Life Below Zero

[scaatylobo]

@ 95xl883

Guess you missed the fact that there is a camera crew,and I bet THEY are smart enough to have a real gun.

AND he knows that they have a real gun,so why hump his - makes him very smart ,ya think ?.

 

[caribou]

Wolf attacks are almost none existent. There are no old Eskimo storys that describe Wolves attacking anyone, and they are seen as a nonthreat up this way, and are very wary. Also, Bears are in hibernation and Wolverine never attack anyone either, but they will put up a staunch defence if caught raiding your stuffs ~~LOL!!~~ they are tough to kill, even in a trap.

 

[Deaf Smith]

TheCracker:

Please note that "cold" in East Texas is not the same as "COLD" in Alaska. I have experienced both and East Texas cold during an Ice Storm is like a mild spring day (I lived in the Dallas area for 18 years). Also, it is rumored that the mosquitos in Alaska have to check with Air Traffic Control before taking off. Have experienced them, I am inclined to believe the rumors. Imagine so many mosquitos on your hand that you can't see any skin.

Alaska is beautiful, hard country. However, I prefer it to East Texas. I do not prefer it to West Texas, but that is a different story...

I just got back from Alaska. Yes a pleasure cruise to such as Skagway and Juno.

Now those mosquitoes... East Texas ones are small and very fast (and I'm a Texican for sure.) Those up there I found were huge and slow. I'm an ace now with over 10 kills (and 3 probables) from my trip there.

It is a heck of a country. I know I went the easy route but then my whole family came and they wanted to go the tourist way. Sadly we saw more trinket salesmen than anything else.

One day I'll go back via the Alaskan inland waterway and rent a 4x4 and see the interior.

Deaf

 

[Dr T]

Deaf,

Once when fishing the Nushagak in southwest Alaska, I slapped the back of my hand and killed 20 or so. Just sayin'...They are not bad if you are in the wind or on the water, but take 20 steps into the bush and it is another matter.
---------------

Another note, after carefully watching the last two episodes back to back (thank you, Comcast), I have come to the conclusion that Sue's image was made more in the editing room than anywhere else. She strikes me as being cut from the same mold as a number of ranch women I have known in West Texas--but perhaps a bit less sociable. This sort of country tends to form strong, independent women that are capable of holding things together on their own without a man around to do the heavy lifting. My mother, grandmother, and great grandmother were all such women. Since these are all gone now, it is nice to have a reminder of the type.

 

[harrygunner]

I think Sue is important to this show. She is a clear, stark depiction of the kind of person who could live under her conditions. Her primal need for independence is rare given humans are social animals. Has me considering the possibility she experienced a deep betrayal in her past.

She is a part of Alaska, one of many parts we in the lower 48 are unlikely to experience. Another reason to appreciate the show.

BTW, Erik is seen with a sidearm on occasion. See attached.

 

[scaatylobo]

Ericks 'sidearm'

The question was about bears etc - and Ericks sidearm is a Ruger .22 mark II [ I am pretty sure ].

Not exactly bear medicine,unless he shoots the cameraman and RUNS.

As to Sue's caustic personality,I am sorry but all the explanations don't wash for me.

Y'all like her then, enjoy.

Me I like people that can be alone and enjoy the silence - or leave and go someplace else.

I do note that only Erick is alone,unlike all the others shown [ cept for Sue ] and he seems like a very well adjusted person that handles the wilderness MUCH better than Sue.

And remember that Sue seems to not leave her 'compound' so she is not in the league of all the rest on that show = least that is my 'not so humble opinion'.

 

[Deaf Smith]

Yep, looks like Eric has a Ruger stainless .22!


Dr T,

Oh well, my $$ is all gone so no return to Alaska for a while! It's now 92 degrees where I'm at in Texas!

I just hope some liberals see the show and say the magic words 'Why.. and why not' and decide to become more an independent thinker and DOER!

And maybe that is what this show is all about. Standing on your own two feet and not at some government hog trough.

Deaf

 

[Cosmoline]

One day I'll go back via the Alaskan inland waterway and rent a 4x4 and see the interior.

You can just fly up here and drive around too. Truth is I've seen more wildlife right in and around Anchorage than I've ever seen out in the bush or when I was living in the sticks. There's a trail just south of the city that almost always has moose on it if you get an early start in the morning. Bear too in the fall.

I've watched clips of Sue and she's not that unusual for an Alaskan woman living in the bush. I'm not sure what you folks are expecting. Soft spoken women in silken finery? I get the sense that she likes showing off, and the crew likely encourages her.

It's now 92 degrees where I'm at in Texas!

It's close to that here in south central believe it or not. I'm dying.

 

[DM~]

I just got back from Alaska. Yes a pleasure cruise to such as Skagway and Juno.
Deaf

(Juneau)

So, you never made it to Alaska???

We always called where you went, "north" Seattle!

DM

 

[Sheepdog1968]

Alaska has been in the 80s. I was there on a cruise this year and still check the weather. My current dream is parlay my PhD in chemistry into a teaching opportunity of some kind.

 

[Deaf Smith]

(Juneau)

So, you never made it to Alaska???

We always called where you went, "north" Seattle!

DM

Ok, Juneau. Sorry about that.

We went up to Glacier Bay and that was about it.

Yea fly to Anchorage or Fairbanks and start from there. I hope the airports aren't like Seattle with those new sound 'x-rays' and such I had to put up with.. see I don't like being searched.

Yea there was alot of Alaska we didn't see. Something like 99.432 percent of it.

Deaf

 

[hang fire]

The question was about bears etc - and Ericks sidearm is a Ruger .22 mark II [ I am pretty sure ].

Not exactly bear medicine,unless he shoots the cameraman and RUNS.

As to Sue's caustic personality,I am sorry but all the explanations don't wash for me.

Y'all like her then, enjoy.

Me I like people that can be alone and enjoy the silence - or leave and go someplace else.

I do note that only Erick is alone,unlike all the others shown [ cept for Sue ] and he seems like a very well adjusted person that handles the wilderness MUCH better than Sue.

And remember that Sue seems to not leave her 'compound' so she is not in the league of all the rest on that show = least that is my 'not so humble opinion'.

Interior Alaska in midwinter is not bear weather, they are holed up hibernating until warmer times. Now if a week long warm Chinook (Foehn) wind had been blowing in mid-January, that might get some of them on the prowl.

 

[Cosmoline]

I hope the airports aren't like Seattle with those new sound 'x-rays' and such I had to put up with.. see I don't like being searched.

For commercial flights they're all like that now. For small 135 flights it's not nearly as bad. I'd suggest a flight to Anchorage from Seattle, a day to look around, then you have the options of road system north or south or flights west and you can choose based on weather conditions. If it's rainy and nasty south you can often find clear skies to the north. And sometimes if there are forest fires and haze north you can head south down to Kenai/Homer for clear air. For fishing time your trip to maximize overlap between species. So if you time it right a charter out of Seward can sweep for silvers, halibut, ling cod, and a variety of others. Vacuum packed, frozen and shipped you'll have enough fish for a year.

 

[Dr T]

And if you are in Anchorage, I suggest that you at least check out the lobby in the Millenium Hotel close to the airport (the beer garden is under the final approach to the sea plane base. It is better than many natural history museums. (And the halibut chunks in bar were pretty good the last time I was there).

 

[Deaf Smith]

Sigh... why can't I go now? Oh yea, a wife! Knew there was something holding me back!

I sure won't go in December but I'd love to go back and go north this time. I looked at the map and saw how puny were were in visiting Alaska. Like going 50 miles in the Texas Panhandle and then turning back.

I'll have to settle for some Southwest Texas fun this summer, and maybe Crockett National Forrest. Hotter than heck but at lest one is in the wilds.

Deaf

 

[hang fire]

When we lived in AK (1969-76) a cheap way to see a lot of coastal AK, was the ferries of the Alaska Marine Highway System. More expensive to take vehicle, but allows one to do some driving in different locales.



Map of routes and video at link:

The Alaska Marine Highway

http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/routes.shtml

Watch Our Routes Video

Schedule icon
Watch our routes video to learn more about the regions and communities that you can explore along the Alaska Marine Highway.
.
With 656,425 square miles of rugged wilderness, scenic beauty and abundant wildlife, Alaska is a big place! Which means traveling in Alaska presents some unique opportunities. Unlike the 'lower 48' many of our communities are not accessible by a land based road system so in many areas the primary means of travel is by air or sea. The Alaska Marine Highway makes up a large part of our 'highway system' and is a route so special it has been designated National Scenic Byway and an All American Road, the only marine route with this designation.

From the southern terminus in Bellingham, Washington the Marine Highway stretches more than 3,500 miles to Dutch Harbor with stops in Prince Rupert, BC, throughout the Inside Passage, across the Gulf of Alaska to Prince William Sound and along the Aleutian Chain. The Alaska Marine Highway is the perfect way to experience the communities that populate Alaska's diverse and scenic coastline.

Fares: http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/doc/fares/S13W14_SWTariffs.pdf

 

[Deaf Smith]

Ok question.

If on the Alaska Marine Highway from Seattle (if possible) can I carry my revolver with me?

Ok found some answers. It's ok on the ship as long as it is checked in BUT Canada is another matter. Must avoid it if I can!

Thanks,

Deaf

 

[caribou]

Anyone who can legally carry a pistol, "can" carry it concealed, in Alaska. Concealed Carry laws are like Vermonts CC laws, as in if you can own it, you can carry it, resident or non.
But not in bars, or while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, in court houses and on propertys that don't allow such, like airports and military bases, who can deny you entry. You must advise any police your in contact with that you are carrying concealed. That's about it.

If your touching Canada, things might be waaaaaay different.

 

[Dr T]

Deaf,

The scenery in Alaska is a lot better than that in the first 50 miles of the Texas Panhandle. When I am going down the the ranch from Colorado on 287, the scenery doesn't get interesting for me until I get to Big Spring (since I don't take the time to make the detour to the canyon). That drive is the main reason I have a CCW.

Thanks, Cosmoline, for summing up my assessment of Sue. She is not that unlike many solitary women (and men) that prefer to be self-reliant rather cosseted by society.

 

[scaatylobo]

Huh

Sue v/s Erick

HUGE difference between a man that is alone AND in the wildness,and a female [ I did not say Lady ] that is hunkered down safe [ reasonably ] and secure with food,water,HEAT,and lots of guns and ammo.

I just am of the opinion [ yes its a free country ] that you do not need to show a gruff exterior to any and all just because your a woman alone.

Most would get the idea that your more than capable if they see the guns all over the place [ that is a good idea IMNSHO ].

Drama is the only part of any show that I object to,and she is a drama queen.

 

[Dr T]

Just a note on video production:

The power of editing and context are huge. If you have ever been quoted out of context, it is easy to understand how words and actions can be manipulated during the editorial process.

I would submit that if you take the right 10 minutes out of anyone's week, they can be made to look like an angel--or the opposite. The purpose of commercial video production (besides, as one person described the evening new years ago, "to sell soap") is to create a narrative that will keep the audience engaged long enough to look at the ads. If you closely examine these narratives, you will find that most have heroes and villains. Sometimes these are created in the editing room by careful selection of what is shown.

 

[Cosmoline]

Folks who are alone (really alone) out there also tend to TALK TOO LOUDLY when they talk, and sometimes talk nervously because they don't get much practice and probably were never very sure of what do with other people. I remember one woman I knew in the sticks who would talk in aloud incessant voice and tell the same story over and over and over again.

There's a difference between the folks who live in villages with families and the folks sometimes called end-of-the-roaders who end up drifting into the state because we're too weird or out of place to operate in the lower 48.

 

[caribou]

Folks that live in remote villages or even in camps along the rivers between villages usually have something 'end of the roader's" don't; Family. Blood, inlaw and married into will get you more relatives that youll know what to do with.

That can make a huge difference in economy, survivability and sanity. My wifes sister drive me nuts, and solitude is evasive ~~LOL!!~~.

Besides, when you have "family" in a native way, even those that live alone, theres still a very social outlet, those who lone it, are quite 'alone' and it tells. The family net is cast wide amongst the villages here , as people move to marry and such, and even I can roll into a village Ive never been in before and find "family" and be treated just as such.
To Eskimo, to be alone is to die. Not that you will in this modern age of communication gadgets, but mentally, being alone is a vert trying condition to find yerself in, at least in the Arctic.

 

[smokey262]

Caribou,

Thanks for sharing your life with us. The show is fascinating. I appreciate all of the participants, even Sue

On the episode where your sister-in-law was visiting I recall that you indicated that there were 18 people to feed that day. Were all of them staying in your home with you?

The number 1 thing that I wonder about in these Alaska reality shows is that it seems like the majority of people who heat with wood never ever have enough to get through winter. Is it because summer is too short?

 

[rcmodel]

Family. Blood, inlaw and married into will get you more relatives that youll know what to do with.

caribou
I'm getting too personal maybe??

But I wondered if you are native Alaskan too??

I understand your wife and relatives are, as I have met a few Aleut woman here in Lawrence KS at the HINU with the chin tattoos.

But did you go there from somewhere else and marry?
Or were you born there?

Myself?
Spawn of New England Kansas settlers of mixed English / Irish decent, too complicated to decipher.
I'm a Hinds 57 so to speak.

With a full blood Cherokee great great Grandmother!!!

Hope you don't mind me asking how you got there in the first place, as you don't look or talk native Aleut (or other) too much on TV??

rc