Post by wildernessmama on Feb 10, 2005 12:02:45 GMT -5
Several weeks ago I posted a list of northwoods books in our personal library, and it was suggested that I report on some of them from time to time. Then yesterday I was looking through some past trip reports and discovered that several people have been to the Brooks Range in Alaska. Since Wilderness Papa and I just finished reading a series that took place in that area, I thought this might be a good place to begin. I hope you all will enjoy.
"We Live in the Arctic," by Constance & Harmon (Bud) Helmericks
Many changes have taken place in our world since this book was published in 1947, but the land in which Bud and Connie lived that year has seen little change. They had already lived in Alaska for a short time, but their dream to travel the Alatna River to the Brooks Range north of the Artic Circle became a reality as they loaded their belongings into their 14’ homemade canoe.
In a matter of days the young couple had constructed an 11’x14’ cabin which would provide shelter during the long winter months. They had little room to pack a meager supply of “civilized” food and relied on their hunting, fishing, and trapping skills to put meat on the table. Though surrounded by magnificent wilderness isolation, life became a continual struggle to overcome near starvation. The journal tells how a total meat diet (moose, bear, and caribou when they could find it) helped nourish them through their year in the far North. Connie devotes much of her narrative to dispelling the myths of dietary laws in the far north; their need for fat intake would make today’s cholesterol-conscious reader cringe.
Despite the hardships they endured, their year in the Artic was one of their most enjoyable. Their daily snowshoe trips to the trap lines and their extended hunting expeditions kept them active throughout the coldest of times. The couple’s story continues in sequels “Our Summer With the Eskimos” which takes place at Beechy Point on the Artic Ocean, and “Our Alaskan Winter.” When you want to curl up with a good book in front of the fireplace on a cold winter night, you won’t feel so cold after all.
Unfortunately, these books are out of print. I borrowed them from a friend so you may have to check your local library.
"We Live in the Arctic," by Constance & Harmon (Bud) Helmericks
Many changes have taken place in our world since this book was published in 1947, but the land in which Bud and Connie lived that year has seen little change. They had already lived in Alaska for a short time, but their dream to travel the Alatna River to the Brooks Range north of the Artic Circle became a reality as they loaded their belongings into their 14’ homemade canoe.
In a matter of days the young couple had constructed an 11’x14’ cabin which would provide shelter during the long winter months. They had little room to pack a meager supply of “civilized” food and relied on their hunting, fishing, and trapping skills to put meat on the table. Though surrounded by magnificent wilderness isolation, life became a continual struggle to overcome near starvation. The journal tells how a total meat diet (moose, bear, and caribou when they could find it) helped nourish them through their year in the far North. Connie devotes much of her narrative to dispelling the myths of dietary laws in the far north; their need for fat intake would make today’s cholesterol-conscious reader cringe.
Despite the hardships they endured, their year in the Artic was one of their most enjoyable. Their daily snowshoe trips to the trap lines and their extended hunting expeditions kept them active throughout the coldest of times. The couple’s story continues in sequels “Our Summer With the Eskimos” which takes place at Beechy Point on the Artic Ocean, and “Our Alaskan Winter.” When you want to curl up with a good book in front of the fireplace on a cold winter night, you won’t feel so cold after all.
Unfortunately, these books are out of print. I borrowed them from a friend so you may have to check your local library.
.....what were those dogs names...hmmmm....Dan & Ann wasn't it? 
When you go through deep waters, I will be with you... Isaiah 43:2[/color]