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| Mounds of grass under the snow. Anyone know the proper geographical name for these? |
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| The Richardson Mountain range |
We walked across the Porcupine River and followed a skidoo trail that residents of Old Crow use to get fire wood. Wood heat is the most common way people heat their houses here and wood hauling is a big job in the winter. Although probably arduous work, (yet to get out and try it myself) it seems like most people enjoy wood hauling, as it is a way to get out on the land.
The first point of interest we reached was quite a wide creek. When I asked her how big the creek was in summer, my friend was unsure. She noted that she had never been to this side of the river in summer and spring and didn't think many people would have a reason to cross the river in a month other than the winter ones.
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| Crow Mountain is part of the Richardson range |
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| The Richardson mountains behind a lake we reached on our walk |
The Richardson Mountains are the range visible in the photos. Named after Scottish arctic explorer and naturalist John Richardson, they are some of the most remote and least disturbed areas of North America. They are sometimes considered an extension of the Canadian Rockies, although they are technically a sub-range of the Brooks Range (a mountain range mostly in Alaska). The Richardson Mountains are the range visible from the Dempster Highway, which my roomate tells me I need to drive because I would love it. I think she's probably right. Dempster road trip this summer, anyone?
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| Black Spruce trees |
We walked through stand after stand of black spruce (Pete, please help me out with the trees here if I'm mistaken). My friend thought the short ones closer to the trail were ones that were cut down in past years and are growing back. There were also a few birch trees of some kind and some type of aspen (quaking aspen?).
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| This photo reminds me of the book title 'Through Black Spruce' |
The view of black spruce as far as the eye could see reminded me a lot of Northern Ontario and Northern Quebec. I think (and again Pete, correct me if I'm mistaken :) ) that this is boreal forest. When I arrived in Old Crow I was quite surprised with how many trees there were here. My roomate told me the Mackenzie River delta is the reason trees can grow this far North. I think this is one of the last places there are trees before reaching the Beaufort Sea.
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| Walking over the Porcupine River after the walk |
Anyone who has watched 'Being Caribou' witnessed a Canadian couple travel with the caribou herd for five months trying to raise awareness about the ANWR and the detrimental affects potential oil exploration would have on the caribou. The couple started and ended their trip in Old Crow and braved wolves, grizzly bears and viscious mosquitoes that also follow the caribou. The Porcupine caribou herd will migrate through Old Crow in April or May.
Mahsi Cho (thank you in Gwitch'in) for reading and for all the emails and texts keeping in touch. I hope everyone is well and having a good March so far.
Warm Regards from Old Crow,
Haley
Hale,
ReplyDeleteExcellent posting, love the pictures. You're a lucky girl! Go girl!
How do you say greetings or hello in Gwitch'in?
Seems like wicked territory you are in, I’m jealous. I love winter and you’re experiencing the extreme best!!
So, the grass mounds under the snow? Would that be in wetlands?
Boreal forest! You’re in the extreme range of boreal forest. I would suggest that the little trees you see could be from cutting for fuel wood but could also be due to moisture regimes, ie. maybe you were high and dry (if it were summer)? So cool! The aspen would likely be trembling aspen (Populus temuloides).
Great that you’re hanging with locals, that’s the way to fast track to adventure. Two hour hikes sounds like good times.
Thanks so much for running this blog. Hope you blog wherever you reside so I can live vicariously through you :-)
Pete
Hale,
ReplyDeleteFound the answer to your geological question regarding grass mounds:
The tundra is covered with small mounds of vegetation called tussocks. The tussocks, small bits of semi-solid ground, wobble when you walk on them, and it is often wet between them.
Tussocks form when some kind of grass seed takes hold and grows in the wet swampy bog of the spring thaw. In the fall, the blades of grass freeze and die while the plant continues to live in the ground – just like the grass in your yard at home.
The following spring, the plant sends up more shoots in the middle of the old dead leaves from last summer.
That fall, the new blades of grass freeze and die, just like they did last summer.
The cycle continues. Each spring new shoots grow, each fall they freeze and die – just like the grass in your yard.
Am I correct? :-)