Wednesday 20 August 2008

Five nights away from Fieldwork Period 4

"Project Canada's" fourth fieldwork period is approaching rapidly! My travel companion and biggest sponsor (combined in the person of my dear mum) and I will leave for Whitehorse (Yukon Territories, Canada) on the 25th of August. From there, we will first travel through Northwestern British Columbia (Canada) to Hyder (in the extreme Southeastern tip op Alaska) where we will spend a week in an area where bears regularly fish for salmon. After that, we will follow our tracks back up North again, well past Whitehorse and then West into "Alaska proper". What happens then is not certain yet. The initial plan, as mentioned on the website before, was to meet some people in Homer and travel to Katmai National Park with them to learn about the grizzly hunt that is going on since last year and which supposedly is threatening the grizzly population there. Unfortunately, however, it is tough to get in touch with these people and make appointments and so I will have to see if this will still work out. If it does not, we will probably head farther north towards Denali National Park, roughly in Central Alaska. This is a very special place because a choice has been made to keep this park very undeveloped. There is only one road running through it, one visitor area and no real hiking trails, which is something different than the highway, a secondary highway, a major railroad, hundreds of hiking trails, a town, a number of huge hotels in areas that were much used by wildlife before, etc. I am very curious about the reasons for the choice made for Denali (which I much applaud) and what visitors ànd Native people think of it. With or without set plans, I am certain that there will be a lot to learn again!

I will do my best to provide some more information about the trip before we take off and of course, when internet connections are available, I will give updates from the field!

The traveling in Canada and Alaska will be done with a truck camper (I'd much prefer going by horse, but after just three or four lessons that might be a bit tough and the distance might be a bit too much to cover in five weeks too) and the company we rent it from is the second sponsor of this Fieldwork Period. Thanks a lot, Fraserway RV!

1 comment:

Mellimage said...

Keep a journal of your adventures... and have fun.