A Successful Hunt

Last weekend, I went on my second successful caribou hunt. This year wasn't nearly as dicey as last year when it was warm and the ice was melting. However, it was still quite a trip. Especially, since I was a little more on my own than last time.

I went out with a group of about five snowmobiles. We started from Birch Hill at about 11am and headed towards the mud hut and eventually to Three Step Mountain. The ride was pretty good, just enough snow, and pretty smooth till the mud hut. However, the closer you get to Three Step, the paths are not as good and you have to go over the tussocks on the tundra. We had heard and eventually found a large herd of caribou behind and to the left of Three Step.

I don't know how many caribou there were in the herd before it dispersed, chased by the hunters on snowmobiles. Maybe a couple hundred? At first it broke into two large groups running in opposite directions. Then as we chased, they broke into smaller and smaller groups. I was following someone, but then worried that I was affecting their hunt. So, I looked around and decided to chase one of the few groups that I could still see.

I couldn't go very fast because of the tussocks. I would give chase on the smaller group till I would be about a hundred yards out or so. Then I would turn my machine off to hopefully not spook them as much as I would get ready to take a shot. However, that didn't seem to help as they would start trotting off immediately. So, I would catch up again and not turn my machine off and then throw my gun up to get a shot. The first few times I was too hesitant and would watch the caribou I had in my sights show me its butt and start running away. I finally got the point where I said to myself, "Ride up and get close. Keep the machine one. If you get something resembling a shot, take it because you are heading farther and farther out onto the tundra away from the group".

So I finally, I got close, threw up my gun and shot. I took down a young bull with the first shot, but he was only wounded. I took some more shots, only aiming for the head because I didn't want to waste the meat. I hit him twice in the head. The last did the trick.

I was far from the group and it didn't occur to me that I should just pull the whole caribou into my sled and meet up with the others. I wish I had. That is what all the Yup'ik did. They took their kills down to a frozen pond with clean snow to skin and quarter them. Here I was far off worried, that they didn'tk now where I was, rushing through the skinning, gutting, and quartering.

We eventually made it back to the village probably after 6pm. It was a lot of fun, but also pretty stressful. I am surprised that my snowmobile (a '91 Polaris 440) didn't come back in pieces from the ride out on the tussocks. I also didn't fancy leaving the sight of the Yup'ik that I was hunting with. While I was cleaning the caribou, I was imagining being left behind and being found by Search and Rescue. I have been thinking about investing in GPS.

I Was Counted

The census has started and it starts in Alaska. Since winter is the easiest time for travel since the rivers are frozen, the Census Bureau gets a head start in Alaska before the spring thaw and villages get harder (and more expensive) to visit. Noorvik, AK was the first village counted.

I was counted today. I think the rest of the country will be counted later, starting in March.

Kuiggluk, AK

I found this description at http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/commdb/CIS.cfm?Comm_Boro_name=Kwethluk. For more current up-to-date stuff, check the new cultural website, Kuigglugmiut.

Archaeological evidence from a nearby site indicates that the area has been occupied since prehistoric times. The name Kwethluk is derived from "Kwikli," meaning "river." In the late 1800s, families from four villages on the Kwethluk River joined others living at the site. In 1889, an Eskimo lay worker for the Moravian Church was stationed at the village. A measles epidemic struck the village in the late 1890s. The Moravian Church built a chapel in 1896, followed by a Russian Orthodox church in 1912. Discovery of gold in nearby creeks in 1909 attracted prospectors to the area, but the finds proved disappointing, and most were gone by 1911. One placer deposit, discovered on the upper Kwethluk River, delivered a small yield and was worked until World War II. A Moravian orphanage was established three miles upriver. A BIA school with teachers' quarters was built in 1924. In 1939, the villagers owned 31,000 reindeers, used for food and skins. A tuberculosis epidemic at this time tragically reduced the population. A post office was established in 1947, and a Native-owned store opened in 1948. An airstrip was cleared in 1956. Snowmachines replaced dog teams in the 1960s as the principal form of winter transportation. The city was incorporated in 1975. A federally-recognized tribe is located in the community -- the Organized Village of Kwethluk. The population of the community consists of 94.8% Alaska Native or part Native. Kwethluk is predominantly a Yup'ik Eskimo village that practices a subsistence lifestyle. The sale or importation of alcohol is banned in the village. During the 2000 U.S. Census, total housing units numbered 199, and vacant housing units numbered 46. Vacant housing units used only seasonally numbered 33. U.S. Census data for Year 2000 showed 175 residents as employed. The unemployment rate at that time was 15.76 percent, although 54.43 percent of all adults were not in the work force. The median household income was $25,417, per capita income was $6,503, and 29.52 percent of residents were living below the poverty level.

Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura

Watch live streaming video from trutv at livestream.com

I have been downloading episodes of Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura from iTunes. It is an interesting show. To be honest, I don't know what to think about it. If it wasn't for Ventura, I probably wouldn't watch the show, or if I did, not be swayed by some other unknown presenter. I respect Ventura and had hoped that he would run for the US Senate seat in Minnesota. He could have done much the same job there that he is doing with this show, blowing the whistle on crap that the government is doing.

So far, I have watched the episodes on the HAARP project in Alaska, mind control of soldiers, global warming, and 9/11. I do not spend much time looking into conspiracy theories, but I was familiar with all of them except for HAARP. I don't know if I agree with the theories put forth in each episode, but they are plausible. Unfortunately, if they are true, they reflect a much more sinister world/government than I have tended to believe. I was already pretty cynical.

I do have a couple of issues with the show. First, I have a problem with the format. The show is a lot like many of the shows on the History channel, very repetitive. You can break down the portions between each commercial break into three parts: review, new information, and preview. So during a 40 minute show, if you cut out the repetition, you probably only really have a 20 minute show. So not only is it insulting to one's intelligence since it is so redundant, but it wastes a lot of time that could be given over to providing more depth.

Second, I hope that they will start posting more information, especially documents or links to documents found under the Freedom of Information Act at the official site. I am assuming that Ventura is doing this show to inform his fellow citizens and make the government more responsible to them. The best way to do this is to inform the public and give them the proof they need to lean on the government.

I hope that the show does well and that there will be another season. Perhaps, it will get better as viewers give input. I am curious to know if it is getting good ratings.

MacBook Fix

I have had intermittent problems with my old and beat up MacBook with portions of the keyboard failing to respond. Fortunately, I just found a site that described, diagnosed, and provided a solution. I hope they have this issue fixed in newer versions. i would like to replace mine sometime during the next year and a half.