7,000 Years At Midway Bay

Tonight at the Alutiiq Museum I presenting a powerpoint lecture on the Alutiiq Museum's excavations last summer in Old Harbor.  The airport runway is getting extended and the museum was hired to excavate all the archaeological sites that would have been impacted.  We excavated at three different sites and found stuff dating as far back as 7200 years ago right up to the present. If you're interested the lecture is free and is at 7PM in the Alutiiq Museum gallery.

Here are a few of the slides to whet your appetite.

Hiking to Snow with Stuey

Still no snow down low

Last weekend Stuey and I climbed Pyramid.  Before the elk hunt I'd promised we'd climb the mountain when I got back from Afognak.  So Saturday afternoon after we finished cutting up all the elk harvested on the hunt Stuey and I headed up the mountain.

The kids have been dying for it to finally snow at our house.  Last week it barely snowed in town, but up on Pyramid enough fell that some hardy souls got in the first skiing of the year.  This was the same storm that caught us packing out an elk on Afognak.  So driving out for the climb Stuey was very excited to hear we'd be climbing up to the snow that we could see on the tops of the mountains all around us.

And when we got up there he was surprised at the snow depth.  He kept asking how many inches or feet of snow there was on top.  We even found old ski tracks in the snow.  He can't wait to go skiing! He took lots of pictures and on Monday took the camera to school so he could show 'Mr. Brian' the snow on the mountain.
Patrick

Deep snow up high - Stuey tested one drift that was waist deep

Snow!  And Stuey loved it when I pointed out Afognak in the distance

Life Afloat

Nothing beats a 50 foot seiner as a mobile base camp.  No matter how nasty the weather the boat is ALWAYS warm and dry.  Best of all, once on shore we are not limited to any one area of the coastline - Jim in the FV Columbia could pick us up anywhere.  We often go to shore in one bay and get picked up in a completely different and far distant bay.

The boat is also where we stored our kegs of beer.  On the last elk-meat ferry down to the sea my mantra was 'beer on the boat'.  Such thoughts keep the pain at bay and are a good incentive to get back to the boat.

Finally the boat is a great fishing platform.  Afterall, the FV Columbia is, first and foremost, a FISHING boat - the 'F' in 'FV'. On this hunt we tried subsistence tanner crab fishing, and failed miserably.  We only caught sea stars, whelks and a couple of octopuses.  But it sure was exciting when the pot broke the sea surface.  What interesting sea creatures would we find inside?  We also had some halibut hand-lines and Justin managed to catch one to take back to his freezer in Fairbanks (along with some cod).

Adelia's husband Philip edited a video of the hunt and posted it to Vimeo.   

http://vimeo.com/109401605


An Afognak Limerick by Ray R.

There once was a gal from Uganik,

Chased the Waterfall Herd to a panic,

The herd bull went down,

‘twas the talk of the town,

The great Huntress made Patrick more manic!

Patrick

Life on Shore

During the hunt much of our time on shore was spent either carrying meat or hanging out by the woodstove in the teepee.  A woodstove on a lighweight camping trip might seem extravagant but our teepee and stove together weigh around 5 pounds and are very compact.  They are made by a company called Titanium Goat (click here for more), and are actually FAR lighter per person than individual tents.  Also there is nothing quite like the camaraderie of warming up by a woodstove while waiting for dinner to cook.

This year we also brought along a lightweight propane 'Lucy' lantern.  It provided light, and, when hung from the ceiling of the tent, it did a great job drying out socks.  We were very comfortable in our teepee.  On both nights we had to scrape away snow before setting up the tent and on both nights the stove dried out the ground inside the tent surprisingly quickly.

Of course for the one time we packed out an elk in a snow/rain storm it sure was nice to have a dry boat to retreat onto - but more about life on the boat in another post.  Patrick

Elk Hunt Scenics

The one regret from this year's elk hunt is that we did not get to camp and hike around the island as much as usual. But I'm not complaining! If we do a lot of hiking it means we had a difficult time finding elk.  And we still did get to see some beautiful country.

This year we experienced a pretty decent snow event and for the rest of the hunt the high country was covered with snow.  It actually made elk difficult to spot because they look similar to dots of white snow.

Patrick

Successful Elk Hunt

Yesterday evening we returned from a very successful elk hunt.  In 3 days of hunting we found 2 different elk herds and harvested 2 bull elk.  That's a lot of meat and a lot of luck!  I think Adelia's elk weighed on the order of 1100 pounds.  Some years it takes a lot more work just to find one elk herd.  And then there are the years we return with no elk.  Thank you elk hunt gods!

We also had some great hiking and camping, ate delicious food, and saw some wonderful sights.  All to be described in future elk hunt posts.

But the elk hunt is not over yet.  We still have to process and package all the meat.  That is what we will be doing all day today.  I just hope we finish today!  Patrick

Elk! And Waiting.

The Elk Crew got 2 Elk!

For some odd reason, I am superstitious about blog posting on Elk successes (or failures) until the hunt is all over. Even after Patrick shot the first, one I told close friends and family but didn't want to write about it on the blog until they had reached their goal, or were returning home.

Patrick shot an Elk  last Sunday.  The winds were blowing 25-45 mph and it was Kodiak's first real snowfall accumulation of the year. His phone call arrived in the early evening, shortly after they had arrived safe and sound to the seiner with the elk in hand.

Sunday night I lay in bed until midnight listening to the howling winds outside, hoping that the boat was safe in its Anchorage. I was restless, tossing and turning. The wind pelted the snow and slush aggressively against the window. I couldn't imagine the dampness and coldness of hiking through the wet and bone chilling conditions to bring the elk back to the boat. I thought about how hard sleeping is on boats. And my father, on his boat, how he wouldn't sleep well in winds. Listening for the anchor and making sure the anchor isn't dragging.


And now I await for the crew to return.

Yesterday I didn't hear a peep from Ray or Patrick. I assumed this to mean there was no second elk. Then my phone rang this morning, when I was at St. Mary's prepping a handwriting  assignment for Nora and Stuey's class.

Adelia shot an Elk yesterday-a HUGE one.

"I think its the biggest Elk we've ever shot on one of these hunts. The antlers are taller than Adelia!" Patrick exclaimed.  Because of its size, the crew did not finish processing the elk for haul until sunset, and they set up camp in the dark. Bear fence around the meat.  Nonetheless, he sounded jazzed and elated.

And now I wait some more for word on the time of their return.

This evening, the kids and I made welcome home signs, I did some dishes, replaced some lightbulbs that were out in the living room, and obsessively texted partners of the elk party to see if they had heard anything about return time.

Not a peep. Perhaps they'll roll in at midnight. Sometimes they do that. Perhaps tomorrow mid day. Either way, I'm excited to celebrate their successful hunt! Cheers to savoring Elk meat in this next year to come.

Zoya

Moments captured on the SAT phone

When Patrick is away on hunts, we communicate via Satellite phone. Its a large bulky, phone (looks like a cell phone from the 80's) which is kept in a hardshell waterproof case. Next to the phone is a folded up piece of worn paper describing how to turn it on and dial, in the event that someone not familiar with it needs to place a call. To dial out, one must stand outside and usually it catches the satellites overhead pretty well. If not, the call is lost and a retry is necessary. There is often a long gap in conversation, as if calling another country.


For the past 10ish years that we've had the Satellite phone, it has brought me much peace of mind.

In our early days of our Satellite phone ownership, I was practicing with the feature where I could e-mail a short message to the phone. There is a maximum character limit on these messages, approx 2-3 sentences. Patrick was in the field I sent several spunky, fun text messsages to the phone. Patrick never received the messages.

I called up the SAT phone company.

"I wrote several messages on the phone and they didn't go through. Can you check on it?" I asked. The SAT phone lady checked the address I was using and re-assured me that it was correct.  She suggested I just keep retrying.

So I did.

"Miss you lots, Tiger. Love, Zoya " ended  one of the messages.

A few days later I got a call from the SAT phone company. A tug boat operator in the NYC area had been receiving my text messages. The address the company had given me was in fact the wrong one.  We chuckled upon hearing this and figured I must have made his day with the spontaneous messages, as he was trying to figure out who his admirer was.

                                                           ~

Over the years, lots of history and moments in the messages...just a sample of the messages from my "sent" folder to the Sat phone. In the earlier days, I wouldn't put spaces between the words, to save character capacity for more words.

2006
HiPatrick.NoRatYet.NoraWentDownForAGoodMorningNap.BigBoatIsWayInsideMillBayNow.PrettyExciting.StayClearOfThoseBears!Love,ZoyaNoraRoxyDog

2006
HiPatrick.WeFinallyMadeItHome.9PMWedNight.CrossingWasFairlySmooth.NoSeaSickness.NoraDidWell.TeethAren'tBotheringHer.ThankHeavens.IWorkTodayAndTomorrowAtTheClinic.LoveYouSoMuch.Can'tWaittoHaveYouHome!Love,Zoya

2008
WeatherIsGoodHere.DoggiesAreAliveAndWell.ErinHcameOverLastNightAfterKidsWereinBedforDinnerAndDrinks.GoodTimesCatchingUpWithHer.TownisStillAbuzzWithPalinNews!!HappyHunting!LoveZoyaohboya

2010
Oh and today we went to the pool. Nora is able to jump off the diving board and swim back to the side all by herself with her little life vest on. Pretty cool! I can just sit on the side and she swims right over. She was quite proud of herself! Love, Zoya

2013
we had frost today! kids were so excited. Nora wore her winter jacket. Cool breeze now. Stuey kept asking when will it snow. Missing you lots. Love, hunny bunny

On this elk trip (2014), these are two of my recent messages:

Two Canadian hunters were driving through the country to go bear hunting. They came upon a fork in the road where a sign read "BEAR LEFT" so they went home. Zoya

One Elk down? Get outta town! Thats so fast! What a blast. Happy meat humping, over hills and peaks. We're so  impressed-thats quite a feat. Especially with a crew of 4-holy smokes fried muscles galore! From Zoya


Knowing how fun it is for him to get messages in his SAT phone inbox  field makes sending them that much more fun. 

Zoya

Happy Trails Hunters!

Coffees were topped off, cinnamon waffles consumed, welcome hugs given and there was chatter amongst everyone in the kitchen as people got acquainted with each other.  The composition of the hunt crew changes every year.

Then we headed outside for ritual departure ritual-group photo.

"Oh, wheres the other hunter?" I mistakingly said as the crew was poised for me to take their picture. Justin, Ray, Patrick, Adelia and Brooks were all staged against the red shed, with Nora and Stuey in front. My eyes were scanning for 5 males, and I had forgotten that Adelia was one of the hunters! This is the first year of an elk hunt with a female on the crew.

Adelia is a born and raised Kodiakian and someone I've known my whole life. Our parents were friends even before we were born. And we are both twins. As well as several other commonalities between the two of us.

Adelia runs a fish net site in Uganik Bay for the summers, is savvy with boats, the outdoors and hunting. As I always say about Adelia, "She is amazing and HARD CORE." If I were to be stuck in the wilderness with only 1 other female, Adelia would be  one of the few I'd want  to be trapped with. She has a calm cool collected demeanor, is graceful and incredibly hard working.

I look forward to the hunt updates from Patrick's occasional SAT phone calls. The weather forecast is good and the seas are calm today for their passage up North.

Zoya

Elk Hunt '14

Food supplies ready to be packed

And so it begins... preparations for Elk hunt 2014. T minus 17 (ish) hours till the crew departs....

Patrick and Stuey are at the airport picking up the first of the out of town hunters~Justin from Fairbanks.  Ray from Anchorage arrives later tonight and Brooks from Juneau tomorrow AM.

This afternoon Patrick stuffed his new grey hunting pack with the necessary gear and tried it on. Its a new pack, lighter. I liked imagining him hiking on Afognak in search of the Elk herds with it on. He looked at me and smiled, pleased with how much lighter it feels compared to his old pack.

Food. A biggie for such an adventure. Feeding 5 hungry hunters with enough calories for 7-10 days. Several of the guys made frozen meals to eat on the boat and Patrick packed along many meals for their nights camping on Afognak.  When Patrick comes home after the hunt, his metabolism will be revved for several days after-constantly ravenous. His body will still be thinking he is chasing after the elusive elk.

 This afternoon, a call went out to Skipper Jim on ETD tomorrow. The time is dictated by the tides in Whale Pass  and weather.  Tomorrow the plan is for a 10ish departure and 6-8 hours later, they'll be at their destination at Afognak. Ready to start hunting on Sunday.

There is an Elk hunt energy at our home. 11 or 12 years now into the annual hunt, I sense this excitement and relish in it. Tomorrow morning I'll make some waffles and eggs for breakfast. A hearty breakfast for a hearty crew.

Zoya

Energy Moving

Anchorage scene after the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake.
 From the Alutiiq Museum Archives - Knagin Collection 

The 6.2 earthquake in the Anchorage Airport should have been a sign of shift and change to come on my trip to Portland to take a 4 day women's health class.

 As I sat in the big leather lounge chair in Starbucks, the earth started to lightly shake under my feet. I looked up at the others in the cafe and no one noticed, all focused on their phones. The intensity increased and the airport swelled up and down. I thought of Stuey's tears when I left in the AM…."Mommy, I'm going to miss you. I want you to help me with my homework. And make my sandwiches."

I darted under the archway and the barista behind the counter let out a scream. A very think layer of dust fell from the tiles overhead. Was Stuey right? Should I have stayed behind, with them? With the dust, the scream, people standing everyone could feel the energy. The movement subsided and only 5 minutes went by before someone had pulled up the stats on their i-phone: a 6.2 quake.

                                                                 ~

After class on my return to Alaska it is late.   11 pm and  I stretch  across 3 airplane seats, chilled. Even with a vest, warm boots and jacket on, I was  cold and hardly slept during the red eye hours.

In the airport, also cold. Trying to warm up at 3 AM and sleep for a couple of hours. Drowsiness wouldn't settle in. Too much energy shifting, perhaps. I breathed warmth, in and down-trying to warm my core. It helped some and I got a few hours.

The contraction, expansion of energy. All around. The earth, around body healers for 4 days in Portland. And understanding how it plays into rhythms of nature and in our lives as beings. So much shifting of energy.

                                                             ~

And now, nearly 2 weeks later. Class is over, and the classmates send e-mails back and forth. Facebook friend requests were submitted and accepted with these fellow healing souls. None of us went back to life as normal. We're all a little changed, more tuned in with ourselves, our needs and better tuned into the energy of our bodies, of the earth, people around us. That resonance that can fill a room..of either warmth or cold. Now I can work with it, understand it. And most of all, appreciate it.

Zoya

Visiting with Brian

While Brian was visiting it was not all hunting all the time.  We did some visiting too.  On the day he arrived we went back to Jewel Beach and Nora looked for sea glass while Stuey tried to outrun the waves.  Sheba barked.  And us adults enjoyed the sunshine.  I showed Brian how my new camera can take super closeups with its 'microscope' setting.

And then we went for a walk in the woods.  The kids had brought flashlights and really wanted to explore the bunker we found on our last visit (click here for picture).  It was a scary place, and VERY big.  I was surprised that much of the furniture was still in pretty good shape - things like the doors and cabinets.  And to think that as the Army Headquarters during WWII, it is likely that Franklin Delano Roosevelt probably visited in that very bunker!  Best of all, this time Sheba did not roll in bear poop.

Patrick

Stuey's game of outrunning the waves

Close up of a feather with the microscope setting on my camera

We brought flashlights so we could explore the bunker

Group picture in the bunker

Pretty scary place

Fall colors are still gorgeous

Hunting with Brian

This past weekend an old friend came down from Anchorage to go deer hunting near town.  We love it when Brian visits.  Right away on arrival he was in a wrestling match with Stuey.  And Brian had better watch out because Stuey will beat him one day.  Every meal was accompanied by laughter and great stories.  Best of all, Brian seems to like our cooking!

But the hunting was HARD.  Late September through early October is the hardest time to hunt for deer on Kodiak.  In August when you go deer hunting you almost always come home with a big, fat, tasty 3-point-buck.  Up in the alpine the bucks are red and stand out against the green, green August vegetation.  But by late September the deer have left the high country, turned grey, and hang out in the tall grass and alders just below the alpine.  They are VERY difficult to find.

The hunting does pick up again in late October when the alders have lost their leaves and the bucks start to move around a lot more as they go into the rut for breeding season.  But the hormonal changes also make them taste gamey and almost inedible. We generally stop hunting for bucks after mid October. So if you want tasty deer meat and did not get your deer during the salad days of August you have to endure the marginal hunting of early October. The scenery and hiking are great but the deer are scarce.

Every day we got up early and ate breakfast with the kids and Zoya.  And then an hour before sunrise we'd be out the door - off to climb up a mountain and find deer by the dawn's early light. The first day we blew a chance at a buck during a snow squall (on the road system near town you are only allowed to hunt bucks), and then hiked for miles and saw nothing more but does.  On the second day it was super cold and somebody beat us up the trail. We arrived at the alpine to find a party of hunters butchering a mountain goat.  Needless to say, but they had scared off the deer and we hiked for miles and did not see any bucks at all - just does and fawns.

Finally on the third day (I took the day off work on Monday) we got our buck.  I guess the third time was the charm.  After the snow squalls and wind of the first 2 days the calm and sun of the third day made for 'a bright, bright sunshiny day' (a la Jimmy Cliff).  Brian got his meat for winter.

Brian later told me that the thought of having deer meat for winter made him overwrought with emotion.  As he put it, 'it's just so tasty'.  Tonight he returned to anchorage with meat for the winter.  Patrick

Hiking up during the first snowfall of the season

If you look closely you can even see the goat hunters in this picture butchering their goat below the black spot in the scree field

Negotiating the brush on the third day on the way to the alpine

Whoo hoooo meat in the pack at last!

Brian's one happy guy. He has what he came for - primo game meat for the freezer

Brian's drawing of the hunt - it manages to include a great many of the details of the final stalk, including topographic and geographic landscape features