A Request

A Request

Lewis Brower had told me a couple weeks back that I had a request that would be placed above all others if possible. So I told him the next day I would like to go fishing when the time came, weeks went by until one day he came in the office and told me today is the day one time chance take it or leave it. A chance to hunt bearded seals in the arctic was not one to be passed so I accepted along with Dave (who went only because of his evilness). We packed and left to Lewis’ house, when we got there Paulo and Rob were just leaving after trying a special kind of food that we would soon have. We came in through the garage to see a pair of massive walrus tusks laying on the floor, however, these did not compare to the polar bear fur that covered the wall from top to bottom. This seemed like the house of an average person considering this was what the majority of the town does…hunt. We made are move to the kitchen where Lewis was an everyday lunch with his wife, consisting of soup, crackers, and seal intestine. Of course I had to try it, it’s not every day you eat seal intestine, so at this point Lewis was instructing us on the location of the nearest trash can and restroom. I wasn’t too worried because usually it’s pretty easy for me to try new foods, so I took the cracker and it was pretty good.

We were now fed, packed and ready to hit the high seas.

The Crew: Me, Dave, Lewis, and Edmond (who was a good friend of Lewis)

It was a short drive to the dock, when we arrived there were already at least a dozen people out on the hunt already. Once there we loaded the boat into the water and set sail. At this point I have no clue what to expect while we’re gliding over the water. Lewis just told us that we are to go to the front of the boat to shoot and to shoot only in that direction, so I was like cool. When hunting seals you have to be prepared at anytime, because Lewis immediately flips the boat around towards the seal that he saw, there is always little or no warning. So after cruising along we spotted a seal, Lewis guns it and we rush to the front of the boat hoping to catch it, of course we fail and the seal gets away. We give up and head out to sea some more hoping to spot another. Along the way we pass large chunks of ice drifting in the water ranging from all shapes and sizes, and some pretty cool shapes too. The farther out we got the more ice and the more ice the more hiding places. After we get a good distance out to sea we shut off the boat and have a nice little break full of muktuk and target practice. There we were sitting peaceful in an ocean calmed by the ice. Out there the ice absorbed most of the waves so you would have slow moving water. We soon moved on for the next seal weaving in and out of the ice spotting one occasionally but losing it in the end. It was very tense and cold at the front of the boat with no window to shield your face from the freezing air, or keep your hands from becoming cold and numb. You had to be ready for at any time the seal could pop its head out of the water for some air.

There was one really close call though…

I was up at the front scouting the open water with the scope…when I spotted a bearded seal sun bathing on a slab of ice. I motioned to Lewis, and Edmond hoped up to the front to offer some assistance. I handed him the scope and took another rifle, as we creped in on the seal with his back to us. Edmond was to take the first shot and I would follow with a second. BANG, the seal flinched from the first shot, and I locked on for the second but it was too late for he had sunk into the water. Around and around we went hoping to find it but no luck. As the day drew to a close we pointed to boat to shore and jetted back home. I wasn’t disappointed at all because I still was able to have the experience of hunting over the water.

I was however freezing my ass off on the way home.

science and sleep

yesterdays schedule: go out to the field

todays schedule: go out to the field

tomorrows schedule: go out to the field

Day I don't go out to the field: priceless

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We went to a local festival recently called a blanket toss festival, where they (obviously) toss people up on blankets. Now the anticipation for this had been building up for quite a while, and for some reason in my head i was picturing a really really cool festival. come to the day of, well is wasn't exactly what we expected. A bunch of people sitting around and little kids playing blanket toss. This festival goes on from 12 to 12 and has various activities throughout the day, so depending when you get there...yata yata yata great time. but ya it was cool because this is their culture, and you gotta appreciate that. (I'll write more on this later)

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Various thoughts....

Early bird catches the worm, second mouse gets the cheese.

thoughts of summer covered in snow

i'll be back

melting snow

Life here in Barrow has begun to emerge from the snow. Walking along the roads, you couldn't tell that there used to be 3 or 5 feet of snow covering the ground for miles on end. The sun continues to dance around never pausing, never sitting, and always there for you.
As the snow turns to water lemmings emerge from the ground, and begin scavenging the tundra. Lemmings are rodent like creatures that roam the tundra creating branches in the soil, pits of droppings, and a sense of vitality in the tundra. The grasses and the mosses are slowly thawing from their icy glaze, springing forth with new life consuming the water like sponges. The soil is now tender and soft never releasing the moisture it is given. The sky gives birth to several creatures, like the snowy owl who awaits its next meal while other birds poke through the now bare soil, hoping to fill its belly with tasty insects, or whatever it delights. Soon polar bears will come ashore when the sea ice melts into the water. life is good, life is changing, life is life.

good enough for the bush

Good day again today, especially when your in a place like this good days are a frequent visit.

Slept in today, had to wake up in a rush to head out for the days work ahead. It just so relaxing when you've been out for so long and crash (in contrast to drunken crashing)into bed.

Barrow is a quiet town with little rustling every here and there. A small drive along the coast line gives you an amazing view of a frozen ocean full of pressure ridges formed for the ice. Craig was telling us that there can be massive pressure ridges that can topple on to the road 30 meters away. Here you'll here many stories, mostly from the locals who are always happy to speak of their adventurous encounters for hours on end. Barrow isn't the place for a tourist field trip of a week, for me to get the best benefit no tour guide can give you is you have to talk to the people here and interact with them.
Recently we attended a celebration for the grand opening of a new facility here at the heritage memorial center. Entering the building you saw large pictures of the local people, each posing next to something that expressed who they were and their pride. Further in there was the auditorium filled with people and on the stage there were chairs lined up with dancers. They were dressed with moccasins and traditional clothes holding these large pancake like drums about two feet in diameter and a long stick. I nestled into a crevice of people along the wall for their performance was about to begin. Tap..Tap..Tap went the drums very lightly as the dancers began, then a while into it BAM..BAM...BAM as they pounded the drums creating a powerful presence in the room. The soon invited everyone in the room to come up and dance. Only a hand full of people went and I was still a bit to timid to run up there and join them. They announced the last song and opportunity to dance, so I gave it a shot and went. and that was the end of another good day.

today was a good day

sometimes a good day is all that needs to be said.

workin'

Today we went out in the field to do some work. We took about 5 snowmobiles and 2 sleds with us. So all of us packed on and two people jumped on the sleds, Santinu and Amorita rode the back standing up. It took us about 20 min to arrive to our site, driving through what seemed to be a fog of snow for miles on end. On the way over there Santinu managed to fall off the sled, funny thing is nobody noticed. It took a while until Craig looked back and saw no one there, so he headed back to pick him up. Riding on those snow mobiles you really have to keep your face covered well, one to keep you face from freezing and two keep yourself from getting snow burned.

When we arrived at the site I had no idea the work they had in store for us. Craig had us begin digging a hole about 3 feet deep into the snow, 3 ft wide and maybe 24 feet long, it wasn't too bad at first but then he kicked it up a notch. He then had us dig about a 1000 ft canal. It was pretty intense digging, you actually began to heat up in your jacket, so I had to take off a layer to stat nice and fresh. It was nice though because you don't feel as fatigued like you do when working in warmer weather. You don't sweat or get thirsty at all, which can be pretty dangerous because it does get really dry out there. After about an hour or two of digging my body began to ache all over especially in my wrists from snow shoveling the whole time. It is amazing how deep the snow gets in some areas, it can range from 1ft to 5 ft in depth. Also when digging a noticed several layers of ice in the snow, it looked almost like a three layer cake with and inch of icing in between. The snow in and of itself is very blinding, because it is extremely pure white. If I didn't have my sunglasses on I wouldn't have been able to see for crap. Its one of those things you have to experience for your self. Its like you can almost feel the white radiating from the snow, just totally incredible but it can also be pretty dangerous. You can get pretty disoriented from being out there for too long, so Craig told us if the wind is hitting the right side of your face you should be facing north.

I was thinking today, when winter comes around in El Paso It will be a breeze . Well I got to go get ready now for the grand opening of the multi million dollar research facility here in Barrow.