Alaska frozen talks

[jake pogrebinsky]

The great irony is that historically(other than the last 200 years or so when the bell was tolling for all hand-forging endeavor),the SMITH has done no hammering at all:)That is the reason for the confusion,and(fairly recent)proliferation of so many hammer styles and uses...The dying trade being resurrected as a hobby.
As a matter of fact,in many of the world's languages there isn't even a word for "smith"-there's a "master"(brains),and the "striker(s)",brawn.
The master held the work on the anvil,tapping out the rythm and the directions with a small hammer(bell,hand-signals,tapping of the work itself,et c.).He also held set-tooling,and did other crucial odds and ends(that we all find so difficult to do by ourselves,and end up enlisting many an odd device to help).
The striker(at least one,mostly more)steadily and easily short-stroked with a sledge(by definition anything over 1 1/2-2lb),two-handed,keeping it close to the chest,and all that,everyone knows the drill.This enabled the work to go on for many hours at a stretch,day after day,without wiping anyone out.
Yet another player,mostly the quite young and not yet strong enough to strike,manned the bellows(or whatever form of blast).
After a half-dozen years as a bellows-boy,and 10-15-20 as a striker,a man smart enough emerged as the Master.(Maybe,not good for much physically any longer,but skilled as can be!).
All the material evidence speaks to this effect,from the B.C.Europe to South East Asia,all the stone carvings,figurines,documents...To work alone was ... unnatural!
Many a thing makes it so-the sheer awkwardness alone(never enough hands...who,forging,didn't think that thought?).The economy of working alone is extremely poor,as well.One guy simply cannot utilise all the good heat as the work comes out of the fire,a terrific waste of fuel(fuel(charcoal)for forging was a HUGE part of the economic equation).
I'm just reading an economics paper on the small forges in Indonesia,where 3 guys,in an 8-hour work day,forge 10-12 axes of a decent size-2lb,or so.It takes me 4 hours at least,by me lonesome,to make one,and that if i'm having a good day.If i was being paid $17.56 cents for 10,like those guys,i'd have to become a beggar at the marketplace...
There were exeptions,of course.Some very specialised forging was done by one man,some forms of bladesmithing,for example.Some of it was dictated by religious believes(communion with the spirits of the work),but,to be honest,bladesmithing even of the most bulky of blades is still quite a bit simpler than heavier mass,or a more complex forging moves involved in forging of farming implements,and such.(Beg pardon,all you erstwile bladesmiths!).
All of the above are just idle thoughts on my part.Some of you,raised upon the noble myth of "Beneath the spreading chestnut tree..." type-the blacksmith as a Rugged Idividualist,may find it somewhat grating...I'm sorry,most evidence,even very modern,points at blacksmithing as a team sport!
Best regards to all,Jake.

[Frosty]

Hey Jake.

Good to hear from you again. How're things along the river? We're starting mud season here. Breakup soon.

Frosty

[jake pogrebinsky]

Hi,Frosty!You guys are lucky-your spring there in the valley is early,and sweet!Nothing much shaking here with that:Temps barely above freezing even in the daytime.What little snow sublimates is more than replaced-snowing heavy the last two days,will end up with 8"-10" of new stuff.A cat-train on airforce contract is still happily running around on 4'+of river ice,no open water anywhere.When IT happens,it'll happen FAST.Would not be at all surprised to have my establishment scraped off by the ice run-been a while since the last good one-'71,the time is nigh!Ah well,cut the dogs loose,pull the LG to the high ground,hope for the best.
Good to hear from you,and sorry for the (second,now)non-sequiter post!

[Frosty]

Snowed here last night and of course I had to drive to Anchorage today. Lots of slop, spray and idiots on the highway. Nothing new.

When I start lamenting how much later things thaw out here all I have to do is think of you guys and I feel better.

How's the steam boat project?

Frosty

[jake pogrebinsky]

Yep,the weather conditions combined with human folly make your guys' roads a survival exercise,sometimes...
The steamboat project,alas,has not prospered this winter(seemed like a tougher than normal one,maybe age catching up).Once again,nowhere near the water this season.The boiler's inside the shop,all the parts are together,tube sheets machined but not welded up.
I'm planning a foray into the Gold Rush era mining district south of Ruby,as soon as the snow melts.Will attempt to scavange a set of cylinders/steam-chests/valves from some abandoned junk,hoping that the right components will make the machining challenge easier.
Meanwhile,all the chores that the steam will,hopefully,some day,ameliorate are here again:logging,drift-wood rafts,freighting...Tough to make ends meet to begin with,to gain materially on top of that sometimes seems nearly impossible(There is a reason,afterall,for why most similar lifestyles/technologies have become obsolete!)

[Frosty]

I understand. Who was it said, "Adventure is sitting and reading about someone else's misery." Or something like that, I can hear it in my head but it doesn't look right written out.

Age kind of stinks, about the time you start figuring out the easy way to do things they get harder!

How's the other half of the Galena Guild?

Frosty

[jake pogrebinsky]

The other Guildsman is quite well,i'll tell him that you say hi.He survived the first winter in his new 30' by 30' log castle(the result of two previous logging seasons),and is planning this year's-primarily for lumber to enclose the mill,as i take it.Presently,he's pursuing the mighty birch,mounted upon his trusty widetrack,for to have the firewood for next winter(risking the envy and frustration of his ne'erdowell,underachiever fellow guildsmen,who are actually a year behind on wood(or so it seems)).

Edited April 14, 2009 by jake pogrebinsky

[jake pogrebinsky]

And,(since we've subverted the thread anyhoo),here's Phil in all his glory,on the last spring's outing.The final and the most pleasant stage of the otherwise brutal venture.

[Frosty]

Nice raft. I especially appreciate the cook stove and medicine next to it.

How far did you raft the logs?

Frosty

[jake pogrebinsky]

Hi,Frosty,and thanks for repositioning my b.s.We generally log on the islands abreast of the mouth of Nowitna R.,it's 108 miles up from Galena.The way back usually takes about 24 hrs,with some slight shoving using 50 hp 4-stroke,mostly for directional control.The last photo is the rock immediately below Ruby,it's about 3 am,very odd light,almost straight out of the north.

[jake pogrebinsky]

The logs are fallen and limbed,and drug close to where they can be rolled into the river by the chainsaw winch(about 1:99 advantage,plus blocking).The entire process is pretty hands on,so,though it's a beautiful place(shot of Phil on camp,and the view north from camp,Doyle Is.),and life is good while the weather holds,it still takes it's toll.The last shot is fairly representative of the shape that the crew is in afterwards,and that was one of the youngest of us.
I've made that same drift back before in a driving rain,close to freezing temps,with the crew shivering uncontrollably,very close to hypothermic.The safety issues alone are quite exhausting in this,the hard way,of obtaining one's forest products...Overall,very life-like:"It was the best of times,it was the worst of times...".

[andgott]

I just have to jump in here to say that those pics are absolutely gorgeous- Especially the last one- What a beautiful place. Bet it's BRUTAL in the winter, though.

-Andrew

[jake pogrebinsky]

Yessir,it is,indeed,both-breathtaking beautiful,and just as brutal.Both can manifest at any time of year,with about equal ferocity.The price of it all,i suppose.

[Frosty]

I'm a little surprised you don't pitch a tent on the raft for the drift back. I've had to spend hours in freezing rain and it's no fun. Being borderline hypothermic is not a good thing if an emergency arises not to mention how much more likely they are to arise if you're shivering.

Frosty

[jake pogrebinsky]

Well,sir,occasionally,some shelter does get improvised.But what it would require is a solid platform,as the logs roll a bit,and move around.It's concievable to run into as much as a 4' chop(the nasty river kind,not the measured roll of open(ish)coastal water).The raft's flex keeps it from coming apart.The windage of the sail area of the tent then also interferes.
But the main thing is that the safety from exposure is within us all,in our ever vigilant brain.There's constant preparedness planning on the part of every individual(the ineperienced are lectured and nagged)
That prone,corpse-like figure on the bow is dressed to the nines(with lots of dry spares in the waterproof stash).He's got a ton of gear on,starting with some arctic weight synthetic underwear,and on from there,his float-coat is closed cell foam lined,e t.c.You can still tell that he's a bit cold,by his posture,but not critically so.IF he was,he'd be booted in the ribs right quick,and will have to gallop around the raft a bit and warm up.He's mostly simply exhausted.
If,God forbid,we ever have a casualty,it would not be the weather-it being a constant issue at all times.No,it'll be a saw,a cable,or block,rigging of some sort.Or a tree,or the river itself-plenty to watch out for.Dressing oneself is fully automatic,period.

[Frosty]

What was I thinking? If there's anyone on this forum that doesn't need foul weather advice it's you.

I guess I talk to too many people who think it isn't important to even have a coat in their car and forget some folk actually know what they're doing.

Frosty

[jake pogrebinsky]

Alas,it's true,Frosty,i live like an arctic pig-dog,and resist the elements by shivering like a chikadee through the night.Not the smartest way,nothing to be proud of.Using some exrenal device to conserve energy is,of course,much more efficient-you're absolutely right about that.
Philosophically speaking,they're the two diverse approaches.There was a trend toward the society of Specialists,the last 4-5000 years.People can forget their coat,because it's possibly someone else's special job to keep them warm(maybe whoever has designed their car,or building,e t.c).Wether here we're still dealing with the last remnants of the Generalist set-up,characteristic of the hunter-gatherer society.
Typical of the last approach is the Athabaskan taboo on packing any spare gear with you-preparing for trouble is to invite it,by means of relaxing one's vigilance.Possibly,if you don't have that back up option,you may not be tempted to take a certain risk,would think harder before doing something not quite safe.
Using this logic,for an example,i've never wore a life-preserver in a boat.The improved chance of surviving once overboard is not enough.The very fact must be prevented-it's simply not an option.It greatly helps to make the right choice,take fewer chances(i can't swim a stroke,to save my life,even if the river was warm enough to swim around for long).That forces me to think much more thoroughly in terms of avoidance,the prevention-vastly superior safety principles then the preparedness of dealing with an event after the fact.
But,i'm a weirdo,in many ways.Most folks aroun here use some combination of the two approaches mixed.The accidents are very rare,and often couldn't have been prevented no matter what.

[DKForge]

Jake you and Frosty are enough to make me want to sell it all and head your way.

Take care and enjoy your posts.

[jake pogrebinsky]

DKForge,by all means,you'd really enjoy yourself if you came for a visit.But as for a radical move...not sure.Every place has it's pluses and minuses,as well as it's own unique natural wonders.I haven's spent enough time in GA,but them pine forests there,where they come right up to the Atlantic,i'll never forget the beauty of some of those places.I often envy others living in different climates and geographies...There're so many neat places,Alaska's only a small part...

[Sam Salvati]

Jake what was the purpose? Do you guys sell the timber, or is it for personal stuff? Looks like a great time.

[jake pogrebinsky]

Strictly for personal use,Sam.It's actually strictly stipulated in the USFWS permit that allows us to harvest it there,on the land that belongs to the Nowitna Wildlife Refuge.Let me see if i've got a photo of Phil's cabin.
Yep,but it's from the winter before.He's living in it since last fall.The raft from the pictures above completed the walls,and was milled into the roof framing.
I guess that i should clarify that we're 400 miles west from the nearest road,and all the heavy/bulky loads like lumber,barged or flown in,often become prohibitively expensive,thus the venture.

[Sam Salvati]

Oh wow cool! What is USFWS? That seems like a pretty cool setup, you guys are living the life.

[jake pogrebinsky]

Oh,sorry:US Fish&Wildlife Service.And,again,yes and no.It's a great life,yes.But also,as the old saying goes "...short and brutish...".There's a number of very good reasons for why it's rare to live this way.At my 43,i move like a man of 60 or better,and if i make it another decade,it'd surprise me for sure.
Life's a young man's game.Before the white people came here,an "old man" was someone maybe 30,gray hair was a rarity.

[Frosty]

US Fish and Wildlife Service, they hold sway in wildlife refuges.

I like the middle road where safety gear is concerned, I'm enough of a coward naturally I don't take unnecessary chances. I don't wear a floater on a boat either but they're kept handy. I've gotten them snagged on things nearly causing an accident too many times to want one on me all the time. Wearing one around a drill rig is just inviting a horrific death, much better to drown than take a ride through the rotary works.

Cold and wet weather gear is a different story though, I spent too many days cold and wet before I figured out my best route. If I don't get cold in the first place I don't have to worry about being able to get warm again. Until I transferred off the drill crew my rain gear was a unisuit and standing for 10 hrs. in blowing rain and sleet didn't get past my wrist cuffs and neck. Same for my Refridgiwear, Carharts, boots, sleeping bags, tent, etc. etc. All top of the line and worth every penny.

The guys I worked with on the other hand "toughed" everything out and often spent hours trying to get warm after work. There's nothing like trying to warm up around a fire in the rain when you're already cold and wet.

There is no single "right" way, everything has it's up and down sides to consider and situations can change everything. There are "wilderness" experts that will "teach" you how to "survive" in the wild and if you want to see a good example of the one size fits all approach watch the "Alaska Experiment" on the Discovery Channel. All the people participating have been through several weeks of "training" and none of them are prepared.

The Grizzly Adams school of living off the land in peace and harmony with nature is what I call bait. Wait a second Ben, I'm sure there's a how to App for what to do in a bear attack on my Iphone. Just hold on while I do a search please.

On the other hand I'd probably be an easy mark in NY city. Different strokes and all that.

Frosty