April 23, 1998

Hand written. Delivered by messenger and faxed from a small village in Alaska

Note: Too much wind for a plane to come just now -while we are waiting I will write this extra piece about plants. We have sent dispatches about animals and their surroundings. But we can't forget the plants.

Alaska is a vast wetland interspersed with mountain ranges. On our trek the valleys and tundra are frozen solid. In the summer they are soggy meadows, wet marshes and tundra with seemingly millions of tiny lakes called potholes. The frozen rivers of winter are meandering shallow ribbons that seem to have no real direction. Most of Alaska north of the Arctic Circle is covered by tundra which appears to be a vast barren empty place but in reality supports unbelievable numbers of insects, a wide array of wildflowers, countless rodents such as the vole and lemming and even shrubs here and there. The tundra from the air is covered with a lace-work of caribou trails etched forever into the land. Mounds of tussocks make tundra walking a real ankle twister. There is also the taiga, a Russian word for "land of little sticks." Taiga land grows sparse, scraggly, stunted trees. It can take 200 years for a spruce tree to grow 20 feet tall if it is lucky. Taiga also grows willow, mosses, lichens, and several types of berries such as cranberry and blueberry.

When we crossed the Brooks Range we also crossed the northernmost tree line where most all trees just give up and don't grow at all. Only the hardy willow persists and can be found far above the tree line.

Then there is permafrost. Defined as soil that remains frozen for more than two years, it can be 2 feet deep or 2,000 feet deep. Because roots can't penetrate the permafrost it is almost impossible for a tree to grow. These areas are usually boggy and might support a few severely stunted looking black spruce trees.

Muskeg also covers wide areas. Muskeg is defined as ancient wetlands where various plants are in stages of slow decay in a waterlogged, acidic environment. Muskeg is also known as peat bog. When the wetland has accumulated at least a foot of peat which is dead plants decomposing very slowly due to slow bacterial and fungus action in an acidic environment, then it becomes Muskeg. It takes a thousand years to build one foot of peat and some Muskeg areas are over 20 feet thick. Black spruce will sometimes grow there, but can take 400 years to grow 10 feet tall.

We crossed areas of many different plants. Labrador Tea has a long history of human use as tea. The finger-like leathery leaves used as tea relieves symptoms of heartburn and colds. It grows as an evergreen, low shrub of about 6 inches to 2.5 feet tall in muskegs, bogs and some forests.

Willow: It seemed to grows everywhere we trekked. We fought through its tangled branches with packs and sleds. How we grew to hate it! But then when we crossed the Brooks Range to the northern slopes we were able to skirt the willow that was now lower and easily avoided. Natives use willow as food, as a source of vitamin C, and for the salicin which is an anti-inflammatory. They twist the bark into twine for nets and fishing line. Moose browse on willow, and ptarmigan are a common sight in willow thickets

Cranberry: Natives dry the red berries for winter food. They use the bush for medical purposes to treat stomach ailments, sore throats and even rashes. It grows on the tundra, and quite often we observed cranberry bushes, only 6 inches or less high, growing amidst the grassy leaves of a tussock hummock. These were low bush cranberries and not found in great abundance.

Lichen: The important caribou food is found in the canyons of the Brooks Range. In the northern slopes where trees don't grow and the soils are low in nutrients, we found lichens everywhere. These interesting plants don't require soil and thrive in the extreme cold and dry conditions of an Arctic winter. North of the Brooks they grow slowly, but we saw them struggling for life and winning. With their shovel-like hooves, caribou scrape the snow aside and eat the lichen. We watched the caribou scrape and graze as they traveled.

Birch: We traveled through birch stands on the south slopes of the Brooks. These were paper birch, used for baskets, paper for writing, and when fermented it becomes birch beer. Cooked sap produces syrup.

White Spruce and Black Spruce: On the south side of the Brooks, a common tree is the white spruce, a stately evergreen tree. Black spruce is smaller than its white relative and tolerates the wet, poor soil of tundra and muskeg. Because of underlying permafrost, black spruce is usually stunted and spindly.

We must mention the Raven. These jet-black swooping birds were even north of the Brooks. Even as we crossed Ivishak Pass the Ravens were still sweeping above our heads. According to native legend, the raven is responsible for such wonders as making rivers flow, hanging the moon, bringing daylight to the world and creating fire. The raven even created people. The raven has a reputation as a highly intelligent bird. They mate for life. Their black shiny feathers swooping over our heads and over our caribou companions was in stark contrast to the whiteness all around us.

Lynx: Early one morning, just as we broke camp at dawn, we saw the sly, elusive form of a lynx. It quickly disappeared into willows and as the shrubs closed behind the lynx, it was as though it had never been there.

Our Daily Schedule: We broke camp at dawn and traveled all day until about 7 PM with only 10 minute breaks each 2 hours. At first the temperature was around -10 degrees F or thereabouts, then it quickly climbed into the plus teens. Later the temperature plunged to -38 degrees F in the mountain passes.

Again, it has been a most unusual spring with warmer temperatures and great fluctuations from low to much higher than usual. The effect of all this has been to cause the ice of the rivers to become dangerous. We were constantly faced with thin ice, gaping holes and overflowing water that flowed through holes to the surface. On the first trek we were forced to walk through water several inches deep. On the second trek in one place the cold water was half way to our knees. The ice cold water soon produced numbness to feet, and even when we cleared the water we had to struggle on with ice caked boots and snowshoes.

We were always mindful of the early warmer temperatures and the possibility early ice breakup. Breakup occurs when the ice in the major rivers begins to melt and deteriorate to the point where the normally solid surface breaks up. With grinding, cracking motion it is swept downstream in small and often large, dangerous chunks of ice that can easily kill a man or beast that gets caught up in it. There are times when the ice moves quietly and at other times it moves with a thunderous roar. It was important that we cross all major rivers before breakup occurred-hence we pushed ourselves.

At the end of many long, hard days, our reward is the experience of having trekked with the caribou herd, having experienced the exhilarating scenery, and the accomplishment of forcing a lot of miles in sometimes tough territory. Some days we made over 20 miles and on others only 5 or 6.

H & B