Alaskan Winters

[Silverado6x6]

I would say I have seen a lot of "boom and bust" situations up here. As a supervisor for a concrete batching facility in Wasilla I have seen many newcomers come up here and try to make a living.

First off they don't prepare ahead of time and they don't realize most work especially construction jobs are very seasonal including mine. My season might start as early as March but has gone as late as mid may and typically ends in mid November.

And I have accumulted everything from diesel generators, welders, rifles and pistols from people needing quick cash just to leave before winter.

Thats how I wound up with a Safari Grade Winchester Model 70 in .375H&H, a Remington Model 11, A Springfield Armory M1A Standard with a Leupold tactical scope, three Glocks, a 20,21 and a 23, A Ruger .22 pistol, a Ruger stainless laminated stock 10/22, an SKS, a Remington 870 Express 12 gauge, a pair of Winchester featherweight Model 70's in 7mm magnum and .300WM, a Marlin lever action in .357, a Sigma SW9VE, a Sig Sauer P220 almost new (my favorite) an Auto Ordnance 1911, a Beretta 92 FS, and I'm sure I can name another couple.

Bought these mostly from co-workers or from just along the highway at what used to be a very nice flea market area just north of town, its sort of a Hooterville, the people live in very small shacks, storage shed, converted busses and such. I alway try to keep a couple hundred on hand in cash because almost every day you find people willing to sell something, like that Winchester Model 70 .375H&H, I paid $200 for it, the MIA I paid $700.

I also wind up with tools, like a large Snapon MIG welder with the detachable large spool box on top, a metal cutting horizontal bandsaw, very large wrenches and air compressors. The weirdest deal I wound up with was getting an Onan 12kw diesel generator, a Miller welder, two large shop compressor air tanks one with the motor and compressor all for $500.

The Onan was found alongside the Alaska Highway by a newcomer before he started to work for us, it looks like it just plain fell off a trailer, its not from an RV, more like what you see at a jobsite or a homestead, it had some minor damage, the fuel filter brackets were broken and the aluminum oil pan was cracked, I used that Snapon MIG welder that I converted to run for aluminum and welded the pan up.

I made an engine stand with rubber vibration isolators, installed new filters, hooked up a battery and it fired right up. What was kinda funny was the guy came back the next year after he sold it to me and demanded I sell it back to him, well lets just say its now my home emergency backup gennie.

So this can be just a couple of pages of a novel of what I see up here, many come here but not all stay, some make out very good but those that make the wrong decisions suffer. A person with some good skills can get a job really fast in Anchorage, its sky high to rent there though. Its tougher to get work in the rural area but getting land is easy, I actually bought a zero down property, I later decided it would not suit me and I defaulted on the payments, it was only 1/3rd of an acre for $14k, instead I bought 8 acres with a two story house that was about 75% finished for $55k, its been paid for since 2004.

 

[H&Hhunter]

Silverado,

Anchorage and the Matsu valley are the end of the highway where so many stary eyed travelers with grandiose notions of Ak wind up. To me Anchorage is nothing more than a dropping off point from which I head out to Alaska. NO offense to your home town/ area but I can't stand Anchorage or any of the surrounding area. While there many fine hard working folks. There is a huge element of losers, scammers, drunks and dopers of whom I care not to be associated.

As you mention if you've got half a brain and a strong back you can rise above and profit in the area but for me I'd rather simply move on over the AK range or down the peninsula. Alaska starts just out of sight from Anchorage IMHO. In my profession there are lots of jobs for people who are willing to live way out there. Of course village Life has it's downers too. Ak is not what most folks think it's going to be. First off if you have a notion of wild AK and fabulous hunting and remote outdoors you'd better either get a pilots license and a plane or save up for some charter flying because unless you've got wings, wild AK is darn near impossible to access.

 

[Silverado6x6]

I absolutely hate Anchorage, I might pass through there once or twice a year, and I am grateful I don't live in Wasilla as well, I am up near Big Lake.

 

[cottswald]

Grouse, hare, some ptarmigan. I only wish we had fox squirrels. Instead we have tough little red squirrels like this guy:

Looks similar to the reds we have here in Ohio. Real noise makers that will often tell you exactly where they are. Little fellas too, gotta be a pretty good shot to take em with a pistol. Don't have a lot of meat, but I've found they taste similar to a grey or fox.

 

[Cosmoline]

Yeah yeah, everyone hates Anchorage, from George Harrison to Barry Lopez. Most people who live here will dis it. But it's really a great city, and getting better all the time. Hundreds of miles of trails. A huge wilderness area that we use as a park. Moose and bear coming in and out of town. I love "Alaska Alaska" as they say, but Los Anchorage has its merits. I just did a 50 K brevet ride through Kincaid and around the city today and saw some mountain vistas that rival the scenes of rural AK. Yes we have too many cars, but rural AK has far too many noisy snow machines. The goal of recreational riders seems to be to make noise, high mark and die in avalanches. Plus there is A LOT to be said for indoor plumbing! LOL The honey bucket has nothing to recommend it. Nothing at all. And Anchorage has the fast pace feel of a city, which is neat to have on the edge of the wild places. And it *IS* where folks gear up for many high adventures.

To bring this back to topic, I've run across so many bears in the Muni and nearby Chugach SP I'm thinking seriously about taking up F&G on their recently expanded hunting seasons in the GMU subunits just outside the Muni. I'll post my results, but I have to think there are some overlooked opportunities with spring blacks around here. I talked to one fellow who takes one a year from the Chugach SP and they're not garbage tasting at all. Only the ones right in town are garbage feeders.

Don't have a lot of meat, but I've found they taste similar to a grey or fox.

I admit I've never really got the hang of cooking them, but I keep trying. What I'm really after are the hides, which are incredibly tough. Easily the toughest hide of any critter I've yet cut into in this state. Moose hide will cut easy enough with a good blade, but our squirrel will stop a razor! Maybe they're our only thick-skinned dangerous game ;-)

And speaking over overlooked AK hunting opportunities--SMALL GAME is almost totally ignored except by subsistence hunters and a few grouse blasters. But lordy there's a lot of it. And the seasons are broad and bag limits huge. Everyone seems to come here for the big stuff. Moose and brown bear are pretty restricted and subject to the maximum F&G scrutiny. If you get in over your head with moose (easy for a newbie AK hunter) and abandon good meat, they'll hit you with serious fines and potential jail time. Moose are a precious resource here. But they love you taking game on the lower end of the food chain. So instead of rolling the dice and spending thousands for a potentially failed hunt for big AK game, you can spend some nice days with a shotgun and bring back a huge spread of feathered critters and hare.

While I can't recommend AK squirrel for taste, the ptarmigan and grouse are fantastic. The breasts are really easy to prepare and easy to cook. Totally pure meat, too, and doubtless way richer in nutrients than the processed stuff. Maybe that's why they fill you up more.

Here's some I smoked a few years back in a balsamic brine. Served, of course, with our state bread: