Well, another Earthwatch trip has come to an end. We had another rest day on Monday (and if I’m being honest, we needed it, because maybe we all (except one!) got sick at some point during the expedition – with all of us together 24/7, it was bound to happen), we packed up and got on the prop plane.
However, the night before, we had uninvited excitement in the form of a grizzly entering our camp around 11:30pm. Apparently the bear was enticed by the smells from the grill (forgot to clean it off after cooking…error!), and then it went around camp knocking stuff over: the grill, the generator (which was on our porch…too close to my bedroom door that didn’t really close!). However, it must have cut itself, and then Norm went out with his flashlight and scared it away (Norm’s dog Maddie also was barking her head off, so lots of praise for her the next morning).
The evidence:
So before I go on, some big thanks!
Barb, Norm, and Josh: Barb and Norm have been hosting visitors to the lodge and camp 222 (the lodge they co-own with the First Nations People of the area, the Kaska), and long with their son Josh, have been advocates for both the land (Norm is a Ph.D. Biologist) and the indigenous peoples of the Kaska.
Norm, a tireless champion for the area, and a wealth of knowledge of bird biology, especially his speciality, the gyrfalcon
Barb – our hostess with the most-ess, enthusiastically cooking us meals, making sure we were comfortable, and an endless databank of things to do, hikes to take, views not to be missed!
Josh – what would we without him??!! He taught me to make fire (along with his wife Marisa), he drove us endlessly in those quads, in all weather, he helped his mom make the meals, we drove with his dad to the creek to get drinking water, he made fire for those who didn’t have the heather secret, etc etc.
And then, an amazing Six Degrees of Separation moment! During one of my earlier blogs, a friend of mine in Jakarta was so interested in the area, he went on a deep dive about the origins of the First Nations Peoples of the area, pinpointed the Kaska (which is actually not the original group – 5 separate tribes forced into one out of necessity of…honestly I believe language survival), and then he quoted an “excellent” article about the current struggles of the First Nations Peoples of the area with the Canadian government, and private mining sector. And who was the author: JOSH!!
https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/we-have-our-footsteps-everywhere
Please, read, really, it evokes emotions for the First Nations Peoples plight in a logical, yet emotional way.
And last, but as they say, not least, our fearless leader: Steve! Steve, definitely sick the entire time, carried the 50 pound backpack, agreed to do extra data sites when WE pushed to squish them in (although in truth, he did agree to do them because of the no -rain moments), by day two nicked named me “Sailor Irene” (do I let out a string of curse words that often??). He was also a bounty of information: science, local ecology, history, and politics
He also, each night, despite being exhausted, put together talks for us, and at the end of the trip, incorporated our data into the last slide shows. Note the high tech way we had our lectures…
BIG THANKS!
And then…Lilly: my former student who asked me to go on this journey with her. When a teacher makes a difference in a student’s life, it makes it all worth it, and while I feel I have these moments more often than not, this particular relationship has been obviously a special one. Lilly, not surprisingly, has evolved into a spectacular human on all fronts, and I am so proud to call her my friend!
Some things that surprised me on the trip:
- NO BUGS! I for sure thought I would be bitten alive, and had sprayed all my clothes and gear with permethrin, brought deet lotion, etc. Unnecessary. At least, during the 10 days we were there.
- The remoteness: yes, we knew there was only a generator for power; yes, we knew there “maybe” would be internet, but no guarantees, and definitely no cell coverage; yes, we knew there was no plumbing. But experiencing it in reality was a bit of a shock. Did I get over it – yup. You do what you gotta do!
Fire building expertise!
Out house at Camp 222…
3. The cold: how could I be so unprepared?? I definitely have cold weather hiking stuff, but I didn’t bring any of it because the weather forecast said : 60s/40s. Fool that I was, the word “arctic” is all over the expedition briefing. It snowed when we were here, and God, I was cold all the time
4. How I didn’t get tired of the view: I grew up with the mountains, but not these kinds of mountains. I’m not even sure how to explain it, other than the mountains just never ended – 360 around me, north south east west, it didn’t matter. Even from the plane, I could not see an end to them. I’ll never be up here again, and am grateful to have had this experience
My fellow Earthwatchers! Six of us in total, as Barb said “a good group – no drama amongst them” – bahahaha! We definitely were a good group, some fun pictures of everyone:
Last thoughts from my fellow Earthwatchers:
Favorite thing you did:
Sue: Being out in the wild, where there are no sounds that are nature sound
Ellen: Being in the most remote place we could possibly get to, and meeting the people we met, staying at the lodge and being family
Albert: Hike on Fox Ridge,also waking up in the morning, it was quite and beautiful, everyone was upstairs, waking up together
Lilly: Seeing you (Irene), again, exploring the sub-arctic. And watching the mountains becoming covered with snow, even in August.
Prisca: Hike on Fox Ridge, and the crunchies during permafrost probing. I also liked how when you passed someone on the Canol road, you stopped and talked to them. Even the hunters. The few people around have time for each other.
Irene: Watching the weather change over the mountains
Least favorite thing you did:
Sue: The bushwhacking! My new curse is: may you walk all day in the birch brush in the arctic
Ellen: Being sick on a cold rainy day in the willows (Bushwacking)
Albert: Cold day in the rain in the willows (Bushwacking again….)
Lilly: Getting rained on at Bushwack….
Prisca: the cold rainy drive back from Bushwack….
Irene: being cold at night….
Final thoughts:
Sue: as a more general citizen scientist, learning about all the data has been really powerful, through our work in the field and through the presentations, permafrost thawing is no longer some vague idea. I really understand the significance of climate change on the vulnerability of the permafrost. The collegiality of the people who have experienced this with me has also been an amazing experience.
Ellen: staying present is an easy state of being; surrounding by the beauty and peace of the MacKenzie Mountains, and the soft tundra below. How privileged I feel, being able to share this beauty with new friends, while making a difference in this beautiful world.
Albert: Fun doing the field work (even type II fun), and being in nature.
Lilly: It was amazing to spend the last 10 days in the wilderness of the Selwyn/MacKenzie mountain range. The breathtaking views of the mountains, hikes, and ground full of lichens and mushrooms were spectacular. One of the most impactful parts of this trip was taking data that evidenced thawing permafrost as proof of climate change. Hearing from the PI and our hosts about how the area has already changed since this research began was a sobering reminder of the gravity of climate change. Confronting the implications of permafrost thaw (carbon storage + release of GHGs) against this landscape will stay with me forever. And I am so grateful to Irene for adventuring with me on this expedition! So many great memories.
Prisca: The thing I love is the vastness and emptiness, along with how quiet it was. You don’t need to wait for a Zen moment – it’s just always there
On the research side, with relatively few data points, it’s evident that climate change is happening.
Irene: Another amazing Earthwatch trip – even though it was really out of my element, and not a destination I would have picked on my own, I am so happy I did this trip. The magic of these mountains, that are different than any other mountains I have experienced, I am so thankful to have been able to be here. How many people can say they’ve been to the sub-arctic!?!
Note: sadly, our trip is the last for Earthwatch, and Steve, to be associated with the MacKenzie Mountains. Actually, Norm and Barb too! It was kind of a natural way to end (Norm and Barb are retiring, Steve has 18 years of data, etc etc). So I am especially thankful to have gone…
I leave you with some of my favorite shots – until the next adventure!
Pretty dang cool. Hope you have finally warmed up on the long road home.