It was a honeymoon trip that brought Bill and Ruth Albee to the north, but this was far from a typical vacation. The newlyweds had a desire to experience true wilderness and learn about the people who lived in the arctic and boreal forest. More interestingly, though, is that they wanted to do it in a way that no one had done before. Starting in British Columbia, they planned to … [Read more...] about Alaska Challenge: Bill and Ruth Albee
Alaska
49 Years in the 49th State: Alaska Biologist Pat Valkenburg
They were an All-Star team of fish and wildlife biologists. Alaska was still in its infancy as an official state, and its Department of Fish and Game was hiring young men and women from the top colleges in the country to get out and collect the data needed to properly manage some of the state’s most important resources. They were given an area, a budget, a special research … [Read more...] about 49 Years in the 49th State: Alaska Biologist Pat Valkenburg
Call of the American Wild
Guy Grieve seemed to have it all – a wonderful wife and two kids, a home and a steady job at a newspaper in Scotland. Yet he was miserable. The job felt like a prison he couldn’t escape, and he spent all his waking hours searching for a way out. His search led to Alaska, and Guy began dreaming about building a cabin in the wilderness and living alone off the land. With the … [Read more...] about Call of the American Wild
One Man’s Wilderness: Dick Proenneke
The idea of living a remote lifestyle in the woods is appealing to most of us outdoors folk. We get a small taste of it each time we’re out there hunting, fishing or hiking, and wonder what it would be like to be ‘out there’ full time. The reasons we give to ourselves and others about why we never pursued that wilderness dream are varied - too busy, need a job to pay the … [Read more...] about One Man’s Wilderness: Dick Proenneke
Fort Yukon Trader
Imagine an entire economy based on wild fur. A community where the primary breadwinners are wilderness trappers who spend the majority of the year out in the bush, living off the land in remote cabins and harvesting furbearers, fish and game to survive. As far away as that may sound, just a couple of generations ago that’s the way it was in remote villages of interior Alaska … [Read more...] about Fort Yukon Trader