Copper River Record April 27, 2018
Mikaela Dalton Sourdough Campground was full of excited and rambunctious junior high students this past week! Led by the National Park Service at Wrangell – St Elias with the Bureau of Land Management’s Glennallen office and Campbell Creek Science Center, the Copper River Native Association, the Copper River School District, and WISE, we were joined by groups from Kenny Lake and Glennallen to camp out for lots of adventures! There was no shortage of fun activities to keep kids busy and active. CRNA and NPS brought plenty of cross country skis to explore the ¾ mile loop around the campground when the snow was good. When the afternoon sun turned the snow to slush, we traded in our skis for snowshoes! Everyone got to try on snowshoes of different sizes, lengths, and shapes and learn about the different conditions different snowshoes are good for. There is no such thing as one perfect snowshoe! The highlight of the snowshoeing was our creative portion. We gave kids a scenario of being out on a snow machine adventure but their machine breaks down far from home or other people during a deeply snowy winter, much like this one. If they’re post holing past their thighs, how are they going to get out? Giving them just a few techniques and tools, we challenged them to create their own emergency snowshoes using spruce boughs, willow, twine, even learning how to rip an old t-shirt into long strips to tie pieces together. We ended with a competition using one person to step on each snowshoe to see how it held up. The one that sunk the least was our winner! It was so much fun to see the kids get creative and excited about using their resources and figuring out the best way to get strength, floatation, and durability out of their homemade pair. We were proud of all of them! Wednesday was our crossover day with Kenny Lake leaving and Glennallen coming in, but they overlapped for a couple hours. Just enough time to start a new Chosen Frozen tradition! Two of our staff brought out old dog mushing sleds and some rope, and we broke the kids into two teams with kids from each school and decided to have a kid-pulled sled race! After an extensive 10-minute mushing commands lesson, each team got one practice run of the campground loop, and then it was time to race! Coats, jackets, and sweaters were being shed left and right as we prepared our teams to run. We staggered our starts and raced for the best time, in the end crowning our champions of the newly named “iKidarod!” It was a fun and silly adventure for everyone, including the helicopter that flew over as we were racing and circled back to wave at us! On top of all that, we also went ice fishing on Dick and Paxson Lake where there was even more snowshoeing and skiing, we threw atlatls, and learned how to skin ptarmigan and gut salmon. Each night we ended around a warm fire (maybe with some s’mores) sharing fun stories and adventures as the sun set behind us. Everyone left with smiles on their faces and stories to tell, definitely more tired than when they arrived! Thank you so much to all the incredible people who helped us make this happen, especially to Russell Scribner the new Education Specialist at NPS. We can’t wait to do it again next year!
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Copper River Record November 2015 By Robin Mayo Recently, I read several articles about northern European Countries and how they survive winter. The Danish tradition of “Hygge” and Norwegian “Koselig” point to vastly different attitudes about winter. Scandinavians look forward to the unique activities and beauty of winter, and also the opportunities to get cosy and enjoy family and friends. Alaskans should be masters of mastering winter, but sadly it seems we are not. As we struggle with seasonal affective disorder, higher rates of suicide and domestic violence, and a general bad attitude about cold, snow, and darkness, it seems we could learn a lot from our northern neighbors across the pond. What is the secret? For the Scandinavians, winter is not a dreaded season to be endured, but an anticipated treat, with cozy traditions. They look forward to the chance to ski and skate, observe the beauty of winter light on frozen landscapes, and the pleasure of a slower pace to life. There is an emphasis not only on outdoor activities, but also on indoor pleasures such as congenial company, good food, and warming spirits. As I researched, I also noticed that the articles all featured pictures of crackling fires, steaming mugs, and handknit socks. There is much wisdom in this attitude, and I’m looking forward to indulging in plenty of hygge and koselig in the coming months. How can we foster a more joyful attitude towards winter, especially in our children? With shorter days and the demands of school, it becomes harder to make sure that kids are getting the outdoor exercise and play they need. It is all too easy to become sluggish and inactive in mind and body. Here are some practical ideas to help:
And with that, I’m off to light a fire, put on the kettle, and get started knitting some fuzzy socks. Photo, Students at Wrangell-St. Elias National Park’s Camp Chosen Frozen head out on snowshoes.
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Who We AreWISEfriends are several writers connected with Wrangell Institute for Science and Environment, a nonprofit organization located in Alaska's Copper River Valley. Most of these articles originally appeared in our local newspaper, the Copper River Record. Archives
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