence hunter and one of seven U.S. Coast Guard-certified tour-boat captains, Thompson makes a good living from the bears; between September and November, he guides tourists who are eager to see the gut-pile visitors.

The portly Thompson’s boat is aptly named—Seanachaí (Irish for “storyteller”). Spinning yarns is part of his job as a guide. The man who can see bears making a beeline to the spit from his favorite living-room chair once got charged by a marauding male right on his doorstep. He may tell you that, to prepare a polar bear skin, you stuff it through a hole in the ice, where tiny shrimp pick it clean, or on a cold day, a bear track begins to crust 20 minutes after the animal’s passing. He’s watched bears steal from set nets and once, a particularly clever bear pulled a net to shore like a fisherman.

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K In 2015 alone, more than a thousand visitors flew to Kaktovik on small, twin-engine airplanes, lured by the thrill of meeting Earth’s largest land predator face to face in its home environment.”

aktovik residents out visiting late often carry a spray can of bear repellent as minimum insurance. They leave front doors unlocked, allowing escape into an Arctic entryway if you are attacked. The polar-bear patrol, whose red truck orbits the town’s perimeter after sunset, carries 12gauge shotguns with beanbag and firecracker slugs for deterrence and in extreme cases will not hesitate to shoot an aggressive bear.

Overall, though, this Arctic community has learned remarkably well to coexist with stranded mega-fauna. In the past six years, small ecotourism businesses have sprung up, benefitting from the White Bear bonanza—Thompson is already booked out for 2017. He can get so busy that he rushes to work without breakfast, grabbing a fistful of coffee beans to chew on his way out the door. In 2015 alone, more than a thousand visitors flew to Kaktovik on small, twin-engine airplanes, lured by the package of whaling culture, auroras, and views of the distance-blue Brooks Range—but foremost by the thrill of meeting Earth’s largest land predator face to face in its home environment.

And therein lies part of a problem. Many visitors are hobby photographers who crave the spectacular, wildlife calendar-quality photo to validate the experience and to justify their expenses—even without the round-trip to Fairbanks, a three-day polar bear viewing excursion can set you back $6,000 or more.

In the bid for satisfied customers, rules and ethics the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been trying to implement are easily compromised. Bears have been fed from the back of tour boats to attract them, and the prescribed distance of 30 yards that keeps bears from getting stressed and tourists from getting injured repeatedly has been breached. There is strong pressure from tourists to get closer still, and reportedly, a few have forsaken boat captains who refuse to do this in favor of guides who won’t. Interaction with the bears is also discouraged (to keep them from getting habituated), but people have asked Thompson to “make a bear stand up” for that special photo. The guides, if caught in any violations, risk losing their licenses along with $60,000 investments in boats with powerful motors.

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[ABOVE] Like graffiti most anywhere else, the graffiti of Kaktovik reflects its environment.

[RIGHT] A polar-bear patrol helps guard the streets of Kaktovik from wandering bears, but the barks of sled dogs around town are the first line of defense.

hompson and other captains fear that outsiders will launch their own boats in attempts to muscle in as this latest of booms in Alaska plays out. Already, guides from urban areas and even the Lower 48 states siphon off a good deal of the profits. They arrange and charge for transportation and chaperoning by natural history or photography guides, only purchasing rides or accommodations at one of Kaktovik’s two lodges or its only bed and breakfast, which Thompson runs with his daughter. Bruce Inglangasak, a lanky, mustachioed boat captain in a camouflage suit and knitted watch cap embroidered “Get Wild About Nature” expresses a sentiment common among his peers: “It’s our God-given right. We live here, and nobody knows these animals and waters like we do.”

Not all Kaktovik residents embrace the influx ecotourism brings. There is concern that pictures of butchered whales, bearskins, or skulls could provoke animal-rights groups and environmentalists. One old-timer angrily tried to chase off bears while tourists were watching and almost fell prey to the animals’ roving appetites when his four-wheeler did not start up again right away. Envy of those few who are lucky or savvy enough to tap this newfound wealth also sours the atmosphere in a community whose members for millennia depended on each other, a people who survived by sharing and cooperating.

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To counter negative effects of local tourism, the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, in concert with the local school, teaches Kaktovik’s Youth Ambassadors to greet and educate incoming tourists about Iñupiaq culture and bear-viewing etiquette. Quite a few outsiders step off the plane here hoping, like Lewis and Clark, to find an American Eden. More perceptive visitors quickly realize that this paradise comes with pitfalls and thorns.

Perhaps the community will balance the presence of tourists and

(BOTH) MICHAEL ENGELHARD

T

bears in the future, but today they face a different balancing act: the environment that has supported both indigenous people and polar bears for thousands of years is shifting below their feet. As changing pack ice shortens the polar bears’ hunting season, shrinking shore-fast ice inhibits the ability of Iñupiaq hunters to intercept migrating whales.

And sea level rises and coastal erosion—worsened by storm-agitated surf—puts low-lying Arctic communities at risk of flooding and means bears lose den sites.

To Robert Thompson and fellow guides, Barter Island is simply “our own front yard.” Globally speaking, it is our backyard. What happens today in the Arctic will affect us all tomorrow.

Michael Engelhard is the author of Ice Bear: The Cultural History of an Arctic Icon and of American Wild: Explorations from the Grand Canyon to the Arctic Ocean, a 2017 Independent Publishers Book Awards winner.

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Earlier, I spied a grizzly sow and two cubs ambling along the base of the mountain in search of ripening blueberries and fattened rodents. Tonight, if I’m lucky, the skies will continue their clear streak and the aurora will dance overhead in the brilliant displays of greens, blues, purples, and reds.

An occasional bush plane drones by high overhead on its way to some outpost. Closer to Denali, pilots and climbers and sightseers are likely sporting huge grins of accomplishment or wonder at the perpetually snowy behemoth. But I’m happy to be still, right here, listening and looking.

Solitude? Yes. Loneliness? Hardly. >>

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Biologist Tom Seaton holds a radio tracking collar he retrieved after it was shed by a wood bison in summer 2016.

more than I expected they would. They know a 50 mile stretch of meadows, and use it expertly to get what they need as the seasons change.

Body condition and growth rates of young animals are extremely good, indicating that the forage suits them. Their high rate of calving is another indicator they’re faring very well.

What is your favorite memory?

Working with the residents of Shageluk, Grayling, Anvik, and Holy Cross to build the temporary holding pen a few miles north of Shageluk. All those men and women working efficiently as a team, in the woods and snow, with a common dream of bison and excitement about the future.

Tom Seaton

A biologist with Alaska Fish and Game

COURTESY TOM SEATON, ADF&G

Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Tom Seaton restored a piece of Alaska when he led the reintroduction of 130 wood bison to their predecessors’ historic range along the Innoko River in the spring and summer of 2015. Slightly larger and covered with more wooly hair than their cousins, the plains bison, wood bison once roamed much of the state. No one knows exactly when or why they disappeared, but bringing the wood bison back fills an important cultural niche and will benefit countless plants and animals. Seaton talked to Alaska about how the herd has been faring the last two years and what the future holds for wood bison. ~as told to Alexander Deedy After decades of work, what was it like to watch those first bison run free as wild animals?

It didn’t hit me right away, because I was carrying so much responsibility in the moment. Days later when I was speaking to a local elder, I was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude and accomplishment in service to Alaska’s wildlife and people.

About two weeks after they were

released, I was radiotracking from the air and saw the first calf born in the wild. I was struck with the awesome feeling that I was witnessing the beginning of Alaska’s first wild wood-bison herd in over 100 years.

How has the herd been faring over the last two years?

Quite well. We now have 150 or so animals in the wild. The bison have explored their habitat

What is the future for wood bison in Alaska?

The long-term goal is to restore wood bison populations to portions of their former habitat in Alaska so that they are again an integral part of Alaska’s wildlife, providing Alaskans and others the opportunity to enjoy, and benefit from, this ecologically important northern mammal. It is hoped that someday they will be a common wildlife species much like moose are today. It took at least 130 years for moose to expand across Alaska from low numbers in eastern interior in the 1880s to almost all available habitat on mainland Alaska today. It may take as long for wood bison.

You think of yourself as a public servant and really stress the importance of public involvement and ownership in wood bison reintroduction. Why should people get involved, and what can they do if they want to?

Public involvement and ownership in wildlife conservation is the only way that wildlife can flourish. No government can successfully force people to conserve wildlife. People must be allowed to find the value of wildlife as they see it.

This value can be in meat on the table, viewing, tourism, or just the happy thought in someone’s head that wood bison were saved from extinction and are now growing in number.

To get involved, people can simply bring up wood bison at their next community meeting.

If wood bison restoration is something that they are excited about, they can make it known to ADFG, and to other communities.

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Can you tell us where youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find this view?

Kevin McCarthy, a photographer from Falmouth, Massachusetts, took this photograph during his travels through the state.

Post your answer on Facebook for a chance to win a subscription to Alaska magazine. facebook.com/AlaskaMagazine

June Answer:

Russ Lumpkin, editor of Alaska, took this photo of combat anglers working the Bird Creek south of Anchorage just off the Seward Highway.

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