Kotlik Days 18-23

Well it’s been awhile so I should probably catch up. Last Friday was the 4th of July! I spent several hours that afternoon hiking along the Little Kotlik River, and by hiking I mean bushwhacking. I started the hike along some muddy ATV trails, which petered out at an old, small dock, which was hidden in a pretty dense groove. From there I just started walking through the tall grass lining the river, so on my right side was the river and on my left was thick shrub land filled with mosses and mosquitoes. It was really pretty and it didn’t take long to loose sight of the village and find myself in pretty much the absolute wild. It was really peaceful and serene out there with nothing but the breeze, the sound of the river, and occasionally some small birds. I saw tons of moose tracks all along the riverbank, crisscrossing and going every which way but sadly (or perhaps thankfully) I didn’t stumble around any of the river bends to find myself face to face with a moose. After a while I came to what looked like an old fish camp, there was a pole hung across two trees with some really old fish hung up to dry (but it looked like someone forgot they were there because it was really just skin and bone left hanging.) Between the dried fish and the camp was a small creek inlet and some rickety old planks tied to each end. By rickety I mean they looked unstable and I decided I would us a stick to help me cross, so this creek was maybe only 4 feet wide, I probably could have jumped across it but I had been warned against doing that before I came to Kotlik. So I picked up a branch maybe 6 feet long and stuck it in the creek to help me cross, and it didn’t touch the bottom, so I picked up what looked like a tree trunk about 12 feet long and it touched the bottom at the bank, but near the middle of this “creek” even knelling on my knees it didn’t touch the bottom and I want prepared to fall into a freezing, surprisingly deep creek, so I decided to turn around. Besides the mosquitoes, it couldn’t have been a better hike and I slowly made my way back to the village and spent another hour or two following more ATV tracks. One of them was made of gravel (I think it was the old airport runway) and it actually eventually led me to, what do you know, the other side of that creek I decided not to cross. All in all it was a good day! It’s still too light out to do fireworks sadly, so I’ll have to come back for New Years one day when its completely dark out (and also to see the Aurora Borealis!)

Otherwise I’ve spent the last several days working with the elders some more and preparing to work with the elders and just hanging out and talking to people. I should completely fill my field notebook tomorrow, which is super exciting, and pretty much just in time! I can’t believe I only have another 4 days in Kotlik. It’s actually kind of really sad, I could easily stay here for a lot longer yet (I just want a better bed, or even my backpacking air mattress. Even though its thinner it’d be a lot more comfortable than this gym mat I’ve been using.) I’ll miss this village and the people and the tundra, I really hope I’ll be able to make it back here next year; I’m going to do everything I can to make it happen. Another reason it’s sad to leave is that I’ve made so many friends with the dogs here, and they know who I am now. When they see me they’ll walk right up to me without hesitation and lean up against me and ask for pets. Its awesome if you gave me a year here they’d all be living with me. I don’t see them everyday but the little husky puppy and this one really adorable German Sheppard-Husky mix will come up to me almost daily when they see me walking around. It’s awesome!

So basically that’s what I’ve been up to. It’s been a blast and a wonderful experience so far!

Piurra!