DK in the AK

last morning in the Sudan....

2010-02-09T21:26:00.002-09:00

Kurtz has left the building......

A-musing photos......

2010-01-30T03:05:00.008-09:00

so......the stories attached to these snap shots really need to be passed on in person.....but most of them are worth at least 300 or so words by themself, if not 1,000.....

31 December 2009

a man & his rope......

so, the story behind this photo is about 50,ooo words, but it is entertaining, I swear....and it's the only time I've actually worn a life jacket in the last 20 years.....

giving a donkey-cart the AK treatment at Vito's Old Fangak Body & Repo.....

taking tea at Vito's, part I......

......and part II

Vito...

a different perspective

2010-01-14T07:39:00.003-09:00

so, the holidays have passed through Old Fangak, leaving many stories.

New Year's Day was spent swimming, and the construction of the new clinic is going well.

life is quite interesting in The Sudan, so much so that it is leaving me little time to post any musings.....

so.....the below video is of a Southern Sudanese artist named Duop....the song is a call to the Sudanese refugees around the globe to return to the country and help re-build - he is telling them that there is peace in The Sudan.....from Juba to Malakal to Khartoum, and to come home.....which is a nice sentiment, although the accuracy of it may be debatable....

regardless, the video features quite a bit of footage that does capture the variety of life here, far better than I can provide.....and while the music is certainly no RadioHead, it's better than lil' wayne.....and you know you want that hat.....

...just a fond farewell to a friend

2009-12-31T03:21:00.003-09:00

yeh look at me
in my thirties
plowing forth, unsteady and unsturdy but...
I'm still alive...I'm still alive
I win a prize
I'm still alive

yeh look at me
pushing forty
suiting up for another sortie and...
I'm still alive...I'm still alive
I win a prize

I'm still alive

It may not be pretty

my life up to here
but something bold and beautiful occurred...

I'm not interred

yeh look at me
as a tragic figure
for one frivolous moment I...
I beg to differ cuz
I'm still alive...I'm still alive,
I win a prize

I'm still alive

It may not be pretty

my life up to here
but something bold and beautiful occurred...
I'm not interred

*Vic Chesnutt* 11/12/1964 – 12/25/2009

cows that I have known....

2009-12-06T02:34:00.008-09:00

so……they’re big on cattle here in the

Sudan

they’re not big on ‘systems” though, or “structure” or “boundaries”…..or “branding” for that matter….so I’m really not sure how they can tell whose cow is whose….but apparently they can.

I imagine it’s something along the lines of “in America, you would know which dog is yours, so why couldn’t you tell which cow”; as well as the fact that it would be extremely bad form to lay claim to someone else’s cow….

regardless, somehow they do tell them apart…..and cows are money....and so the cows have the run of the place….as you can see below….

this was actually in Nairobi, taken out of a car window - my first "major bovine incident"...

the view out my back window over coffee…..

and the side yard around evening….

a man and his cow….

This bunch was grazing near the river at Old Fangak International Airport (O.F.I.A) ….and near the river is fine, but it becomes an issue when they are grazing on the airstrip when a plane is landing…..which is every time a plane is landing…..so, the pilots usually have to make 2 or 3 passes to scatter them/alert the locals to “please move your cows….or possibly your goats”….

A side note: so, O.F.I.A. is on the other side of the river from the village itself, about a 5 minute boat ride away….and, schedules being mostly a theoretical concept in the Sudan, it doesn’t behoove one to sit around in an open field on a 100 degree day waiting for a plane that may not be there for 2 hrs, if at all…or to be surprised when you hear a plane landing that you had no knowledge of….so, the built-in delay of in-flight cattle clearing is kind of nice, as when you do hear/see the plane, you know “ahhh, we’ve got at least 15 minutes to jump in the boat & get there…

unlike the AK, where air traffic overhead (even in the bush) is a relatively common, everyday occurrence; here in lovely downtown Fangak if you hear any plane, you know it will be landing at O.F.I.A, as there is absolutely no other possible reason it would be passing through the airspace – 95% of the time, that area is occupied by birds and the moon only….

and when you have one of the two boats in Old Fangak with a motor, and capable of ferrying people/freight from O.F.I.A. to the village….and the driver of the other boat (owned/operated by the Carter Centre) lives across the river from where the boat itself is kept, so if he happens to not actually be in town at the moment….it’s usually you & Stephen “the Man” Gatkose jumping in the boat and getting there….knowing you have time to finish your coffee, because the pilot will have to scatter a cow or three….

the collar means it's "special"....which could mean it's someone's cow you are taking care of....or it's breeding...or it's going to be sold...or just about anything....definitions are a hazy concept in Nuar (the local language, and name of the local tribe...pronounced "noo-air")...regardless, any woman likes a bit of jewelry & flash, no?

a side note: for just about every cow you see, you'll see a lil' white bird (from the Egret clan) following it around, enjoying the insect smörgåsbord that accompanies it's four-legged friend...the aviary scientists have creatively named this bird "Cattle Egret"...regardless, it's a quite endearing sight...

getting it's drink on....

....and not skittish about it

so, these two fine examples were lazing about the edge of the market on a hot afternoon, and I couldn't resist the urge to snap a pic....and in Old Fangak, cameras are still quite the exotic, magical item, so if you're not very surreptitious about usage, you're likely to get a local clamoring to be in the shot....young, old, man, woman - they have no fear of their souls being stolen, they wanna be on camera, dammit....which resulted in the below shot, one of my favorites of the entire scene so far.....

the follow-up is that after taking the picture, you must show it to the subject (easily/instantly done in these digital days), so they can see themselves....and when these two young ladies who had scampered into the frame looked at the picture and realized that they were featured next to COWS.....the shrieks & giggles of mortification needed no translating....

down by the river, as a trading boat comes into town….which leads us again to boats….

A better shot in which to appreciate the overloaded…..

…..and underpowered craft (that’s a 75 hp outboard motor strapped onto that behemoth)…

....and the majority(by a LARGE margin) of the trading/shipping boats here in the Sudan follow this same model…..but we’ll get into that nuttiness another time…..it’s late, I’m a good kind of tired….and there’s a side of beef lowing about 100 yds away….

picture pages, picture pages....

2009-11-27T09:38:00.005-09:00

...time to get your pen or your pencil....

Fangak International Airport

they're called "Tukuls"

my digs...the mosquito net/cot to the left is my preferred sleeping arrangement, the better to take advantage of those cool night breezes....cooking and what-not is done inside the main building.....but I don't think "MTV Cribs is going to be knocking on my door anytime soon....

the current medical center

Old Fangak at evening

Fangak Drillers Local #237 working on "Big Mojo #1" (membership clockwise: Bret, Mike, Rob, Stephen "the Man" Gatkose, DK)

moments before my good-hearted Bull Connor impression....

kids will be kids.....anywhere the sun shines

letting the days go by...

2009-11-27T07:16:00.005-09:00

so…..our story begins in the AK, last February….

actually, our story begins with a long-time dream of mine – to wake up one New Year’s Day morning on Easter Island, lying on the beach with those great stone heads looking out at the ocean with me…..

but back to the the facts…..

a local doctor, name of Jack, had snow-machined out to the lodge on Valentine’s Day weekend with his fiancée, Josie, for a few quiet days of skiing and snuggling….mutual friends had tipped them off that EagleSong was a good place for that sort of thing, so a few weeks prior he had called up & booked a cabin….

none of us had actually met before, and there is always some trepidation when having people you don’t know come out, even friends of a friend – will they be annoying, will they be uncomfortable, etc, etc……but they arrived with smiles, and it became apparent that they were “good peoples”, as they might say in South Philly….

over dinner that first night, amidst conversating about life & what-not, Jack began discussing a project he was involved with in Africa – about a doctor named Jill Seaman….who had for the past 20 years been splitting her time between Bethel, AK and southern Sudan, mostly in a village called Old Fangak.

Jack had lived & worked in Africa previously, and upon visiting the good Dr. Seaman in the village a couple of years ago, he saw the conditions, the poverty, and the overwhelming needs Jill was dealing with, and told her, “…we’ve got to get you some help….”

Old Fangak proper is a village of a couple thousand people – but within a 50 mile radius there are various homesteads, smaller & larger villages….a total population for the area over 50,000 people…..and the only doctor is a woman from Alaska working out of a 70 year old stone building …. treating people who might have walked for 4 or 5 days to reach the village, or sold a cow for the money to get a seat on a trading boat going down the river (the boats here are another 10K word post in their own right – mind-blowin’, I’m telling ya….)

Medicines Sans Frontiers/Doctors Without Borders (a fantastic organization, let there be no doubt) wouldn’t go there, as it was too remote of an area for their logistics & operations to support….MedAir wasn’t there for much the same reasons, along with a host of other NGO’s that for various political and natural realities couldn’t/wouldn’t work in the area…..

only a crazy doctor from the AK, and whatever local staff she could cobble together and train….

Jill’s a pretty amazing chick, obviously.

The MacArthur Foundation agreed with that sentiment earlier this year – you can chek theirs and others thoughts on the matter here, here and here…

so Jack returned to the AK, and with a couple of other people started the Alaska Sudan Medical Project (you can check out the main website here), whose main goal is building a new medical facility for Jill and Old Fangak, as well as drilling wells and bringing clean water to an area that is absolutely desperate for it…..and along with those, the possibility of some hope for the future….

so….as you might imagine, I was intrigued by the story & his passion for it, and ended up spending a couple of hours talking with him about the project & the scene in Africa….on that night, it was 20 degrees below zero and there was 12 feet of snow outside my window….90+ degrees and sunshine sounded awfully nice, and I nonchalantly mentioned that if they were going over next winter to give me a call, see what my plans were…..

and the next morning they went out skiing, and then we had another pleasant evening…..and the next day they were snow-machining back to Anchorage….

and that’s where the prologue ends….I went about my spring & summer, as y’all know….and Sudan might have been in the back of my mind, but it was pretty far back….I set up plans to spend autumn in Oregon, winter working on a project in Austin and traveling….

until the last weekend in September, when Josie ran into my sister at the Anchorage Weekend Market….

they chatted, and my sis asked her about the Africa project…to which Josie replied that they were setting up to send a team over at the end of October, but were still looking for people – in particular, she mentioned that they needed someone who could go over & stay for a few months to manage the project on the ground…more than the two weeks or so commitments that they could get from most of the doctors, well-drillers, etc that they were working with….

her words were, “we need someone with bush experience – someone willing to live in primitive conditions…..no running water, only well – no electricity except what we’d get from gas powered generators & batteries….sleeping w/mosquito nets….someone with construction experience who could deal with having limited tools, resources, & fuel… someone who could handle the travel & stress of the scene…do you know anyone?”

basically, she said everything EXCEPT the sentence, “We need your brother, and is he actually crazy enough to say yes?”

so my sister, who was thinking, “they need Dave, and he’s crazy enough to say yes…” told her she would talk to me and have me get in touch with Jack…

which I did, after quite a few chuckles as she replayed the conversation to me….I’ve seen enough of my karmic signposts to recognize one smacking me in the face….

so….I called Jack, told him I was flying into Anchor-town on the 10^th of October (plans I had already made, so as to avoid freeze-up and being locked in once the lake started icing over), and that we should meet-up then and discuss the project….

we met, and discussed the harsh realities I’d be facing, the plethora of inoculations I needed to get, the details of the construction, as well as the amazing nature of the whole scene….the tipping point for me was when he mentioned that if I took the job, it would be necessary for me to take a boat up the rivers once or twice a month for supplies, fuel, pick up team members flying in, etc….

the image of a sunrise on a continent I’ve never seen, and me plunging into the middle of the Nile River on Jan 1, 2010 materialized into my head, and I told him, “I’m your man, Jack, let’s go build a hospital in Africa…”

….as I mentioned, it’s nice to recognize your karma as it happens every once in a while…and are we not our brother’s keeper?

or, as I relayed to a friend later that night as it began to sink in….“I’m going to build a f**king hospital in f**king Africa….”

so….three weeks later, on Halloween, I was on a plane to Nairobi….and three days later, standing on a dirt airstrip about a ¼ mile from Old Fangak, with three other cats from the AK, and about twenty boxes of tools, equipment, and mosquito nets….

and here we are….

so DK, what’s the rumpus?

more on that next time, but a few quick notes:

the moon: I wasn’t crazy, the phases are at a right angle from “normal”….quite cool to watch from night to night….

the birds: probably only thousands, but it seems like millions…ibises, kites, cranes, red-cheeked cordon bleu’s….simply stunning, and a constant daily entertainment for me…

the temperature:…it’s equator hot, man…96 degrees in the shade, literally…mid-day siestas are a must, but my tan’s already reaching George Hamilton levels….it cools off at night, and by midnight is down to 65-70, quite pleasant…

the cuisine: I’ve represented myself well, and been the polite honored guest who tries and eats everything….my mama raised me right…but let’s just say this ain’t Paris, and I’m cooking for myself as much as possible…

the work: tough, mainly due to conditions….AK rules apply: it takes twice as long, is twice as hard, & is at least twice as expensive as expected….but nothing I can’t handle….

….and last Monday, I was spraying 20 squealing village kids out of a hose from the new well we had successfully got up and running after 10 days of constant set-backs…..there was no FatBurger, but it was indeed a good day…

these are the days of miracle & wonder....

2009-11-23T02:16:00.002-09:00

……….this is the long distance call…..

so…..I am in deepest, darkest Africa.

as I write this, I am in Malakal, Sudan.

Malakal is a city along the Nile River, just about in the middle of Sudan – consider it the Chicago of the country….

….if the South side of Chicago, or Pittsburgh, or the Italian Market in Philly had been bombed out for 10 years and people had decided F**k it, we’re going to have a city anyway.

add in that three blocks from DeVito’s, let's have mud huts and thatched roofs for 10 miles to form the suburbia and that’s about the scene I’m in…..

…yesterday, I was in a village called Pom.

I spent that morning in Old Fangak, the village I’m working in, rehabilitating the carburetor of a 75 hp boat motor to get us (myself and Bret, technically my boss, though he would hate the term), up the river ( the Zeraf, which then flows into the Nile) to accomplish this weekend’s journey – first, to Pom, where we spent the night, then on to Malakal.

about an hour before we started tearing the boat’s carburetor apart, we were cutting and welding together a makeshift auger to drill out a half-finished well in Fangak.

we handed the rest of that job off to a couple of other cats from the AK, Rob & Mike (a geologist and dentist, respectively), as time was of the essence….

….apparently, you don’t want to make the river journey at night, as you may run into “Apocalapyse Now”….people shooting at you situations…..so it behooves one to make good use of the sunlight.

we were traveling to Pom to meet the new commissioner of Jonglie state, an area in Sudan that includes Pom and Old Fangak, to discuss putting in wells, water filtration, and sanitation systems.....Sudan, like most of Africa, has been racked by corruption over the decades, but this Commish seems to be a good man, educated in Nebraska, of all places, and pretty intent on helping the people...

as we pulled up to the river bank in Pom, in a shitty little boat, with a re-habbed motor, two cowboys from Alaska (along with a local man, Stephen Gatkose, my guide, my right hand man, who I cannot say enough good things about – except to maybe say that in my best hours I would hope to show Stephen the same brotherhood and assistance if we dropped him at 15th and Broad that he has shown me) there were about a couple hundred people there - flags waving, drums beating, the entire National Geographic scene.

we proceeded on to the village centre, a marble and stone building from the British Empire days , where the festivities continued – an additional thousand people….school children singing welcome, followed by male warriors dancing, followed by a female contingent performing a dance that can only be described as “shake your tail feather”………..it’s a scene, man…..

what the hell?

this ain’t me….I signed on to throw up a very simple building to be used for a medical center, drill a few wells…….

Pom is a village of at least 25k people (census numbers in Sudan are dicey, go figure)……and they have no clean water source.

the people have a choice between the river water, which they may have to walk a mile (or two, or three) to get, or bottled water brought in by boat from Malakal (no real roads, only dirt paths)…..which costs money….which most don’t have…..thus, the need for a well or twenty.

and you’ve got the only drilling rig within a couple hundred miles…..and it’s not much to write home about. ...

no pressure, DK…..

…and you may ask yourself…..well……how did I get here?

….and that’s a loooooong story, better saved for next time.

some other quick notes….

….the stars….they sure are beautiful, and quite different configurations & angles than I’m used to, constellations I’ve never seen….my current favorite is Scorpio….it pops out and you think….yep, cavemen 10,000 years ago looked up at that and said “nasty insect that stings you”….I’ve seen a few of the real deal scurrying about as well….

….the moon…..the phases are at almost a right angle compared to the AK, so that a crescent is bottom to top, not left to right….either that, or there was a lunar eclipse last night…..

….my health….all good so far, not a whiff of dysentery or other assorted maladies….taking my meds religiously, and trying real hard not to cut myself….if you know me, you know the concentration that task requires…..

…the bugs….not nearly what I expected, maybe 1/20th of what I’m used to dealing with in a typical AK summer…..an awesomely pleasant surprise….

….tunez….quite a bit of local music in the air, both live (drumming, singing every night), as well as issuing forth from boom-boxes in the popular cassette format, digital technology not having reached most of Sudan thus far…..

…..Sudanese Fish Stew…..take any & all steps necessary to avoid it…….

bells chime, I know I gotta get away...

2009-09-22T22:22:00.004-08:00

so....a friend of mine sent me this link recently, and it made my day.

in addition to renewing my hopes for the human race, it led me to pull Bjork's "Homogenic" disc out of the archives....

on headphones, that rekkid is pure bliss for me....with all props to Nile Rodgers, George Martin, Timbaaland, & Phil Spector....it may be the most perfectly produced album ever.

you can chek out more of the soul-lifters at:

http://ps22chorus.blogspot.com/

rock on, little achievers.

tunez in the AK

2009-09-14T19:47:00.002-08:00

Portugal the Man - "Do You"

Motel Motel - "Coffee"

Booker T & the M.G.'s - "Hip Hug Her"

The Pack A.D. - "Blackout"

Dinosaur Jr. - "Over It" {yeah....I know they only have one song.....but it's a great song, and I can dig it....this here's the 2009 version....good on ya, J. & Lou}

Japan Droids - "Young Hearts Spark Fire"

Mos Def / Slick Rick - "Auditorium" {tha return of tha ruler}

Wilco - "Pot Kettle Black"

the Heavy - "Coleen" {this rekkid's been in the rotation for about 18 months now....}

Vandaveer - "A Mighty Leviathan of Old"

....sipping cocktails in the blue, red, & grey....

2009-09-12T22:26:00.010-08:00

so........I was discussing with a friend recently how I've been spoiled these past weeks with a beautiful indian summer...this was not the case the last few years.

a year ago, precipitation started around mid-august, and by October, we'd enjoyed 37 days of rain....at one point, 22 in a row.

one of the true blessings of being in the AK during this season is the return of the sunset....they start re-appearing in August, after taking a summer hiatus.

the shots below are a lil' re-cap of autumn evenings.....my cup, it doth overflow....

not exactly lookin' like the car the Green Hornet had...

2009-08-06T21:37:00.006-08:00

so, this is my ride for summertime '09 in the AK....

we realized that we needed a rolling storage unit.......after a brief Craigs List courtship, a love affair was borne.....

so much potential in this beast....for hauling and comedic visuals......the air-brushing possibilities alone boggle the mind....

safety first

2009-07-07T22:42:00.012-08:00

so….it’s been a minute since my last post.

in my defense, I have been a bit busy.

the last 60 days have been almost exclusively devoted to final construction of the cabin we’ve been building for a client. loooooong days of labor notwithstanding, it’s an interesting way to spend two solid months. i’ll try to devote a post to that project soon.

thus far, it’s a gorgeous summer…..incredible amounts of sunshine, very little rain, unbroken weeks of temperatures in the 70’s.

18-22 hrs of sunshine tends to foster working late into the day….while extremely healthy in the long view, it does leave me a bit drained of energy when it comes time to surf the interwebs.

working late can also lead to one being careless as fatigue sets in without one noticing….and carelessness can lead to not being able to type for a few weeks…..

if you’re right-handed, you never realize how much you use your left index finger until it’s out of commission for a little while.

in my case, lefty got a wee bit too close to a running sawmill blade one evening, and was sent to the penalty box for a fortnight.

ohhhhhhhhhhh, the comedy, kids.

I’m not gonna lie to ya, it was quite the scene.

It was about 7 pm, I had been milling lumber all day.

about an hour before, I was thinking, “cool….it’s 6ish….I can get one more log cut by 7-730….be done with all the lumber we need for the next few days, not have to cut in the morning….it’s still 70 degrees……my tan’s coming in nicely….ohh, look an eagle….alright, one more log then….”

the mind does tend to ramble in the AK summer.

anyway….here’s a photo to help set the stage….

for lack of better words, that’s the lumberyard in the back 40.

almost every incarnation of wood is represented in the photo….the raw logs, the peeled logs destined to be a picnic table, the smaller logs destined to be posts, the finished lumber, the scrap pile, and of course…..the back-up firewood woodpile, just in case the previously featured “WoodPile Mark I” were to somehow become depleted…..“practical” and “over-kill” are synonymous in the AK.

the sawmill is the contraption in the middle of the photo. the base is a 20 ft steel frame that the power-head (the wheels, engine, and, of course, saw blade) slides along….in the photo, the power-head is at its rearmost point. with this device, we can mill logs up to 18 feet in length, 24 inches in diameter.

the greased lightning operation that is “milling lumber in the AK” consists of: moving the logs in the left of the photo onto the sawmill frame……then, by application of the saw blade, turning that log into whatever particular style of lumber may be needed at the moment (2x4’s, 1x3’s, 4x4’s etc, etc….including the most popular board on Trail Lake, the 2x10…..we tend to build things beefy….)

there are many methods one could use to move the logs from their initial resting places around the yard onto the mill…in a previous location, we were using a boom and chain hoist to lift and drag the logs…..in the current incarnation, “moving the logs” involves yours truly and a stick with a hook on it persuading those lil’ doggies to git along.

here’s an action shot towards the end of that ballet…..

I believe it was Archimedes who said, “give me a big f*cking stick and I’ll move the whole world….”

an observer might notice that I’m only wearing a heavy protective work glove on one hand in the photo…..I really hate wearing gloves….they remove too much dexterity and tactile sensation, and give me sense memories of winter….I may have become a bit more amenable to the argument that they do have their place, however….

it’s a band-saw mill, meaning that the blade is a one piece oval “band”….the blade goes around the two wheels so that it is parallel with ground…..you position the log, push the power-head forward down the mill, the blade cuts through, you adjust the blade height for whatever size board necessary, make another pass…….you’re milling boards.

here are a couple shots of the saw-blades we use….efficient little buggers….

so…….. it’s 7ish, and I’m in the middle of the second-to-last cut of the day…..when I notice that one of the “saw-dogs” (these are movable steel posts used to hold the log in place) is set too high, and the blade will run into it if I were to continue.

we dragged the mill out into the woods three winters ago, this scene has happened hundreds of time since.

we’ve been lucky to always notice prior to the saw-blade hitting the steel….as bad, noisy things would occur if that were to happen.

the proper procedure to remedy the situation is to bring the blade to a stop, back the entire power-head off a few feet, lower & re-set the post, bring the blade back up to speed, and continue milling.

but…….as I said, it’s late…….and I’m almost done for the day…....and bringing the blade to a complete stop & back up might add all of 45 seconds on to the procedure……so I’m just going to back off the power-head, quickly drop the post and finish up……

except that rather than backing off the power-head a few feet, apparently I only backed it off a few inches….and as I reached my left hand down to drop the post…..it kissed an angry, top speed saw-blade.

the next series of events takes less than 90 seconds…….my hand rears back….I see that my index finger has sustained a gash & is bleeding profusely but is still connected to the hand….I consider how both extremely stupid and extremely lucky I am, as I drop a series of F-bombs…..I hit the kill switch on the machine, slap my right hand on the finger in a pressure inducing death-grip, and proceed to walk briskly to the main cabin where my sister and niece are, realizing that I have about a two-minute window before I pass out.

this isn’t the first time I’ve inflicted trauma upon my body…..at this point, I know how it will react…..and losing consciousness is definitely on the menu….

so….I enter the cabin…rather calmly, I might add….and inform my sister that, “I need a towel for my hand and a chair to sit in so that I can pass out.”

cue the wailing, the “oh my god, what did you do?!?”….the reply of “I cut my hand on the saw-mill” (although I’ll admit that there were at least three F-bombs strewn about in the reply)….my niece Meghan saying “oh, geeeze” as she sees the finger while replacing my right hand’s death grip on it with a towel and her own (I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard her swear)…. I sit down and say, “OK, I’m going out”….and then I promptly pass out.

after a brief interlude of sweet unconscious bliss….I really wish there was some way to record those sensations that occur in the mind while I’m out-to-lunch, it’s almost another reality/dimension….I always recall having conversations, and events occurring in the dream-state, then I hear the voices from outside intruding and I come back around to this world….I should probably compare notes with Frank Bruno to investigate the experience further…..

anyway…..I come around….see my sister holding my shoulders, my niece holding my hand, tell them, “OK, I’m back”, and we proceed on to damage control.

it’s a fairly nasty cut, or rather, a combination of two cuts…. a large one running from the base of the finger to the knuckle, and a smaller one from the knuckle to about a quarter inch below the nail…..but there appears to be no bone or ligament damage…..

after some initial examination, cleaning, & dis-infection, the following conversation occurs….”dave, it’s gonna need stitches…..”I’m not going to the hospital…….dave, I think it needs stitches……that’s not happening……dave, I really think you need to go in….I AM NOT going to the hospital, we’ll deal with it here…..”

after much back and forth, discussing of options and medical supplies on hand, etc, etc, it is decided that spending far too much money and time on getting an emergency flight for me into town and a visit to the ER is not an option.

score one for the mule-headed idiot with the boo-boo on his finger....BECAUSE HE STUCK HIS HAND IN A RUNNING SAWMILL.

so, we move on further into damage control….after ruling out my initial solution of, “let’s just duct-tape it up and be done”, we decide on a combination of gauze, wrapping, and these cool neo-butterfly bandage strap thingies to seal it up, and declare that if any sign of infection shows itself or proper healing doesn’t appear to be occurring within 48 hrs that I will fly into Anchor-town and visit the “medical professionals”.

a note here for some that might not be overly familiar with my family background: my mother was a RN for over 40 years and I have seven brothers & sisters…..we’ve dealt with a myriad of injuries through the ages & have more experience than probably necessary in knowing how to properly handle them (I’m the most graceful member of the family, and trust me, that’s damning with faint praise)…. I have nothing but respect & admiration for the doctors and nurses who every day sacrifice parts of themselves to aid other people…this simply was a situation that I thought could be handled with the tools and people at hand…..and luckily, that thought turned out to be correct.

and it helps to have a ridiculous amount and variety of first-aid supplies in the house. it’s not over-kill, it’s the AK.

so……lefty is healing nicely….I’m typing with two hands again….I returned to the scene of the crime & milled 4 logs a few days ago…..and it should be a wicked-cool scar when everything is said and done.

so….what did it look like? while I do have some photos that I think are pretty dope in a gruesome, surgery-channel sort of way, I’ve been advised that it’s probably better not to inflict them on people willy-nilly….

instead, here’s a shot of the fireweed in full bloom, it’s particularly impressive this summer….just drop me an email if you want to see lefty in his bloody glory, I’ll be happy to send you some pics toot sweet.

one final note…..this is the last time I’ll be telling this particular story in regards to the scar….from here on out, it’s a “walking down the trail, had to fight off a bear heroically” kind of tale….

anchor-town blues, part I

2009-06-12T22:40:00.005-08:00

so....I arrived in Anchorage on Sunday May 31...hitched a ride from a cat with a float-plane heading back into town after a weekend at his cabin....exactly 85 days since the last time I had left the woods, or been around more than three other human beings..... exactly two days after Too $hort had left the building, and the AK....

not the most auspicous beginning to the trip.....the opportunity to witness that scene under the midnight sun, that's a tough miss to take....timing was off, needed to get my urban hiking legs back....things got better...

terry meets julie, waterloo station

2009-06-10T23:15:00.002-08:00

...just returned to the woods from an 8-day trip to civilization....my first in about 3 1/2 months.

...while the opportunities for human interaction and live music were well-appreciated & enjoyed, the pavement & traffic were taking a toll on this boy's good nature after 8 days...burnout was setting in...

...met a friend with a float-plane (on his way to check his bear stand) at Lake Hood in Anchorage, who proceeded to drop my high blood pressure into a sunshine filled day & chlorophyll explosion....a glorious green haze, no concrete in sight....the shots below are about 180 degrees of my world from the chair at cocktail hour...9:30 pm, 79.9 degrees...an early contender for nicest day o' the year....

ladies dropping in at late hours....

2009-05-24T20:48:00.011-08:00

so, this was friday night around 10:30 pm...

a young female moose (referred to as a "cow" in the vernacular, as opposed to "bull" or "calf"....but you'll never hear this cat use that term to refer to any woman....dumb, mayhaps, but not stupid; some wisdom I have gleaned...) appeared in front of my cabin...

just wandered in....went down to the lake; got her drink on, got her munch on....then looked up, saw us in the window and realized things had gotten weird....and shuffled off into the woods...

a pleasant sun-set closed out that lil' event, round 'bout 11:02....all in all, an entertaining evening in the AK....

mungo jerry days

2009-05-11T23:24:00.002-08:00

john henry days

2009-05-11T21:38:00.011-08:00

so, I've tried a few times to write this particular post.

I haven't really been able to put anything together that didn't degenerate into ranting and a string of expletives. so I'll try to keep the writing to a minimum and let the pics do the work.

the basic story: early days of "The Big Melt", no one in the area save Mike and DK, and the sole focus for the first few weeks is to haul as much wood as possible into the lodge before we lose the snow altogether.

3 tasks within the "get wood" framework:

Task 1: yell "timber", fell tree, trim tree of branches, cut tree into 17 foot logs, drag logs to lodge.

equipment for task : 2 chainsaws, 2 snowmobiles, 1 sled, 1 rope, 1 stick with a hook on it

(this last tool is referred to as a "peavey" in the timber industry, after it's 1857 inventor, Joseph Peavy. "you see that stick with a hook on it Joe's using? what's he thinking?".....seriously though, you really can't go a-loggin' without one.)

end result: 54 logs in 5 days, 1 broken back

(not really......but this is what I was referring to....when I try to go into detail, I start bitching about snow, and pain, and 12 hr days, yadda yadda....and right at this moment I'm looking out the window at sunshine, the snow has disappeared, the world is

becoming truly verdant, and I want nothing to do with the demons of days past....also, we never do yell "timber"....)

so, this is what a bunch of logs in the back yard looks like:

task 2: drive snowmobile around the woods in what appears to be aimless wandering, but is really spotting burls; harvest said burls; drag burls back to lodge.

equipment for task: 2 chainsaws, 2 snowmobiles, 3 sleds

end result: a sh*tload of burls....300 or so, I lost count on day three....they do look pretty cool piled up though....

which brings us to task 3: re-stock the woodpile.

this particular task obviously ranks much higher on the "basic human survival needs in the AK" scale than the previous two. it's also usually accomplished with 4 or 5 people.

equipment for task: 1 Chainsaw, 1 snowmobile, 1 sled, 1 Ten-Pound Maul (this is the axe in the very first photo, used to split the log sections into firewood, the "10 Lb." refers to the weight of the head...that photo was taken on Day 3 of wood-splittin')

the basic workflow: Mike drops tree, cuts it into sections w/Chainsaw, goes to next tree....DK hauls sections to woodpile, splits them w/Maul, goes gets more....repeat....repeat...repeat....repeat...for SEVEN DAYS.....

here's what it looked like midway through day 1:

the tarp-line is where we started from....the woodpile holds 19 rows, each row is about 2.5 cords of wood, it takes about two trees to fill a row...when we started, there were three rows left in the pile....we also had to shovel out space as we went, as the snow had not melted yet...good times.

the photo below is during Day 4.....signs of progress....and signs of madness setting in.

you really need to stay Zen throughout the process....one more axe-swing, one more axe-swing, one more axe-swing....."getting mad at it" would burn you out long before the task was done, and trying to measure progress/gauge how much was left to do would just depress you into immobility....

this might be the point where you ask, "don't they make hydraulic & mechanical log-splitters to do this?" and while this is true, one that could effectively split the size & quantity of logs we're processing would be prohibitively expensive....

and besides....ain't no machine made gonna beat a steel-drivin' man.....one more axe-swing, one more axe-swing, one more axe-swing....

which will eventually bring you through the mountain....or kill you.

in this case, it brings us to the Day 7 mug-shots below:

it's a lil' bit of wood.

and I'll ramble on about it no more.

as I mentioned earlier, my world looks a whole lot different today than in the photos above - no snow, everything's green, the swallows returned from Capistrano yesterday, the first float-plane will drop in soon...."The Big Melt" is over.

good f*cking riddance.

and if anyone needs a dramatically effective exercise regime, I've got just the thing.....

my neighbors stopped by today....

2009-05-06T22:14:00.006-08:00

this is how it began...

2009-05-04T22:22:00.004-08:00

so….as I alluded to in my last post, we are in the middle of “break-up”.

this is the portion of my year I like to call “The Big Melt”….and for me, the first true sign is when the trees reclaim the patches of ground they have been sheltering from wind, ice, and human travel all winter.

but “break-up” is the term ingrained into the minds of the AK populace (in reference to the frozen rivers “breaking up” the millions of tons of ice that had them locked down for too many months, and ushering in summer)…….and as hep as I am, I don’t think I’ll be able to get “The Big Melt” into the vernacular……c’est la vie.

for the inhabitants here on Trail Lake, there are two defining points to the official beginning of “break-up”….. when we declare the lake no longer useable as real-estate, and thus, landing a plane on it is not a possibility….combined with the fact that we can no longer travel farther than a mile or so from the lodge on snowmobile (and even that mobility will disappear in a few weeks…the snow on the ground will be gone, and the only mode of transportation will be my dancin’ shoes…..in the ’09, that particular point was today.)

at the core, this means: I can get to no where & no one…..and perhaps more importantly, no one can get to me.

when break-up begins, I know that for the next month or so, there is no way I’ll see anyone else except my fellow lake inhabitants…..and that, for all practical considerations, any situation outside of a 1 mile radius of where I am standing on the planet at the moment is a moot point.

it takes about a week or so for this to truly both physically & mentally sink in (mind and body must be one, grasshopper)…..but when it does, the freedom this allows is…. fantastic….and impossible for me to properly describe…

but pig fever has no part in the equation, I can say that.

sunrises get earlier and sunsets later….until in a few weeks, they both will be rendered moot points as well.

labor, both mental and physical, is confined to that one mile radius….and thus can be directed only on the problems, projects, and opportunities at hand.

and all problems can only be solved with the resources at hand….so a bit of extra care is taken around chain-saws and their ilk.

360 degrees of snow melts away….at one point, the world becomes the consistency of water-ice (imagine walking through a 100 million gallon tub of Rita’s Lemon Ice, except this really doesn’t taste delicious..…ahh, Rita’s…I do miss you so…)….and then, spots of sweet terra firma appear.

new species of bird are returning to the lake by the day…cranes, redpoles, woodpeckers, swans, gulls, geese, swallows…loons soon enough….a 7 am that was dark, cold, and silent as the grave two weeks ago is now sunlit and awash with an absolute explosion of sound. some might liken the sounds to a cacophony, others a symphony…..but it is an explosion, without debate.

for this guy…it is truly a joyous noise made unto DK.

bears are coming out of their dens hungry and beginning to roam, we anticipate seeing one wander through here any day now….and later, when the world is even warmer and more mellow, my personal favorite denizen of the AK, the porcupine, will stroll through….at the most relaxed pace a living being can have.

in The Big Melt version 2.009, the inhabitants of Trail Lake consist of the woodland creatures, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 21 chickens and a total of two human beings….myself and my brother-in law, Mike.

my sister flew out on the 17^th of April, as she had to be in civilization for the next month…we needed to find a summer apartment in town, her daughter would be graduating from UAA, our sister would be graduating from UAF, and our mother would be arriving in the AK to witness said events and hang out for a month…so she had things to do.

interruption for a solar update – Helios just set as I was typing this, 10:01 pm

we had already lost snowmobile travel at that point, and that was the last time a plane actually landed….the lake was getting sketchy, but still useable for a bush pilot with experience. and cajones.

so a friend of ours who had both (and a plane, obviously) popped in and whisked her away.

we didn’t officially declare the lake finito & pop the break-up champagne until the 20^th of April, when it was clear that no one would think of landing on that mass of slush…...so 4/20 was a good day…..go figure.

but in reality, since the 17^th,Mike and I have been the sole scientific observers for this part of the globe.

that will remain so until somewhere in the middle of May, when the lake is ice-free and suitable for float-planes.

so….

two men, all alone in the wilderness….what shenanigans might occur?

I’ll answer some of that question in the next missive…. disturbingly similar to the love that two men in an 8X9 cell together can share, the first couple of weeks could be described with two words ….Wood & Pain……but no worries, kids…..this is the emerald forest, this ain’t OZ….

sittin' on my stoop, drinkin' a 40....

2009-05-02T23:04:00.003-08:00

two-headed boy

2009-04-09T23:24:00.010-08:00

why is this man smiling?

because this pic's taken on the third straight day of 45 degree temperatures, clear skies, and golden sunshine 'till after 9 pm......and he's out pulling trail markers.

this means we are effectively declaring our trails kaput for hauling.

which has been a long day coming. Over the past three weeks, we've made runs into town at a ludicrous pace, bringing in a years supply of fuel, 2 months worth of groceries, furniture, construction supplies, etc. etc.....more on that later....

this day was a glorious day. the shot above was taken on our trail to the Susitna River, about 6 miles out from the lodge.

the shot below is from about 10 miles, a different viewing angle (by about 45 degrees) on Mt.Susitna than I normally get.

so it's sunny, warm, beautiful views, the world's melting around me, and I am whistling a happy tune (actually, I'm listening to the Black Keys in the "moose" shot) as I slow-pedal my ass down the trail.

Why is this man smiling?

Because this day is the last time he's going to be driving a snow-mobile this far down the trail.

After 4 days on, 1 off, 5 days on, 1 off, 3 days on.....of riding up and down these trails, 84 mile shots at a time....going to bed at 1 am after a day of some at times absolutely brutal riding, thinking, "what am I doing tomorrow?.....that's right, another 84 miles.....".

I won't lie to you, it's a gorgeous 84 miles....and there wasn't a single day of running that I didn't feel awe at least once as I looked at the world around me....but as the trails fell apart (about two weeks early, due to that handy volcanic ash all over the place) it became like riding a mountain bike in a quarry for 84 miles. Not to mention the at-times ludicrous loads we were pulling around said quarry....I'll get around to you, loads...

why is this man smiling?

because this day was a good day. Riding gently along this trail on this day, pulling markers as I go, means that there is too much sunshine for far too long, too many warm days, too much green bustin' out, for the snow (and this trail) to exist much longer. It means that Spring is truly upon us, that Winter is dead where he stands....and I can laugh as I watch him fall, in anticipation of dancing on his grave. Which makes pulling markers feel like plucking hi-viz orange flowers of victory out of the snow's feeble grasp.

And f*ck me if it wasn't a beauty day to take a ride. The below shot is overlooking Alexander Creek (and the mountain again (from a slightly different angle), about 5 miles out of the lodge.

so...all of the dark, crusty areas in the photo above are where the volcanic ash is getting medieval on the snow, really accelerating the melting process....good on ya, ash! God bless ya, Mt. Redoubt, as far as I'm concerned. F*ck you, snow.

except that...the darker circle of ash in the lower left-hand corner of the shot is actually carbon-based, rather than volcanic, in nature.

During one of the races this winter, a race volunteer (we'll call him X) told us that his long time friend had recently died.....and had asked X (prior to the actual act of dying) to scatter his ashes on the Iditarod trail.

Which go and scatter them X did, after asking us for suggestions on picturesque spots.

actually, I'm not sure if "dumped", rather than "scattered", might not be more appropriate verbiage, judging by the spray pattern captured in the photo.

regardless, a mitzvah was done.

And it's certainly not a bad spot to hang out in for eternity. the shot below is from the Dust's angle/point-of-view.

a week ago, that Dust was covered by a few feet of snow, and in another week, it'll be in the soil. So the day held sights & surprises of good timing.

Why is this man smiling?

because this day means that the days depicted in the shots below are over and.....with a teary tip o'the cap to Harry the K....outta here.

So, above is the sled hauling in empty 55-gallon fuel drums, below is a shot of full drums returning from town. The top load weighed about 150 lbs, the load below around 1500.

Besides the weight factor, there is a slight adjustment in mental attitude when transitioning from pulling a bunch of empty plastic jugs around to hauling a bomb.

We ended up bringing in 17 drums of diesel fuel; 8 drums of regular gas; about a dozen 100 lb/ half a dozen 40 lb /and two dozen 20 lb bottles of propane (the 20 lb bottle is your standard gas grill size).

I'm yanking 1500 lbs of explosives around every day, all over the F*cking AK...with a snowmobile...on a g*ddamm frozen river...WTF??

above is the "Fuel Point"....so we only have one big crater, rather than a dozen little ones, on the estate....

yeah, that's a riding lawnmower......my life is ridiculous....

So why is this man smiling?

Because this day unshackles the mind to anticipate days that are only a few weeks away.....days that some friends have expressed concern/disbelief as to their actual existence....days like the one below...days when the lake's in blue, the whole world's in green, and me in my summer-time clothes....

this interlude brought to you by Polly Jean Harvey....

2009-04-05T22:09:00.004-08:00

So, PJ Harvey was on "The Tonight Show" last week....normally, I'm not watching TV at this hour, but we had just returned from town after a run, and my sister had it on...I came in as they were teasing the performance, going into a commercial break.

As the commercials played, I turned to my sister and said, "Y'know, I just realized I've been watching this woman go insane for almost 20 yrs* now....I wonder where she's at..."

don't get me wrong, I love the kid. her first couple records are in my pantheon as a most perfect representation of primal female rage...eternal, blood-soaked sounds. Stab-you-in-the-heart passion, just great stuff, she absolutely rocked.

You knew then she was crazy, but this was a craze of heartbreak and destruction that all humans know to some extent.

Since then.....she seems to be drinking a cocktail of multiple personalities - I've dug some stuff, didn't others....but each new rekkid did feature different tweaks of sound, as well as seeming to unhinge a different portion of her....

...and then the commercials ended and the "Tonight Show" performance began......wow....I'm still not certain what I saw, but I know what I saw was f'*@ing nutzo....I just wish it had been Carson hosting so I could've watched him drop dead.....

PJ Harvey & John Parish- Black Hearted Love - Jay Leno
Uploaded by spektorholic

ahhh, god bless ya, Polly Jean.

50 years ago you would've been institutionalized and spat out like Nicholson at the end of "....Cuckoo's Nest". In my century, you're platinum....

(*17 years, to be exact. Dry came out in 1992.....17 f''*@ing years....)

waiting for spring

2009-04-01T22:08:00.001-08:00

Sh!t's blowin' up

2009-03-29T21:43:00.010-08:00

So, apparently there's active volcanoes in the AK. About a week ago, Mt. Redoubt started going off.

This was after about two months of.."It's gonna blow.....no, it seems ok.....no, it's gonna blow anytime now.....nope, looks ok......oh, any second now......" Finally, after a few weeks of total radio silence....ka-boom. You can chek out the Alaska Volcano Observatory's extremely ugly & poorly designed website to follow the latest 'splosions & what-not. These cats make FEMA look competent. (yeah, I know....I just took a shot at underfunded scientists.....who, by the quality of their work, are still stealing money... )

The site does have some good photos, though, including this one......FROM OUTER SPACE!!!

directly beneath the photo was the notation:

Ash cloud seen in the geostationary MTSAT data, courtesy of the National Weather Service, processed by the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison . We are at the extreme edge of the view for the satellite which is over the equator in Asia.

Picture Date: March 26, 2009 17:30:00

Image Creator: Dehn, Jonathan

Image courtesy of the National Weather Service.

Please cite the photographer when using this image.

So who do I cite here? Hal-9000 satellite actually took the photo, no? Does Jonathan Dehn have any credentials? A quandary.....

Anyway, here's a dope nightime shot, featuring lightning in the plume...

There's been a couple of eruptions per day, each one followed by the best "sky is-falling" hysteria the local media can muster. "AshHole Watch 2009" is how the Daily Show might bill it.

What's it meant for DK? Well, I check "Deal With Fall-Out From Volcano Eruption" off my list.

The stuff does get everywhere, and it's not recommended for machines, animals, etc. So a combination of preventative (tarping equipment, putting wee little dust masks on all the chickens) & post eruption (broom, shovel) measures are taken. It's also wreaked havoc with the sattelite wi-fi connection, as this is the first I've been able to get on-line in several days.

this was post-shoveling this morning after snow & ash fall yesterday (the gray is ash)

the ash floating in the air has produced some interesting skies, however - starlight at night is quite twinkly, and this sweet double sun-dog appeared the other day:

followed in the evening by a nice sun-set dog :

All in all, the volcano's been a low-impact diversion thus far.

The real story of my past week has involved multiple runs to town for supplies. "The Big Melt" is beginning, and were racing the river to get everything in. Last night was the 4th straight day of roundtrips, preceded by 3 days of running. Had trouble lifting my arms to wash my face. Going out again tomorrow. Details (just how much fuel could 3 people possibly need? when does one determine if their snowmobile is on fire?) and photos to come....

where I live

2009-03-16T23:24:00.003-08:00

just a quick pic as a reference to what I mean by "out in the woods" - came across this while looking for other shots. It's a summertime photo taken out of the window of a float plane on it's way into land. The little white shapes on the right side of the lake are the cabins/compound, the two big white shapes on the horizon are Denali and Mt. Foraker.

Making a Beer Run, Part II

2009-03-06T23:21:00.016-09:00

At 5:15 a.m. the alarm on my cell phone goes off. Being that I don’t get any cellular signal out here, the device has become a glorified alarm clock and note pad.

I arise, climb down the stairs in my cabin, throw a few logs in the wood-stove, and begin to apply layers of clothing.

Polypropylene union-suit, polar fleece sweatpants, blue jeans, wool sweater #1, wool sweater #2, polar fleece hoodie, insulated Carharrt over-alls, polypro socks, wool socks….and I’m good to go.

Before I actually pull out of the yard, I’ll add a polypro face-mask, beaver fur hat, thin wool gloves, and fingertip-to-forearm fur mitts to the ensemble. Lookin’ good, lookin’ sexy. I’ve also got chemical heat-pads in the toes of my boots and in my gloves. No sense being cold out there or anything. And frost-bite really sucks, trust me on this one.

Three cups of coffee later, I’m outside in the dark, starting my snowmobile. If it’s a clear sky, there’s enough moon and star light reflected off the snow that it’s no worries in the seeing things area as I’m walking around and loading the machine. If it’s a new moon or overcast, then it’s pitch-black time, and I’m using a head lamp to light my way. With the advent of LED’s, head-lamps nowadays are tiny, sporty things, and they’re a godsend…..but part of me wishes I had one of those big-ass old style coal mine lamp helmets. Anybody spots one of those on Craig’s List lemme know.

Mike meets me outside, fires up his machine, and we hit the trail. If we’re out of the yard by 6 a.m., barring any bad weather or mechanical difficulties, we can be at Deshka Landing by 8-830 a.m.

Weather conditions, as you’re reminded daily in the AK, you have no control over.

Mechanical difficulties, on the other hand, you can at least try to see coming. So part of yesterday’s preparations (post trail grooming) included a snow mobile tune-up. Fueling up, checking oil & fluids, looking for busted parts (replacing those parts), looking for parts that are on their way to being busted (replacing them just for kicks), checking nuts & bolts, etc, etc.

DK as grease-monkey, you say? Indeed. Cracks me up every time as well. Early on I learned that living out here means that whatever you break, you'll be the one fixin' it. No mechanics, no repair shops. Necessity is a helluva teacher & motivator. And you learn not to break things.

At times though, regardless of how many ounces of prevention you pour in, shit just breaks.

Some of the mechanical difficulties we’ve run into with the snow-mobiles when making a run include: broken skis, broken suspension parts, dead spark plugs, burning out an engine cylinder, a wheel actually flying off, and my personal favorite…the moment when I looked behind me and saw that the sled I was hauling had actually ripped the hitch out of the back of my machine.

Those are the things that turn a 3 ½ hr ride into a 6-12 hr ordeal. Fixing a machine on the fly, with make-shift parts (because no matter what tools & spare parts you’ve packed in the snowmobile that day, you won’t have the ones needed at that particular moment), in the middle of a frozen river, with your hands icing up, & then limping home. Not good times.

But those things won’t happen this time. So we run out on our freshly groomed trail, drop down onto the Yentna River, roll down the Yentna (which runs roughly East-West) for about 10 miles until it hits the Susitna River, head North on the Su for about 10 miles until it hits the Deshka River, then shoot up the Deshka for about a mile until we hit the landing. Deshka Landing is a boat-launch in the summer, and a snow-mobile staging/launch area in winter. Drive the machines up off the river into the parking lot where the truck awaits, and the morning portion of the trip is done.

Another note on nomenclature in the AK: So, the point where the Yentna River runs into the Susitna River is referred to as “Scary Tree” by 90% of the population up here when relating trip stories, giving trail directions, etc. This is due to a huge, spooky old tree being located on the shore right at the point. Or it was located there, until it fell into the river 10 years ago. Apparently, creativity and “if it ain’t broke…” go hand in hand up here. Hearkening back to myPittsburgh days, I like to refer to the point simply as “The Confluence”…. until the blank stares become too annoying…and I say “Scary Tree”.

So, the snow-mobiles are parked and the truck is warmed up. All that’s left now is to drive 60 miles into Anchorage(the ugliest city in the state, and possibly the hemisphere), pick up mail, go to Costco, go to Wal-Mart, go to Home Depot/Lowes, pick up any needed meds at the Pharmacy, pick up any needed meds at the Liquor store, fill up a few 55 gallon drums with fuel, fill up a few 100 lb Propane bottles, do any other errands my sister has put on the list (who knows? maybe today is the day we pick up 1,000 lbs of chicken feed), drive back out to the Landing, load everything onto the sleds, drop down on the river and do this morning’s 42 mile ride in reverse.

Because we don’t go to town that often in the winter, when we do go, we haul as much as possible to make the trip worth our time. We have 3 or 4 different sleds we’ll use depending on the loads, and each of our machines can haul about 2,000 lbs max. (we try to keep it around 1,800 to avoid punishing the machines, but we’ve pushed it to 2,200 – time was running out on the rivers staying frozen)

So, what does that look like?

plywood and a giant sack o' miscellaneous (I wouldn't recommend stacking a load quite so tall, as the sled do get a bit tippy.....)

below is a shot of about 1/2 of the 9 tons of cement we hauled in two winters ago....18,000 lbs....in 60 lb bags....loading & unloading them 2,000 lbs at a time....good times....it's really good times when it's 1 a.m., you're in the middle of the Susitna river, and the sled breaks down. So you unload each one of those bags, fix the sled, load up and roll on. Awesome times. That was also the night, however, that I witnessed the most amazing display of Northern Lights that I (or Mike) had ever seen. We just stopped dead and sat on the river for 20 minutes watching the dance. So I got that going for me.

plywood, lumber, insulation

the sawmill ( I can't say enough good things about this gem...it'll get it's own entry soon enough)

can you ever have too many pallets? (that's Kobuk the Dog in the foreground, the new cabin we're building in the background)

somebody order a spiral staircase?

the shots below are at Deshka Landing, on the absolute final run of the season last year. the "big melt" had already begun, and no one in their right mind was hauling anymore. perhaps the grass & mud peeking through, as well as the fact that we were the only vehicle in the parking lot shoulda been a tip-off. We were about to be isolated for 2 months though, and we needed beer, fuel, groceries, and (of course) plant fertilizer.

fixin' a sled on the Yentna

On a normal run, if we’re home before Midnight, the trip is considered a smashing success. Another reason why we only go to town once a month or so in the winter. As well as the fact that it’s far, far prettier out here in the woods.

Making a Beer Run, Part I

2009-03-05T22:57:00.019-09:00

or……..”How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love Trail Work”

or……”Getting Around on the Ice-Planet Hoth”

So, a trip to the grocery store.

The simplest way to explain it is an 84 mile round trip on snowmobile from the lodge to Deshka Landing, where we keep the truck in the winter.

The devil, as always, is in the details.

The details begin the day before, when Mike (my brother-in-law) and I go out on snowmobile and groom the trails we’ll be using the next day to haul on.

We maintain two trails from the lodge.

One is referred to as “the Susitna” or “the Iditarod” trail, as it follows for the most part the Historic Iditarod Trail (a national landmark, btw). It’s a 15 mile run to the Susitna River that involves a lot of twist, turns, and hills; most of it running through heavily wooded areas. This is not the course the Iditarod sled dog race currently follows, as it involves far too many twists, turns, and hills. It’s also fairly inaccessible to the general public, so until they get towards the interior of the AK, the racers mainly run on the rivers – wide, open, mostly flat, and relatively easy to get masses of spectators to. Those same factors (except for the spectators part) are why we only use this trail to go out from the lodge, hauling no weight. We’ll also completely abandon this trail early in spring, as it’s a major headache to maintain when the world starts melting around us.

The second, main trail we use is referred to as “the Yentna” or “Alexander Lake” trail, as it runs to the Yentna River, crossing Alexander Lake in the process.

{You tend to notice a lack of linguistic creativity in nomenclature in the AK. There are at least three “Trail Lakes”, two “Susitna Rivers”, and half a dozen “Sheep Creeks”. I’d like to believe that it’s due to the overwhelming, awe-inspiring force that is Nature’s creativity encountered on a daily basis that humbles man into this meekness. Or possibly an inherited “simple Midwestern talk” trait, as it seems 70% of the people up here came from Michigan or Minnesota. Or, regarding the preponderance of “Sheep Creeks”, merely an asinine attempt at humour. Whatever the reason, I’m surprised I haven’t come across a peak called “Mountain Mountain” at this point.}

Anyway, the main trail is a 22 mile run from the lodge to the Yenta River. While being longer, it’s a much easier trail to run. It’s flat and open, crossing over frozen lakes and marshes for the majority of it.

On a clear, sunny day it’s a beautiful run. You have large mountains (Susitna, Beluga, Foraker, Denali) and mountain ranges (the Chugach range, the Alaska range – there’s that creativity again) in 180 degrees of your field of vision, and at points 360 degrees.

here’s some trail pics:

On a bad day….it has white-out potential. There’s been a few times coming home in snow-storms, heavy winds a-blowin’, when I honestly couldn’t see more than 5 feet in front of me. You slow down, hope you’re on the trail, and strain your eyes to pick up the next trail marker.

{Trail markers are 4 foot wooden stakes painted high-visibility orange with a reflector attached, stuck in the snow on the side of the trail every 100-200 yds. We put these out at the beginning of the season when we first put in the trail. Slamming a stick into the snow, every 100 yds, for 22 miles, so that you can find you’re way home again, like some 21^st century Hansel. These are the moments that cause reflections along the lines of “this is as asinine as it gets” and “livin’ the dream, Dave, livin’ the dream”. But whaddya gonna do? It does not behoove you to get lost out here. Oh, yeah….at the beginning of each season I also re-paint the high-viz orange on each stake. Takin’ NO chances on getting my ass lost.}

here’s a pic of that inanity:

A side note: I don’t think I’ve gone through a single month over the past few years where I haven’t been doing something and had the thought, “No, I was wrong….this is as asinine as it gets.”

My life is ludicrous. But at times it’s a surreal comedy that would make Fellini jealous, and I really wouldn’t have it any other way.

So….we try not to run on bad-weather days. Mother Nature can be a B, though, and oftentimes a morning that began sunny and clear has turned into an evening of snowflakes. When the choice is between spending a night in Anchorage (the ugliest city in the state, and possibly the hemisphere) or enduring a snowy, frozen, twice-as-long-as-normal trek back home, however, I’ll take the possibility of frostbite every time.

Once we hit the river (either the Susitna or the Yentna), the trails we maintain end, and we simply drive up the frozen rivers. These are snowmobile and dog-sled highways in the winter. Picture the Schuylkill, triple the width, and then freeze the whole thing with 3 feet of ice. After we hit the rivers, it’s another 20 miles or so to the landing.

So, back to getting to the liquor store. The day before, as I said, Mike and I will go out and “groom trail”. This involves hooking up a groom to the rear of the snowmobile & running the trail to smooth it out, cut down moguls, fill in the holes a 1,200 lb moose makes when it decides your trail is much nicer to wander on then slogging through snow drifts in the woods, & pack it down - prepping it for our run. This can take between 4-7 hrs, depending on whether were hitting one or both trails.

A groom is essentially a collection of flat-iron bars welded together at angles into a 4ftX10ft frame.

Here’s a couple groom & trail pics:

So….I’m running 22 miles out, 22 miles back, dragging a glorified coat-hanger, the day before I’m going to the store. Why? Because the next day I’m going to be dragging 2,000 lbs across that trail, and getting a ton of anything stuck in the snow sucks big-time.

Tomorrow: Actually going to town.

AT LEAST 85 rappers alive better than Lil' Wayne

2009-02-23T20:53:00.023-09:00

So, I was letting the standard rapper boasting slide when it was just coming from Weezie. It's understandable, and accepted as de rigueur for the form. But after having to put up with Kanye for so long, and now having to stomach the mainstream actually buying into and supporting this tripe, I just couldn't take it anymore. You can push a man just so far. And please, won't someone think of the children? Thus, the below list.

A note on the numbering: Except for the two cats at #1, it's completely arbitrary - I'm only numbering them to drive home the point with a huge, Charles Martel-sized hammer. As for those two gentlemen - I've spent the better part of 20 years trying to decide who's on top, and change my mind every six months or so. Thus, the tie.

As for everybody else, the list was just an angry stream-of conscious rant until I couldn't think of anyone else off the top of my head, and my hands cramped. You didn't have to be the best to make it, jes better than weezie.

And I think all of these cats are still alive, though I'm not really sure on #'s 17, 38, and 51. Even if they are dead, I'm certain that their rotting, festering corpses could spit something better than "Rodney King baby, come and beat me like a cop". I know ODB still can. (R.I.P., Big Baby Jesus, R.I.P.)

I am sure I've left out some deserving fellows. Please send me a shout-out with any additions you'd like to see, and I'll update and add them in. I'd love to see this list grow longer.

Now, as for you, Lil' Wayne....let me make this as clear as possible, you mush-mouthed dwarf: Your cavorting & capering may amuse, but you (and your rhymes) are trash, plain & simple, and the dust-bin of history is only waiting to sweep you away.

1) Kool G. Rap

1) Rakim

3) Jean Grae

4) MF Doom

5) Kool Keith

6) Del tha Funkee Homosapien

7) Mos Def

8) Talib Kweli

9) Pharoe Monch

10) The GZA

11) Raekwon

12) Ghostface Killah

13) Method Man

14) Biz Markie

15) Styles P

16) Jay Z

17) Craig Mack

18) Redman (Doc!! Reggie!! Brick City!!)

19) Slug

20) Nas

21) Sage Francis

22) Lateef

23) Lyrics Born

24) Gift of Gab

25) Chief Xcel

26) Special Ed

27) Aesop Rock

28) Pete Rock

29) CL Smooth

30) Prime Minister Pete Nice (ok…this one is debatable)

31) MC Serch

32) Dizzie Rascal

33) Saigon

34) Reks

35) Lupe Fiasco

36) That cat from Das FX

37) Big Boi

38) Kid Frost

39) BluePrint

40) Paris

41) Ice Cube

42) Yella

43) MC Ren

44) Big Daddy Kane

45) Kool Moe Dee

46) Eminem

47) Eyedea

48) Cee Lo Green

49) Havoc

50) Prodigy

51) King Tee

52) Trick Daddy

53) Murs

54) The Grouch

55) Eligh

56) LuckyIam

57) Scarub

58) Bicasso

59) Sunspot Jonz

60) Aesop the Black Wolf

61) Arata

62) Jeru the Damaga

63) Snoop

64) Warren G

65) The D.O.C.

66) Chuck D

67) Black Thought

68) Malice

69) Pusha T

70) Phonte

71) Big Pooh

72) Scarface

73) Chali 2na

74) Akil

75) Zaakir

76) Mark 7even

77) El-P

78) Vast Aire

79) Too $hort

80) Mr. Lif

81) J-Live

82) Posdnous

83) Trugoy the Dove

84) Pasemaster Mase

and.........85) C-Murder (who, you may be interested to know, was convicted of murder.)

Rest assured, Mr. Dorfman: I may be lost in the AK, but it is still a Hip-Hop Nation up in this b*tch.

I know why Jack London turned to drink...

2009-02-21T22:15:00.011-09:00

…..snow removal.

So, last winter season (call it Oct 1 to May 1 2007-08) we received a total of 134 inches of snowfall. That was slightly above average, a fairly heavy year for snow.

This year, as of Feb 26, we have recorded 148 inches. With 2 months still to go.

Absolutely brutal.

It rarely arrives in a nice 2 or 3 inch fall.

Our first snowfall was Oct 9 – it began snowing around noon, and by the next morning we had 35 inches on the ground. That’s abnormal, even for here, and not how I wanted to wake up three weeks before Halloween.

8 inches, 27 inches, 18 inches, 11 inches, 31 inches. That’s how it arrives.

So what do you do with 12 feet of snow? Put it wherever you can. The majority of the yard we pack down with snowmobiles; but the only answer for main pathways, roofs, etc is a shovel. I believe I know how John Henry felt at the end of his day.

Using a conservative estimate of a cubic foot of snow weighing appx 4 lbs, over one 3 day period I moved about 4,600 lbs of snow. Two days later we got another 13 inches. Good times.

Pass the bottle, Mr. London, and throw another log on the fire. Winter ain't over yet.

Enough babbling. What does 148 inches of snowfall look like, you ask?

DK and the dog sprucing up the front yard

the woodpile in sunnier days

the woodpile two weeks ago (I'm standing on top of it)

hey DK, whaddya do when there's three feet of snow on the roof of the chicken coop and it's ready to collapse?

hey DK, whaddya do when you need to get to the logs you've milled for cabin construction?

hey DK, whaddya do when 47 inches of compacted snow has built up on the new cabin's roof?

hey DK, is there any justification for dealing with winter in the AK?

just a normal day

2009-02-21T21:07:00.006-09:00

so, a story about what you do at 20 below - if you're me, you put on about 7 layers of wool, polypropylene, and polar fleece, and head outside to "put in a dog lot".

Race season is upon us - when after 3 months of winter, these f'ing cabin-fever crazed citizens will race just about anything over the snow - snowmobiles, dogs, skis, bikes, outhouses (yeah, that's not a joke). We've been a host/checkpoint for a few different races the past few years, but two have been consistent : the Susitna 100 and the Jr. Iditarod.

The Jr. Iditarod is fairly self explanatory, it's a dog-mushing race for teens (14-17) who run their own teams, completely self-sufficient over a 150 mile course (we're a major checkpoint). It's a pretty cool thing.

The Susitna 100 happens a few weeks earlier,(Feb 14th this year), and it's much nuttier. It is a "human powered" race - meaning you can ski, bike, or snowshoe the race - which is 100 miles, all wilderness trails. 100 f'ing miles - completely on your own, through some absolutely frozen, desolate landscape. These people are total nut-jobs. We're the halfway point for this, and there is some serious comedy as shell-shocked bodies start rolling in.

But back to the dog lot - it's needed for the Jr. Iditarod, so that racers can rest their teams, and any injured dogs can be checked out by a vet, dropped off, flown back into town, etc. We also have a lot of adult mushers who come out for weekends to do practice runs for their teams, stay overnight, etc. I knew practically nothing about dog-mushing before I came up here - not that I know all that much now - but I am amazed at how much care these people take with their animals.

So, "putting in a dog lot" consists of first finding where you stashed the dozen posts you used last year (these are wood, about 8 feet long, 6-8" in diameter). After you realize they are against the back of the tool-shop with about 6 feet of snow up against them, you take half an hour to shovel them out and move them out onto the frozen lake, into a couple hundred foot oval area that you've previously spent an hour packing down with a snowmobile. You then take a chainsaw and cut two foot deep holes in the ice to drop the posts into, each about 20 feet apart.

This is about the point where I step back and reflect on the moment: I'm standing on a frozen lake, chainsawing holes into the ice, so that people have a place to rest the dozen animals that brought them in a sled through 50 miles of snow.

Then you pack the holes back in, connect some strong chain between them for the mushers to hook their teams up to, let it freeze overnight and bingo, there's a dog lot. all while it's about -22 degrees out.

That was my Monday. My life is ludicrous.

but it's worth it, as happy doggies are the result - the photo is an "action shot" from 2008's dog lot

for more info on races in the AK, visit your local library, or check the links:

http://www.susitna100.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Iditarod

http://www.jriditarod.com/

and so I'm not accused of making the outhouse thing up:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6lc1qWPz5Y