The Last Frontier - Living in the Far North

[Alaskan_Adventurer]

Originally Posted by rotorhead

I could swear I've seen ravens tracking a pickup truck full of trash bags down the Glen more than once.

We had a guy at work who brought his trash into Anchorage rather than pay for garbage pickup in the Valley, just tossed the bags in the bed of his pickup. Well, one days comes along and....I don't know if he just forgot to dump 'em or got aced out by a full dumpster but the ravens had a field day....trash everywhere. The boss made him pick it all up, and threatened to put a lock on the dumpster as well. Didn't make that mistake again.

A couple of years ago I remember a story in the ADN about a moose who was raiding garbage cans, whouda thunk?

lol, I can't imagine seeing a moose raiding a garbage can. They can be a real pain when it comes to gardening though. We had a pesky one who kept destroying my father's fenced in strawberry patch. He repaired it 3 times. Finally he caught it in action and scared it away with a sling-shot.

We also had a black bear raiding our garbage cans. They also can make a real mess. I swear they must know the garbage schedule and hit it first thing in the morning when it is put out.

[rotorhead]

On my last job I took a flight that landed out on a truck farm somewhere in the valley, Palmer, Wasilla... hard to tell from the air. We waited quite a while out there for an ambulance to meet us, and I got to talking with the farmer. He swore that he'd seen moose clear a seven-foot fence in one jump to get to his veggies, in the summertime, with no snow. Now, a big moose probably has 4 1/2, maybe 5 feet of air under his belly anyway and some long, long legs, but.... that I'd like to see. In someone elses yard, anyway.

I know for sure that they'll fit right in through the windshield of most cars if you hit one going fast enough. Not much room in there for the driver after that happens, though.

[DannyL]

Originally Posted by Rainy

Sounds good but---well, you know what happened to the guy in the book. And the same sort of thing happens on a much less drastic and final scale to just about everyone who thinks that somehow this state is going to complete their lives. Though there is something about your post, wallstreet, that makes me think you could very likely be the one in ten who sticks around and makes it up here.

People go wrong when reality intrudes on the romantic ideals they've built up...women that move up thinking that men with money are growing on every tree...people of all sorts who think that leaving it all behind sounds great until they're in a cabin in the woods somewhere and what they most wanted to leave behind is looking back at them in the mirror...we all know many examples of that.

Your chances are better here if you focus more on what you can bring to the state rather than how it can complete you somehow. And remember that when you are in the wilderness you are never...ever there...on your own terms.

Post of the year....well said.

[wallstreet1986]

Originally Posted by Alaskan_Adventurer

lol, I can't imagine seeing a moose raiding a garbage can. They can be a real pain when it comes to gardening though. We had a pesky one who kept destroying my father's fenced in strawberry patch. He repaired it 3 times. Finally he caught it in action and scared it away with a sling-shot.

We also had a black bear raiding our garbage cans. They also can make a real mess. I swear they must know the garbage schedule and hit it first thing in the morning when it is put out.

Sounds like an adventure. I think I'd keep a 22 rifle or something tucked inside my house - ward it off.

[wallstreet1986]

Originally Posted by Rainy

Sounds good but---well, you know what happened to the guy in the book. And the same sort of thing happens on a much less drastic and final scale to just about everyone who thinks that somehow this state is going to complete their lives. Though there is something about your post, wallstreet, that makes me think you could very likely be the one in ten who sticks around and makes it up here.

People go wrong when reality intrudes on the romantic ideals they've built up...women that move up thinking that men with money are growing on every tree...people of all sorts who think that leaving it all behind sounds great until they're in a cabin in the woods somewhere and what they most wanted to leave behind is looking back at them in the mirror...we all know many examples of that.

Your chances are better here if you focus more on what you can bring to the state rather than how it can complete you somehow. And remember that when you are in the wilderness you are never...ever there...on your own terms.

Yeah I agree. I know what I want to do and that there are opportunities up here. I want to practice tax law, business law, real estate, estate planning that kind of stuff - can help people out and bring a solid quality of knowledge and skills. I like the outdoors - hiking, camping, snowmobiling, skiing and want to make friends to do that kind of stuff with. When I mean complete my life what I mean is feeling at home. It takes some people a while to find that out and I'm planning a couple of visits over the course of law school up here or maybe do a summer job -- one in the dead of winter and one with the midnight summer sun. Its important to see both sides of the coin -- if people dont come during winter they are fooling themselves to move up.

[rotorhead]

Seeing both summer and winter is a good approach. There is something to appreciate about both seasons, but I feel fairly sure that most people would say that summer is a whole lot easier to love.

Gonna need more than just a .22 to deal with moose and bear, and if they're not actually threatening great bodily harm at the time the Game & Fish guys aren't going to be very understanding if you shoot one. Moose are a major irritation to many gardeners and a distinct hazard to the landscaping, but even in Anchorage where they can be thick as flys (in the winter) you still have to have a VERY good reason if you pull the trigger.

Pretty much everyone up there who's not a militant vegan (still thankfully a rare breed up north) wants a moose in the freezer but it's getting very difficult to do that without spending a fortune for transportation. There are also a surprising number of people in ANC who just want to watch them in and around town, and feel sorry for every one that takes a bullet no matter how justified.

Any animal thats taken in defence of life or property is legally owned by the state and must be reported to AK Game and Fish or the Troopers as soon as possible. Even if a shooting is totally legit they'll likely expect you to salvage the meat and turn it over afterwards. Same general rule for bears but usually you only have to turn in the skin and skull. Theres's a couple of widely available phamplets on the G&F rules, some of its straightforward and easy to understand, much of it as complicated as calculus in Japanese. Probably just some recreational light reading for you lawyer types.