Caribou Days and River Break Up

It has been a very exciting few days in Old Crow. The caribou have arrived and are migrating through Old Crow on their way from their winter grounds to their summer calving grounds in Alaska. I was walking up the mountain on Monday evening when my friend all of a sudden said, "Caribou!" And there was a caribou on the road in front of us. We saw another one on the road and several in the forest later on the walk. We have since changed our walk route, because there are many hunters up there now.

People are hunting caribou and peoples' freezers are filling up with caribou meat. For thousands of year, the Vuntut Gwitch'in have relied on the caribou for food and survival, and it is amazing that the caribou are still such a vital part of life for the Vuntut Gwitch'in.

Swimming Caribou (not my photograph)

The return of the caribou is just in time for Caribou Days, the festival that happens here in Old Crow on May long weekend. It has been a fun filled three days. So much local, traditional food, demonstrations (caribou skinning, muskrat skinning) and games and races.

A funny thing happened to me during a race called the Gwitch'in Man and Woman Race. The race is an individual one, where one person goes at a time and you are timed. The race is simulating a day out at Crow Flats living traditionally and involves the following:

-Running out of a wall tent
-Hauling a fell tree into the tent
-Pouring tea
-Sawing a log of wood
-Running with a pack filled with rocks
-Portaging a canoe around community hall (still wearing the pack)
-Setting a muskrat trap
-Skinning a caribou leg
-Saying a phrase in Gwitch'in to an Elder
-Running back into the tent and lying down

So I entered the race. It was all going well. I was pretty speedy during the canoe portaging portion and people were even cheering a bit. The trap setting went well. The trouble came when I unsheathed the knife I was going to skin the caribou leg with. I somehow managed to slice my finger while unsheathing the knife. Thinking nobody would notice my blood among the caribou blood, I finished skinning the leg, said my Gwitch'in phrase to the Elders. Drin Gwinzee. Dini Choo? which means, 'Good Day. How are you?' And I finished the race. I then had to go to the nursing station because the nurse thought I might need stitches for my quite deeply cut finger. Moral of the story: Southern Canadian teacher does not make a very good Gwitch'in Woman. Lots of fun, being in the race though.

The other exciting thing that happened recently is the break up of the ice on the Porcupine River. A sure sign of spring, and a very exciting even in the year, it happened on Friday. I lay on a beach beside the River, enjoying the sun. When I lay down I was 15 feet from the river's edge. When I opened my eyes, the river was at my feet. It had risen so much in the half an hour I was lying there! Very exciting and a very beautiful fleeting moment. The beach was long gone when I walked by the next day.

There are massive chunks of ice floating down the river. Yesterday there were caribou on the ice. I also spotted a mouse on an ice chunk. He was running back and forth, and to the top of the ice chunk trying to get off it somehow. Poor little guy was doomed, but did he ever look cute on that floating ice berg!

Hope everyone is enjoying spring. I am excited to see everyone this summer, whether it be in Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Muskoka, or Golden Beach Road. Thanks again for reading.

Warm Regards from Old Crow,

Haley

Second Mountain

Moss campion (I think) partway up Second Mountain

Despite it being a bizzardy and blowing snowstorm on May 1, it was warm enough yesterday that I was able to cross country in a t-shirt. A party of four of us hiked and skiied to the summit of Second Mountain, which is part of the Old Crow mountain range. This is the mountain that could most easily be seen from atop Crow Mountain, as it is right beside it. It is higher than Crow Mountain and afforded an even better 360 degree mountain view of the surrounding mountains, rivers and lakes that make up Crow Flats. I must note that these aren't my photographs, but a friend of mine's who was on the trip. She was kind enough to send me her photos as I am still waiting on a camera cord that I ordered.

Cross country skis took us to the base of Second Mountain

We hiked to the gravel pit, then skiied to the base of the mountain. From there we were able to hike again, because we were hiking up the South face which had only patches of snow left. The hike to the top was enjoyable and uneventful (except for almost losing some sunglasses) and we passed the time by telling stories of past trips and exchanging knowledge about the history of the area. One of the researchers I hiked Second Mountain with recently did a canoe voyage from Ottawa, Ontario to Inuvik, Northwest Territories. The route they took was one of the most popular furtrading routes (the Northwest Route) and it was done partly through CPAWS to raise awareness about watershed conservation. He had many stories to tell about the trip. My favourite answer he had for my many questions about the trip was what he said when I asked what he did when he got back. "Barracaded myself in the house alone and watched movies and sat on the couch for 10 days," was what he said. I would have needed my alone time too, after five and a half months of being around the same 7 people 24-7.



Caribou antlers partway up Second Mountain

The view from the top was amazing. The other peaks of Second Mountain could be seen. The way down was when we found the best discoveries of the day trip. We found ground squirrel homes on the mountain side, on spots where it was dirt only. There were many beside each other--a village of ground squirrel dwellings.

Caribou antlers atop Second Mountain

The winding Porcupine River from atop Second Mountain

On the way down we also came across a half a caribou leg, hoof and all. Being eaten by a wolf was our best guess, as nobody from town has shot any caribou yet. It reminds me to mention that next weekend (the long weekend) is Caribou Days in Old Crow. This is a weekend celebration to mark the migration of the caribou past Old Crow on their way to their calving grounds. It is apparently a really exciting time and there will be many activities and feasts and community events to celebrate this important time.

Caribou leg, hoof and all that we came across on the way down

Ground squirrel holes

Skiing back to the gravel pit

Another great day with great company and stunning views of the land around Old Crow, Yukon. According to the GPS we traveled 12km each way on our trip.

The Porcupine River should break in the next few days. The rivers south of us have broken already and so the Porcupine should be the next one to break up. I am really looking forward to seeing this happen.

On Friday afternoon my friend who took me to Crow Flats by skidoo, drove me by quad up to the gravel pit. The binoculars he had were powerful enough to see every tree and to see the spot on the river that the school cabin is on. Many people are quadding up the mountain road now that it is clear, to get a view of the land around the town.

There are all kinds of birds around, and I hear them from the moment I step out of my house in the morning to when I get home from walking my dog in the evening. There are geese out on the river and I have heard and seen cranes (sandhill cranes I think). There are also robins this far north, which surprised me a bit.

Thanks for reading, and hope everyone is well wherever you are!

Warm Regards from Old Crow,

Haley

Golden Eagle and a Special Feast

Skiing down Crow Mountain a few weekends ago

Hi Friends and Family! Things in Old Crow are going generally well. I had a really neat day today and so I will discuss it here.

The school year is winding down. We had our last "Hot Lunch" today, which is a lunch program put on by the Vuntut Gwitch'in Government (VGG) every Monday and Friday for the students at the school I work at. Often the meal is locally sourced food. It will be caribou soup with bannock bread. Sometimes it is salmon from the Porcupine River with rice and veggies. Community members often come to have lunch with their son/daughter/neice/nephew/grandchild.

After school I was walking my dog on the road behind my house and I saw the most gorgeous bird I have ever seen. I am pretty sure it was a golden eagle, and it was absolutely massive and very different (more brown/gold and bigger) than the bald eagles I am used to seeing on Vancouver Island and Northern BC. It appeared to be being chased by two ravens who must have been protecting a nest or some area from the golden eagle. It was a moment that truly stopped time and had me completely and fully present in the moment.



Second Mountain viewed from Crow Mountain

After the golden eagle encounter I attended a feast at Old Crow Community Hall. The occasion for the feast was the 90th birthday of one of the Elders of Old Crow. I'm not sure if I have mentioned much about feasts in Old Crow, but they have been one of the highlights of living here for me. Everyone brings their own dishes to the feast and there is always a huge array of food and dessert. Caribou has been a staple food of all the feasts I have been at and it is always so delicious. The Elders get served first at the feasts and younger people serve them so they can stay in their seats. People chat in line, get their food and sit along the walls of the community hall to eat. Fiddle players might be playing during dinner. Laughter can be heard and stories are always being told around the large round room.

Today we sang Happy Birthday to the Elder who turned 90. She is a truly remarkable woman who is still sharp and alert and who has had 17 children and raised 6 Grandchildren. It amazes me to imagine the changes to her town and the world that this woman has witnessed throughout her lifetime. It makes me wonder the changes I'll see throughout my life. After dinner she gave a speech (in Gwitch'in, that was transalated to English) expressing her thanks for everyone coming out to celebrate her birthday. She expressed sadness for seeing so many of her close friends pass away, but was mostly smiling and so thankful for what she has done and had in her life. We played a few group games (for prizes) after her speech and it was a really enjoyable feast.



Old Crow malamute sled dog pup

My day finished with a walk above tree line with a few friends in Old Crow. This malamute pup came along after we untied him from his tree partway up mountain. Some people are starting to tie their dogs up to trees partway up the mountain in case of a  flood. The Porcupine River is thought to break up in the next week or two, and whenever the river breaks there is a risk of a flood. Dogs (who are tied up) are especially at risk for dying in the case of a flood which is why people move their dogs partway up the mountain before break up.

I am really excited to see the river break up. It will be quite powerful I think, and a very exciting time for the town. Thanks for reading my blog and for all the emails, texts and skype dates. I miss you all and can't wait to see you next.

Warm Regards from Old Crow,

Haley

Ski Touring Day on Crow Mountain

I could lie and say I'm a dog whisperer, but the truth is that I'm holding a bag of raw meat

The descent down Crow Mountain

Today I did something I have wanted to do since arriving in Old Crow. I skiied up (and down) Crow Mountain. Four humans and four dogs made the trek, two people on skis and two on snowshoes. Two of us were teachers and the other two were researchers, one doing a phD on muskrats and the other conducting research on H. pylori (a bacteria that causes ulcers and potentially stomach cancer and is common is Old Crow).

Ayla, (far left) with her husky friends

Huskies in their element on the mountain

The first point of interest we got to was a gravel pit quarry that has been mined for gravel to be used for roads in town. Again, I was amazed by the massive machinery in a place that brings everything in by plane. We then saw that exact plane land and take off, which was quite neat. When watching it land or take off from town it is quite huge and impressive. From part way up a mountain it looked small and insignificant.



Gravel pit machinery

Gravel pit part way up Crow Mountain

The next impressive view was of Second Mountain. Most of the snow on Second Mountain was gone and it gave us an impressive view our entire way to the top. There were patchy spots on Crow Mountain. It was quite neat to step over beautiful lichen with my cross country skis. At the end of April too!

The crew for the day, with Second Mountain in the background

Kiss from a malamute pup

Never thought my Sudbury skis would see Yukon lichen :)

The view from the top of the mountain was beyond stunning. Picture a 360 degree view of mountains, with oxbowed rivers, river banks, and lakes in front of the mountains. The sky is massive and surreal. A few white ptarmigans flew down the mountain beside us. A massive raven sails on the thermals above us. Is he hunting, or do they do this for fun?

The Porcupine River from partway up Crow Mountain

Two researchers and a teacher eating lunch on top of Crow Mountain

Caribou antlers at the summit of Crow Mountain

Skiing down was unreal fun. Although on cross country skis, I was able to make some incredibly fun turns. The snow was lightly powder on top and just soft enough to not fall through but to be able to carve. I could have played up there all day--hiking up and skiing down time after time. At one point I couldn't resist trying to take a little jump with my cross country skis. It went well until I hit soft snow and my skis dug in and I literally fell face first into (luckily soft) snow. Lots of laughing.

Nonstop play fighting for the dogs

Just seconds before the most epic faceplant of my life

Tired pups resting at lunch

Old Crow and the Porcupine River from atop Crow Mountain

Crow Mountain gave an incredibly veiw of the town of Old Crow and gave a good idea of why the put the town where. I was able to see where Culture Camp happened, and where I had gone skidooing and skiing on the Porcuipine River. I found a few caribou antlers sticking out of the snow on my ski down. Absolutely breathtaking. I am so thankful for good company, good conversation, sunshine and a summit.

Thanks for reading.

Warm Regards from Old Crow,

Haley

Skidoo Trip to Crow Flats

I was asked by a well regarded Elder in the community to go to Crow Flats. This is very much an honour, as this is the area that the Vuntut Gwitch'in (People of the Lakes) have been trapping and hunting at for thousands of years. Crow Flats is to Old Crow as the Eiffel Tower is to Paris. It is the place to go and see while in Old Crow. We went by skidoo on Saturday and it was one of my favourite days here yet.

Panoramic View of Crow Flats taken from King Edward Mountain

Crow Flats is a 6172km squared wetland surrounded by mountains. It is one of the oldest archaeological sites of human inhabitation in North America and consists of over 2000 ponds and marshes. It is considered an Important Bird Area in Yukon because it is a breeding area for peregrine falcons and allows a habitat for water fowl and other species of birds. Southern Crow Flats is a Special Management Area and the Northern part is a part of Vuntut National Park.

Crow Flats from King Edward Mountain

Crow Flats is a very important breeding area for aquatic mammals. Muskrats are the most commonly trapped mammal here. There is a guy from Montreal doing his Masters on muskrats in Crow Flats. He spends a lot of time in Crow Flats with local trappers doing his research. He is known in Old Crow as "Rat boy" (muskrat boy) or "That rat bastard."

As we stood beside the skidoo and overlooked Crow Flats, my friend who took me to Crow Flats told me they call Crow Flats "Old Crow Bank" because of how much money people used to make selling muskrat furs to the Hudson Bay Company during the fur trade. My friend has been going to Crow Flats since he was a kid. They used to use dog teams to take their equipment and they would walk. The trip would take 2 or 3 days. We got there in a few hours by skidoo.

Stunning mountain views amazed me the entire trip

Three skidoos and 5 people were on our trip to Crow Flats

Highlights of my trip to Crow Flats include:

-Seeing a gorgeous and healthy looking red fox run across a lake beside us.
-Making a snow angel on a lake in Crow Flats
-The Mountains we rode beside to get to Crow Flats
-Eating roasted corn on the cob at the fire we made in Crow Flats over lunch
-Being outside all day in the bright sunshine

Snow angels on a lake at Crow Flats

A friend of mine asked in an email about fruit availability in Old Crow. I eat mostly frozen fruit that comes in my food order from Whitehorse. I buy fresh bananas and apples from the Northern Store. When I was in Dawson I brought back as many fresh fruit as I could.

While I'm on the topic of fruit, I might as well mention my birthday. My birthday was a few weeks ago and a friend of mine here had a BBQ to celebrate. He BBQed steaks for people, we had prawns and I brought the ingredients for a sundae bar. If I couldn't have wine on my birthday, (Old Crow is a dry community if I haven't mentioned that yet) I was going to have to have ice cream with chocolate candy and fresh fruit as toppings. It was a really fun night and I felt lucky to have friends here to help me celebrate my birthday.

I'll post about caribou fences tomorrow. My class is doing an English Language Arts writing piece about them and they are quite fascinating to learn about.

Thanks for reading. Hope everyone is well and happy.

Warm Regards from Old Crow,

Haley

Duck Soup



On a walk up Crow Mountain Road Today

In my last post I described the plucking, singing and gutting process of preparing a duck to eat. This was done on Tuesday. On Wednesday afternoon, the students in my class made the duck into soup. The ducks were kept in the fridge over night. When we pulled them out, the educational support worker taught the students how to slice the duck to be put into the soup. Now that the duck was gutted, the entire duck (head included) was put into the soup. It was boiled with soup base, rice, cauliflower and broccoli.

We ate the soup at the end of the school day that we made it. The Elder who shot them came to eat with our class which was really special. It was my first time having duck soup and it was quite rich and thick. There weren't big chunks of duck, but the broth was thick. I prefer caribou soup and caribou meat to duck (caribou is so tasty!) but I was am really happy to know how to make duck soup and to have had the chance to try it.

Old Crow and the Porcupine River seen from Crow Mountain Road

I organized a pizza dough cooking class for my class this past week. When I opened the fridge to put perishable pizza making supplies in, I found four muskrats almost staring back out at me. Quite a unique experience that I enjoyed. During the pizza making time there was a moose head (yes, a massive and real moose head) in a box at the end of the kitchen. I think it is made into a soup as well and it was put here before being made into a moose head stew. It is so wonderful to have so many traditional foods in the school these days. It is one of the very exciting things about spring time here in Old Crow.

Bannock is a popular traditional food of Old Crow

Bannock is a bread like bun made from flour, butter, milk and salt. One of the events over Easter weekend was a bannock making competition. This is where the above photo was taken. Bannock goes deliciously well with caribou stew or duck stew.

I am honored to have been asked by a local of Old Crow to go to Crow Flats by skidoo tomorrow. Crow Flats is the area North of Old Crow that has been used as a hunting, fishing and trapping grounds of the Vuntut Gwitch'in peoples for thousands of years. The Vuntut Gwitch'in are "People of the Lakes" because of Crow Flats. I am going by skidoo tomorrow and could not be more excited. It apparently takes two hours to get there.

I am really enjoying my time in Old Crow. The light is amazing. The people are amazing. The melting of the snow has people using skidoos, bikes, and four wheelers for transportation. There is enough snow in some places to ski still, but it won't be for long. It has been in the pluses for temperature and has been sunny every day since I can remember.

The land is stunningly beautiful here. I hope my photos are doing it justice. It is so vast, open, wild and free. I will take photos tomorrow on my trip to Crow Flats and do a post about Crow Flats as soon as I can.

Mahsi Choo (thank you) for reading my blog. Hope you are enjoying spring wherever it is that you are.

Warm Regards from Old Crow,

Haley

Spring in Old Crow

It's not every day that you learn to pluck, singe and gut a duck. Today I learned to pluck and singe a duck with my class. An elder in town had shot two white-winged scoder ducks a few days ago and the educational support worker at the school taught the lesson. We plucked and singed the duck outside (in the sunshine and without coats on!) this afternoon. Plucking involves pulling out the feathers, first from the belly side and then from the top. There is quite a technique to this, (which one of my students taught me) that involves using your thumb to pull out as many feathers at once as possible. Then you remove the tail feathers and the duck is ready to be singed.

The duck is still whole at this point, head and all. It is just featherless. A fire was made in front of the school. Lots of flames are needed to burn the feathers off (I got a few for a pair of earrings before the duck was brought to the fire). The ducks were placed directly on top of the sticks and left there until all the feathers were burnt off. Burning feathers smell a lot like burnt hair. The singing part was my favourite part of the process.

Gutting the duck was next, or else the duck would rot between the time we singed it and the time we make soup from it. Gutting is pretty self explanatory, so I won't go into detail. Our ducks are in the fridge and we will eat them as soup (with the elder who shot them) tomorrow afternoon. I can't wait! It was a really neat process to watch and learn.

Ayla on the Porcupine River before our trip to the School Cabin 12km upriver

I have never experienced light returning so quickly. It is absolutely amazing and puts everyone in good spirits and has given me much more energy. It is now light as midday when I go to sleep and when I wake up.

The river is starting to melt and the places I used to walk and ski aren't accessible anymore. Kind of sad, but really exciting too.

Patches of earth are starting to appear. Ayla my pup is incredibly intrigued by the ground and all the smells and doggy treasures (pieces of dead animals--yes she found a small rodent skull and a scapula of an unknown animal) that appear when the snow melts.

Ayla and I walking home from Easter festivities at community hall

\

The air strip late at night

The school cabin, 12km upriver at a place called Caribou Crossing, or Thoh

I spent this past weekend in Dawson. I was there for a fiddle residency that was put on by Robert Service School and instructed by an amazing fiddle instructor from Victoria, B.C. The purpose of my trip was to brush up on my violin skills and learn teaching techniques that will let me start up a fiddle club here in Old Crow. I will post more about this later.

Fiddling is a big part of the culture here in Old Crow. Up until this weekend I thought that fiddle music would have been brought to the North by fur traders. Not the case though. This weekend I learned it was whalers who brought the fiddle to Northern Canada and that it began in Northern Quebec. Fiddle music and jigging were a very fun part of Easter weekend in Old Crow

Ayla on the river (before it began thawing)

Thanks for reading my blog. I apologize for the lack of posts and photos. I have borrowed a card reader, so more photos to come. Hope you are all well.

Warm Regards from Old Crow,

Haley