Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

Spires of the Fireweed
by Ian Emberson

Spires of the fireweed on the fretted sky –
Tints of magenta on tranquility,
Do you feel nurture for the life within,
The burst of bloom that yields your progeny.
Do you have sense of flowering’s fleeting glow,
Bearing its part in continuity
To charge the seed and rip its casing wall
And float its fluff upon the autumn wind?

(The above excerpt is from the novel-in-verse “Pirouette of Earth”. You can find more of Ian Emberson’s paintings and poems on his website: www.ianemberson.co.uk )

As I wrote in my last entry, Lisa and I planned to drive out past Eagle Summit in search of the magnificent fields of fireweed that I remember from a couple of years ago. Magnificent doesn’t even begin to describe the stunning beauty of the magenta hills along the Steese Hwy.

We started our drive at around 9:15am.  We saw large pockets of fireweed along the highway, but the larger fields of color didn’t appear until we passed Chatanika Lodge, thirty miles up the road.  We were both enthralled by the bright pinkish purple of the fireweed where it contrasted to the darker colors of burned trees, but I knew that what we were seeing was merely a teasing glimpse of what lay ahead.

We stopped at Eagle Summit to hike to the top. The last time I was there, I couldn’t make the climb to the top (not enough stamina). That day, I handed off my camera to Steve and asked him to finish the hike up and take some photos for me. This time, I had my camera case - which was fully loaded - as well as a full water bottle clipped to the case. I estimate that my camera bag weighs about 30lbs. I seriously didn’t think I’d make it to the top of the hill - especially with all that weight on my back. I had to stop and rest a few times, but I made it!

The view from the summit was spectacular! From Wikipedia: Eagle Summit is a 3,652′ tall gap through the White Mountains of central Alaska. Its high-latitude location means that it is one of a handful of places on Earth where the sun can be seen at midnight by an observer standing south of the Arctic Circle or north of the Antarctic Circle. The trail of the annual Yukon Quest 1,000-mile sled dog race also passes over Eagle Summit. The area’s high winds, drifting snow, and steep terrain make it the most difficult section of trail in the race, and some competitors have called it the most difficult section of trail in any sled dog race in the world.

From Eagle Summit, you can really see the expanse of hills off in the distance - in all directions. The hills north of the summit had a purple tint to them, and I just knew that we were going to find the fireweed a few miles further down the highway.

Just as you turn off of the Steese Hwy to the parking area for Eagle Summit, there is an emergency shelter.  This white, fiberglass(?) structure is big enough to sleep two people quite comfortably - more if you cuddle up. There’s no cot or sleeping bags, but there is a woodstove in the corner, a supply of wood (including Duraflame logs), and a shelf with a few cans of stew and vegetables on it. There are also several lidded jars with stick matches in them.

The inside of the shelter has been ‘autographed’ by prior users. Some folks had a sharpie marker and were able to write directly on the walls. Others used their fingers to write in the sooty film that coats the inside of the capsule. Lisa and I spent a few minutes reading some of the names and dates on the walls. One man penned a poem on the wall, and dated it - August 13, 1993. This shelter is certainly not a 5-star resort, but I bet it sure feels like one in the dead of winter!

We ate lunch in the parking lot (I packed sandwiches for us), and then continued on our way. I was very excited about getting closer to the pink hills we saw from the summit.  I told Lisa several times, “Wait until you see it! We’re going to come around a bend, and you’re not going to believe your eyes!” I really hoped it would be the jaw-dropping beauty I saw the last time, and not a big let down.

The road passed through some areas with steep drop offs before rounding a huge hill - and then it was there - Just as I remembered!

From Wikipedia: Fireweed is native throughout the temperate Northern Hemisphere. It is often abundant in open fields, pastures, and particularly burned-over lands. The name Fireweed derives from the species’ abundance as a coloniser on burnt sites after forest fires.  Plants grow and flower as long as there is open space and plenty of light. As trees and brush grow larger the plants die out, but the seeds remain viable in the soil seed bank for many years, when a new fire or other disturbance occurs that opens up the ground to light again the seeds germinate. Some areas with heavy seed counts in the soil, after burning, can be covered with pure dense stands of this species and when in flower the landscape is turned into fields of color.

		All along the route, the mosquitoes weren’t too bad - until we got to this pond. From this point on, they were horrible!

Our first stop was Central. Central is a mining town 125 miles northeast of Fairbanks. The population is about 140. Subsistence and recreational activities provide food sources for year-round residents. There is one school.

History of Central:

After the discovery of gold in the Circle Mining District in the 1890s, a centrally located roadhouse was needed between Circle, a supply point on the Yukon, and the mining operations at Mammoth, Mastodon, Preacher and Birch creeks.

Central House, originally built around 1894, was located at the supply trail’s crossing of Crooked Creek. It became the center of a small community of miners and provided food and shelter to travelers and support services to miners.

In 1906, the Alaska Road Commission began construction of a wagon road to replace the primitive pack trail from Circle to Birch Creek mining operations. By 1908, construction had reached Central. The original roadhouse burned to the ground and was rebuilt in the mid-1920s. A post office was established in 1925. In 1927, the road link to Fairbanks was completed.

Mining continued until the beginning of World War II. After the war, a few miners returned to Central, but mining declined through the 1950s and ’60s. Activity increased again in the mid-1970s with the rise in gold prices. In 1978, the Circle Mining District was the most active in Alaska, with 65 gold mining operations employing more than 200 people.

Source: Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development

Lisa and I decided to visit the Circle District Museum. Admission is $1, and I thought it was a dollar well spent. The museum had quite a few mining artifacts, as well as clothing and tools from the early 1900s. There was quite a collection of old food and sundry containers - when most everything was packaged in tin.

We saw a Hershey Instant Cocoal tin on display and had fun reminiscing. If you’re around my age, you probably remember having to use a spoon to pry out the circular lid to get to the powder. Do you remeber how hard it was to get to that last bit of powder? There was a lip around the lid. and you’d shake and shake, trying to get the powder to hop over the ridge and come out. I wasn’t very successful with that.

There were also paintings in the museum, and other pieces of artwork: photographs, watercolors, poster prints, etc. One particular painting, of a musher and his team, racing under the late winter sun, was done in such a way that the snow glows. Very beautiful!

Here are some photos of a miner’s cabin replica that’s inside the museum:

After a nice chat with the gal working in the museum, we went in search of some rocks (she said they reminded her of Stonehenge), but must have misunderstood her directions. The mosquitoes were really horrible by then, so we gave up that quest.  We did locate the Central Cemetery, which had markers in it for people who were born in the mid 1800s, and died in the early 1900s.  I wonder what it was like to live then?

The town of Circle is at the end of the Steese Hwy, and another 34 miles past Central. The road gets rougher on this final stretch too.  Circle sits on the south bank of the Yukon River at the edge of the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge and just downstream from the Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve.  The town is about 75 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Here are some photos taken along the final stretch of the road:

Circle, which has about 100 residents, is a predominantly Athabaskan community with several non-Native families. Tourists and recreational enthusiasts come through seasonally on the road from Fairbanks. Some people live in Circle only during summer months.

Employers include the school (attended by about 25 students), clinic, village corporation, trading post and the post office. A few residents hold commercial fishing permits. Almost all are involved in subsistence fishing and hunting. Trapping and making of handicrafts contribute to family incomes.

History of Circle

Circle (also known as Circle City) was established in 1893 as a supply point for goods shipped up the Yukon River and then overland to the gold mining camps. Early miners believed the town was located on the Arctic Circle, hence its name.

By 1896, before the Klondike gold rush, Circle was the largest mining town on the Yukon, with a population of 700. It boasted an Alaska Commercial Co. store, eight or 10 dance halls, an opera house, library, school, hospital and Episcopal Church. It had a newspaper, the Yukon Press, and a number of residential U.S. government officials.

Gold discoveries in the Klondike (1897) and Nome (1899) virtually emptied the town. A few hearty miners stayed on in the Birch Creek area, and Circle became a small, stable community that supplied miners working the nearby Mastodon, Mammoth, Deadwood and Circle creeks. Mining continues to this day.

Source: Alaska Department of Community and Economic Development

Unfortunately, there are quite a few buildings which are boarded up, or broken down, in Circle. There’s also a two-story log building (hotel) that is beautiful, but isn’t completed yet. The gal at the Central Museum was telling us a little bit about that hotel.  I believe she said that the owners have been given money to complete it, but they’ve stopped working on it.

The focal point of the town is the Yukon River.  The Yukon River originates in the coastal mountains of Canada and flows 2,300 miles in a wide arc to the Bering Sea. The river is silt laden in summer due to glacial runoff, and it is completely clear in winter when glaciers are frozen.

Lisa and I drove to the river first, and watched a few rafters unloading their boats, while some members of their party ran into the local store.  After that, we drove down a couple of streets to check out the log cabins and small homes along the way. We found the school, two churches, quite a few small homes - some of which were either vacant, or boarded up.

On another street, a large family (it appeared to be several generations) were hanging out on the front porch. School-age children played in front of the house, despite the beautiful new playground at the school a short distance away.  Their laughter carried through the air.

We came upon a smokehouse that was in use. The aroma of the seasoned wood smoke coming from it was very pleasant. I think I smelled fish too, but I can’t be sure. In front of the smokehouse, was a chopping block and mounted to the outside of the smokehouse was a pair of mallard wings.  Perhaps they were smoking duck? Here are a couple of photos from our short drive through town:

By the time we left Circle, it was nearly 4pm! We knew we’d make better time on the way back, as we didn’t expect to stop as much for photos. Well, we all know that’s impossible! The lighting was different on the return trip, and the colors and shadows were beautiful when the heavier clouds rolled in. Our one hope was to see wildlife. We didn’t see one single moose along the entire route! All we saw were snowshoe hares, voles, squirrels, and a couple of grouse.

And then, about two miles from my house, what did we see? A moose! We got a good laugh out of that.

Here are the rest of the photos I took on our scenic drive up the Steese Highway:

Final Stretch to my house - Chena Hot Springs Road. The hay is all baled up:

Bull Moose giving me his best angle:

All in all, a FABULOUS day! I hope you enjoyed going along with us.