Recently reading John McPhee’s “Coming into the Country”, a 1970’s look into the people living on Alaska’s Yukon River, and Dan O’Neill’s 2006 followup “A Land Gone Lonesome” put me on a track to consume writing about the Yukon and its people like it was oxygen. As just one of many Americans who has often dreamed of living their lifestyle, I find it simply fascinating. And when … [Read more...] about Reading The River – John Hildebrand
Alaska Wildnerness Living
Heimo Korth, The Final Frontiersman
He left Wisconsin as a young man in 1975 and moved to Alaska, not to be famous or well known, but to live self sufficiently and get away from it all. But over time, Heimo Korth became a legend. Today, Heimo and his wife Edna live more remotely than anyone else in Alaska. They are the only permanent residents of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, having settled there just … [Read more...] about Heimo Korth, The Final Frontiersman
A Land Gone Lonesome
It’s been occupied by humans for thousands of years. Nomadic tribes of natives roamed the upper Yukon River country in search of sustentance – fishing and hunting for food and trapping for fur to clothe them and provide currency for goods. White explorers found the country and pioneers established trading posts. Soon after, gold was discovered, and thousands flocked to the … [Read more...] about A Land Gone Lonesome
Coming into the Country
It takes a special type of writer to truly understand the human condition in a particular place, and explain it in a meaningful way. There is less demand for such writers these days, especially when it comes to the outdoors. The problem is, as I’m discovering over time, few of us under 50 actually read anymore. A while back I wrote about John McPhee, who covered the … [Read more...] about Coming into the Country