N.A.S. Journey Blog
Throughout this two-month documentary project, daily blogs by Melanie Hibbert will be posted on the Junto Venture website, as well as MySpace, yahoo, and Our Planet. Melanie Hibbert, the field reporter for the documentary crew, will be writing these entries.
If you have any questions or comments, please e-mail her at: melanie.cecile@gmail.com.
Saturday, July 28: Sustainability goes to college
Friday, July 27: Learning about the 100-mile diet
Thursday, July 26: The Chief towers above Squamish
Wednesday, July 25: Spiderman scales Squamish pitches
Wednesday, July 24: Not squeamish for climbing in Squamish
Monday, July 23: Greenboat sends our morning sailing
Sunday, July 22: Organic Canoe Buffet, on its way
Saturday, July 21: Celebrating organic farming at its finest
Friday, July 20: CEEDS plants sustainability for future
Thursday, July 19: Pine beetle outbreak a nasty effect of climate change
Tuesday, July 17: Dawson Creek, BC going sustainable
Monday, July 16: Surviving blood-sucking mosquitoes
Sunday, July 15: WWOOF-ing it down at the WWOOF farm
Saturday, July 14: Yummy, organic Whitehorse bakery
Friday, July 13: Whitehorse shows thriving organic underbelly
Wednesday, July 11: Canada gives a great encore
Tuesday, July 10: Rain reminds us Alaska "is what it is"
Monday, July 9: Touring the Exxon oil spill is eye opening
Sunday, July 8: Beautiful coastal Alaska
Saturday, July 7: No oil refinery access
Th-Fr, July 5-6: Rural Alaska is no easy place
Wednesday, July 4: Celebrating our independence from dependency
Tuesday, July 3: Problems and solutions of the pipeline
Monday, July 2: Denali by air
Sunday, July 1: Bad weather changes plans
Saturday, June 30: McKinley climb looking unlikely
Friday, June 29: In Anchorage; we made it!
Thursday, June 28: Composting on the road
Wednesday, June 27: Eating more sustainably than the bears
Tuesday, June 26: Canadian driving: A haiku
Monday June 25: Out of the ice and into the midnight sun
Sunday, June 24: A backseat to beautiful country
Saturday, June 23: A break from the road
Thursday, June 22: Glacier is beautiful; Hello Canada!
Thursday, June 21: Camilo awarded Sundance grant for K-2 climb
Wednesday, June 20: Shocked water, shocking GPS directions, shockingly sick JJ
Tuesday, June 19: Organic living alive and well in Bozeman
Monday, June 18: Yellow Bull hollers for new brakes
Sunday, June 17: Yellow bull stops charging
Saturday, June 16: Sunrises slow, and then really fast in Death Valley
Friday, June 15: The journey begins (finally)!!
Thursday, June 14: Trift store sustainability
Wednesday, June 13: Will Pre-Production Ever End?
Tuesday, June 12: Kayak Search and Rescue
Saturday, June 9, 2007 : Welcome to the North American Sustainable Journey
Saturday, July 28: Sustainability goes to college
This morning we were lucky to talk with Joe Geofroy from Vancouver, a friend who visited our campsite. Joe talked with us about a master's program in sustainability (through a business school) at a university in British Columbia. It is exciting to see that sustainability is now an academic discipline within the college setting, often incorporated in business or agriculture schools.
We crossed the border, back to the homeland (ha), making it through the backlogged border traffic. We headed to Seattle, enjoying the pretty farmland scenery and views of Mt. Rainier along the way. We stopped at a PCC Natural Foods Market for a meal donation -- thank you Cindi! -- so happy to eat yam and black bean soup, chocolate chip cookies, and other food.
Our day of eating great food continued when we visited the Sterling Cafe, the first restaurant in the United States to be certified as 100% organic. This is no small feat considering there are only 3 places in the entire country that are completely organic. We were fortunate to interview and meet with the owners Don and Rosie Wilson, who talked with us about the benefits and challenges of running an organic restaurant. Don is firmly committed to being 100% organic — as he put it, it doesn't make sense to only be 95% organic if the other 5% is contaminated, because that other 5% contaminates everything. He is very passionate and committed to eating organic, and has very high standards, even if that means paying much higher prices for cooking oils and ingredients. Although the organic food movement has caught on in many ways, it still has a long way to go. (For instance, Don talked about a Citysearch through the Internet on Seattle restaurants, typing in "certified organic restaurants," and the results included steakhouses and chain restaurants that were not even remotely organic.
So Don called the website, and they realized those restaurants were tagged as having "certified angus beef" and they were erroneously popping up in a "certified organic" search).
Don's wife Rosie owns an organic beauty salon that sells all-natural and organic lotion and beauty products. She also does hair and styling using environmentally-safe and non-toxic products. They both feel very strongly about people's health, and ways they can change people from putting toxins and junk into their bodies.
We ate an absolutely mouthwatering meal at the Sterling Cafe, in fact we have not stopped talking about it for the past couple of days. I had a salmon filet sandwich with fresh tomatoes and lettuce on wonderful bread; JJ had a pasta dish; Jenny and Camilo ordered roasted rotisserie chicken with potatoes and kale. Everything we ate was 100% organic, and it was extremely delicious and gourmet. Anyone who thinks organic food entails bitter spirulina, chewy tasteless tempeh, or chalky soymilk needs to visit the Sterling Cafe. They will be amazed by how tasty and delectable and well-seasoned the food is.
Thank you, Don and Rosie for the wonderful evening.
Friday, July 27: Learning about the 100-mile diet
We left the Squamish area and drove to Vancouver, only an hour or so away. There was bit of culture shock when we first entered the busy metropolitan area, after being in remote and rural areas for so long--throngs of people, tall buildings looming in the sky, traffic jams and restaurants and apartment buildings everywhere. We visited the UBC farm, an organic farm in Vancouver, where we were lucky to meet and interview Alisa Smith. (We were also able to dump our compost, which had been rotting in a bear canister for awhile; as a matter of fact it had turned into liquid form, a "compost smoothie").
Alisa Smith and her partner James MacKinnon started the "100-Mile Diet": for an entire year, they ate only food originating within the 100-mile radius of Vancouver. This was a radical approach, considering most people don't know where their food comes from, and many processed foods contain ingredients from all over the globe. The average food item travels 1,500 miles to reach its destination, so the way food is processed and shipped creates a huge environmental impact.
Eating food that is local is a way to cut down on carbon emissions.
Alisa described their diet, and the challenges they faced. (A year without chocolate and coffee: that could get hard at times). Certain foods they could not get from local producers, such as cooking oils, so they used butter instead. (Dairy products are often easy to find locally). Another difficulty was wheat--while it can grow in British
Columbia, it is not economical for most farmers to produce wheat when mass-produced grain from the Midwestern U.S. is so cheap.
However, they eventually found one farmer who produces wheat, so they bought 70 pounds of flour from him. It was exciting -- pancakes and breads – but unfortunately they lost most of it due to a weevil infestation. So, a lot of their 100-mile experience was trial-and-error. Alisa said she found she really enjoys canning, and so they did a lot of canning in the summertime for food during the winter.
Despite certain cravings, Alisa said she felt very healthy. They did not eat any processed foods, and shopped mainly at farmer's markets.
The produce they ate was fresh and in-season, and very flavorful. Alisa made a good point that even though a mango in January has novelty, it is shipped so far and has been sitting in coolers for so long that it doesn't really taste that great. If you're eating fresh, local food with a lot of flavor then buying exotic fruits and vegetables isn't necessary.
Alisa is really glad that the idea of local foods is catching on. A great quote was: "Local is the new organic." Just as organic food is so widespread that even Safeway and Walmart are now coming out with organic food lines, it is possible that in ten years those stores will also have sections for local food. Alisa hopes that people start to think more about where their food comes from. She doesn't expect people to jump into a local diet 100% -- it makes more sense to gradually shift towards eating more locally. It's also important not to alienate others--during their 100-mile diet they had an "escape clause," where they would eat non-local food at special events such as weddings or family events.
Currently they have a book out, "The 100 Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating." It is a bestseller in Canada and in many region of the USA. It is available at many bookstores and online.
Thursday, July 26: The Chief towers above Squamish
Today Camilo and JJ went rock-climbing up the Chief, the premier rock-climbing spot in the Squamish area. The route included 8 pitches on a slab, which is pretty challenging. JJ described the climb as "exhilerating," and fast-paced. He likened it to "walking on another planet." It was windy at times, but the majority of the weather was very nice: sunny and blue skies, with incredible shots of the bay and the surrounding mountains. Camilo hooked up the helmet camera, and he captured amazing footage of the climb, with close-up angles of the crags and the ropes. There were no falls or slips, and everything went smoothly.
Camilo described the climb as very fluid, fluently covering all the pitches. They blasted their way up, climbing very fast. At one point, the ropes zig-zagged when they were under a ledge creating rope drag, but the next pitch was easy, involving maneuvers with a half-moon crack and a triangle ledge. They both said it was very fun, and one of the definite highlights of the trip.
Later that night, JJ organized a contest in the campsite parking lot to see who could pitch a Sierra Design, set up a Jet Boil stove, then unwrap a Light Load towel in the shortest amount of time.
(Unfortunately the lighting was already dark, so we were unable to film this entertaining contest). One of the participants insisted on only wearing a thong while he competed, so that created an even more ridiculous sight. The winner received Jet Boil canisters and Light Load towels, handy things to have while camping.
Wednesday, July 25: Spiderman scales Squamish pitches
Today Camilo, Jenny, and JJ climbed up part of the Chief at Squamish.
They made it up four pitches, about halfway. Camilo was the lead climber, and Jenny and JJ climbed simultaneously. They were able to climb four pitches and descend in a little over three hours, which is really fast time. They all had a good time, clambering up an ocean of rock, using their feet like "cat's feet" to make it up the steep crags and cracks. It is impressive to watch people use their bodies to climb such a harsh landscape.
We camped at a mecca for rock climbers, a packed tent city—I have never seen such a happening campground. As we cooked dinner in the parking lot, we witnessed two guys bicycling around in only their underwear (did they lose a bet?). We also watched a guy swing around two fireball chains in eye-catching ways—it was like watching a circus performer. Tomorrow, we hope to have a tournament to see who can pitch a Sierra Design tent, blow up a Pacific Outdoors sleeping bad, set up a Jet Boil stove, and unwrap a Light Load Towel in the shortest amount of time.
Tuesday, July 24: Not squeamish for climbing in Squamish
We left Whistler and headed to Squamish, a big rock climbing hotspot, and we all went rock climbing. Jenny, JJ, and Camilo rock at rock-climbing. Well, Camilo is a professional mountain climber, and once worked at one of the biggest rock-climbing gyms in the US (located in NYC). Camilo chose a route for us, and he was the lead climber, placing all of the anchors and setting up the ropes.
He climbed up the 5.9-rated sheer rock face in about 30 seconds. (I watched him and was like, when did Camilo transmogrify into
Spiderman?). Jenny and JJ climbed up to the top as well—it was very impressive. (The rock face was a sheer 90 degrees; one has to climb up cracks, using nooks and nibbles the size of a dime for stepping stones).
I climbed a staggering, oh, ten feet or so—it was my first time rock-climbing, and the rock face was too steep and hard for me, a beginner. But I had a lot of fun swinging around in the harness. It was also really fun taking pictures and videotaping all of the action shots. (Tomorrow Camilo is setting up the helmet camera, so that will capture some really fantastic footage). Thank you Petzl and La Sportiva for sponsoring all of our rock-climbing gear.
Monday, July 23: Greenboat sends our morning sailing
We awoke in the morning, eating breakfast, washing the dishes, the same routine as every morning. (We are so glad we have the big bamboo bowl from Greenboat Stuff. That bamboo bowl is everything — the serving dish for all of our meals, the bowl for washing dishes, the bowl to store our soap and dishrags).
JJ and Jenny went canoeing in the morning; they put on their Chaco sandals and packed their Mountainsmith day packs, and canoed through the reeds and onto the lake. They canoed all the way to the other side of the lake. JJ even jumped into the water, almost tipping over the canoe, but fortunately it stabilized. Camilo and I watched them through our Celestron binoculars; we also filmed and photographed the two adventurers.
We departed the C.E.E.D.S. farm, after saying goodbye to Karen and
Rob and purchasing some delicious, free-range organic ground beef, and we headed to Whistler, site of the 2010 Winter Olympics, skiing capital of Canada. It was a rainy day, so rock climbing was out of the question. But we found a nice campsite and cooked the hit recipe of the trip: the Chili Stir-Fry. (We have made this dish at least four or five times—the creative cook Jenny was the first to create it). It includes stir-fried carrots, onions, peppers, (or whatever vegetables are available); ground beef; rice; and it is all mixed together and seasoned with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce. All four of us agree it is our favorite meal.
Sunday, July 22: Organic Canoe Buffet, on its way
Today we worked on the farms some more. JJ and I cleaned out the straw from parts of the barn where the chickens live. JJ proved himself an exceptional chicken-feces scraper. Afterwards, we headed over to the vegetable garden again, where we weeded some more. (I actually enjoy weeding, it's pretty relaxing).
We stayed at a tipi located at the far edge of field, close to the lake. The large canvas tipi was really cool (and seemed very authentic). There were even marshmallows inside for us to roast. We made a fire in the firepit and had a fun night, eating mac and cheese and Mary Janes dehydrated organic soups and pasta. Unfortunately, there was some alder mixed in the wood pile, and we unknowingly threw it into the fire, and POOF, the tipi all of a sudden turned into a smokehouse. The thick, pungent, sweet-smelling smoke filled up the inside, and we were coughing and couldn't see, and it was still smoky after we put it out. So the majority of us slept outside for the night.
JJ and I had a fun excursion earlier in the evening—we went canoeing on the lake in order to get water to cook dinner. (The water by the shore was too muddy). It was a beautiful canoe ride—the water was as smooth as glass, a pink sunset glowed in the distance, and fish were jumping up in the water. It was an incredible canoe ride. JJ dreamed of an organic buffet on a canoe that we could row to. The Canoe Buffet. (Maybe it exists in Venice, Italy, an entire city of canoes).
Saturday, July 21: Celebrating organic farming at its finest
Today we visited the One Hundred Mile Farmer's Market, where Camilo filmed JJ talking with many of the independent farmers and craftsmen.
He talked with Lorraine, who was working at the C.E.E.D.S booth. He talked with other farmers too, and jam and honey makers. We tried delicious, home-made products including Wild Saskatoon Syrup and Strawberry Honey. If I understand the history correctly, the C.E.E.D.S. group founded the One Hundred Mile Farmer's Market, which is a really great accomplishment, considering what a small town One Hundred Mile is (population less than 2,000 people). Afterwards, Karen and Rob showed us the community garden, which is thriving.
We did some weeding at one of the other C.E.E.D.S. farms, in their vegetable garden. Camilo filmed a time-lapse of our gardening to prove we actually did it (haha). Unfortunately, rain kept coming and going, so our weeding did not last too long, but we successfully pulled out most of the thistles, knapweed, cudweed, and other weeds from the lettuce beds. We were told that a main preventative technique against pests and insects from crops is just keeping the plants and the soil healthy, (instead of using pesticides). This includes crop rotation, careful crop selection, and using natural fertilizers for the soil such as manure and compost.
It was Rob's birthday, so there was a celebration at Karen and Rob's house with many of the C.E.E.D.S. members. A delicious meal of ham, sausage, fresh greens, rice, cake, and other dishes was prepared, and we talked and laughed for several hours. The NAS Crew especially loved Nelly, an 82-year-old woman who was one of the founding members of C.E.E.D.S. over thirty years ago—she was cracking jokes and was just as vivacious as a 21-year-old. I hope I am like her at the age of 82. We stayed at Karen and Rob's for another night—another night of sleeping on a bed, which was very nice.
Friday, July 20: CEEDS plants sustainability for future
We arrived at the C.E.E.D.S. farm (Community Enhancement and Economic Development Society) near One Hundred Mile, British Columbia. This farm is also an organic WWOOF farm. The C.E.E.D.S. farm is a collective with ten resident members; together they manage four different farms that raise sheep, cows, pigs, and chickens; they also grow flowers and produce.
The C.E.E.D.S. group was originally founded in the 1970s, during the "back to the land" movement. The C.E.E.D.S. members sell food at the weekly Farmer's Market, and they also have a regular client base.
We were very fortunate to stay with Karen Greenwood and Rob Diether for two nights at their farm. (It was my first time sleeping in a bed in two months—it was like sleeping on a cloud). On the farm they have lots of animals, including beautiful brown cows that freely roam on their grass fields; a barn full of squawking chickens and geese; big sheep munching on grass and potatoes; and energetic, squealing pigs running around their pens. We all took turns helping Karen feed the animals. Camilo was able to film the pigs chasing him when he entered their pen to feed them, which created really hilarious footage. (Pig snouts up close and personal).
Karen and Rob fed us delicious ham and sausage from their own hormone-free, free-range animals, along with home-made organic beer. Thank you!
Thursday, July 19: Pine beetle outbreak a nasty effect of climate change
We left Dawson Creek and headed towards an organic farm in British Columbia. On the way, driving through the beautiful evergreen forests with mountain and waterfall landscapes, we spotted a lot of burnt-orange pine trees. They were in giant swathes, cutting across the green trees in some places; in other areas the brown trees were just small patches. My first thought was they were burnt from a fire, but the way the brown trees were scattered in the forest did not make sense if it was just from fires. Later we realized they were brown and dying from some type of parasite.
We asked a local about the dying trees, and we learned they are all victims of the mountain pine beetle. Currently, British Columbia and other areas of Canada are experiencing a mountain pine beetle outbreak beyond any bark beetle epidemic recorded in North American history.
At the current rate of spreading, 50% of the mature pine will be dead by 2008 and 80% by 2013. This has devastating consequences for the Canadian forests — this impacts wildlife and the overall health of the eco-systems. It influences areas ranging from recreational to watershed management. It also has economic effects: logging is one of the primary businesses in British Columbia and Alberta, and once trees have pine beetle infestations for a few years, their lumber is no longer of use. The dead trees also pose a greater risk for forest fires.
The cause of the mountain pine beetle outbreak can be linked to global climate change. The larvae of the pine beetle can survive in frost, but they cannot survive when temperatures drop down to forty degrees below zero. In recent years, winters have been mild and summers have been warm, creating an ideal environment for the mountain spruce beetle to thrive. Many efforts have been taken to curb the epidemic, but the scope is so large that pesticides or natural predators cannot solve the problem. The most effective treatment would be an extremely cold winter. Again, this shows how everything is connected to everything; how our lifestyle impacts the natural world.
Tuesday, July 17: City of Dawson Creek, BC going sustainable
Today we were lucky to meet with Emmanuel Machado, the deputy director for developmental services of Dawson Creek. Originally from Portugal, he moved to Canada in the 1990s and has worked for the city council of Dawson Creek for the past few years. We were fortunate to interview him and learn about the ways Dawson Creek plans on becoming a completely sustainable city. Primarily, they want to completely depend on their own local energy production within a few years. This entails wind power and solar power. There are solar panels on top of city hall at the moment, and Emmanuel (or Manny) led us to a ridge on the outskirts of town where they plan on building windmills.
All of these initiatives to be sustainable are exciting. Manny made a great point about energy — just as we are thinking about buying our food locally to cut down on costs and transportation, perhaps we should start thinking about energy in the same way, and focus on local energy production.
There are other steps Dawson Creek is taking, such as encouraging building contractors to build homes and businesses in energy-efficient ways. (This can entail small details such as where windows are placed). Manny also recommends people build homes solar-ready, which only costs an extra couple hundred dollars during the construction; this allows their homes to be ready for hooking up to solar energy.
Once the building of the home is finished, however, it costs thousands to go back and change the wiring system. Dawson Creek also has more energy-efficient cars in its city fleet, and a thriving recycling program. Thanks, Manny, for spending time with us. (Camilo made the point that most of the experts on sustainability seem to come from Europe).
As we parted, Manny and Melanie (another city hall employee) gave us pens made from corn (which is crazy because they look like normal pens), and postcards with wildflower seeds embedded inside. Apparently, you can soak the paper overnight, and then plant the seeds in soil. Pretty cool: mail that grows. (Cell phone companies should start sending their bills in envelopes containing seeds to make their arrival a more positive experience).
Monday, July 16: Surviving blood-sucking mosquitoes
Today the NAS crew left the wonderful Aurora Mountain Farm after eating a delicious, hearty breakfast of fluffy pancakes with birch tree syrup, washed down with coffee and rhubarb juice. We hit the road going south, reaching Dawson Creek by late afternoon.
We discovered that Dawson Creek, like Whitehorse, has a really exciting sustainability movement happening. (We never would have guessed this was the case, in all honesty). The city council plans to have self-sustaining energy within the next few years.
Unfortunately one of our crew members was in need of medical attention (nothing serious), so we spent most of the day experiencing the world of Canadian Health Care. After battling with bureaucracy, we spent the evening battling with mosquitoes harkening from prehistoric times.
They were gigantic dinosaur mosquitoes. We are lucky we have great mesh bug shirts from the Original Bug Shirt Company, and all-natural bug repellant from All Terrain, but nothing really seems to keep them away. After working outside for only twenty minutes or so, our hands were pulpy, bumpy, and swollen from dozens of mosquito bites. It was not a good sight. We had to seek shelter for survival purposes.
Somewhere in rural Canada, the NAS crew should have a contest to see who can set up and enter their tent in the least amount of time, and with the least amount of mosquitoes trapped inside.
Sunday, July 15: WWOOF-ing it down at the WWOOF farm
Suat put us in touch with Tom and Simone Rudge, the owners of the Aurora Mountain Farm, located outside of Whitehorse. It is an organic farm that produces vegetables, chickens, eggs, fireweed jelly, cashmere yarn, and other items. They are also a WWOOF farm (Willing Workers on Organic Farms), a program where people volunteer to work on organic farms in exchange for room and board. (It was interesting to learn that a lot of their farm workers come from Japan, actually).
We had a great time at this farm. It was wonderful meeting such a nice family. They were very knowledgeable and passionate about organic living and eating locally and sustainably. Their farm is beautiful — they had two tan, glossy horses; lots of cute goats with curled horns; chickens and hens with big tufted crowns on their heads; and fields full of fireweed with views of mountains in the distance.
We ate one of the best meals ever at the farm. Everything was organic, local or homemade. We ate ham drizzled with birch syrup (their son participated in making the syrup and the ham came from a pig down the road). We also had sweet rhubarb juice; pickled beets; fresh bread slathered with fireweed jelly and rhubarb marmalade; purple Yukon potatoes; and salad straight from the garden. Thank you thank you thank you, I don't think any of us will forget that meal.
We were also in for a treat when Tom and Simone's son, Graham, gave us a juggling demonstration that was impressive. He also taught us how to walk on stilts! We each gave it a try, toddling on the practice stilts that raised our height to make us giants. On either side, someone would hold our hand, but everyone tried walking solo at some point. It was really fun. We also tried riding Graham's unicycle, but that was not very successful, and ended up with more falling down and bruises. I would say that unicycle riding is not a sustainable activity for me.
Saturday, July 14: Yummy, organic Whitehorse bakery
Today we went to the organic Alpine Bakery in Whitehorse. If there is a heaven, then it involves eating organic, fair-trade, hand-made dark chocolate from the Alpine Bakery.
The owner of the bakery, Suat Tuzlak, was so kind and hospitable. He granted us an interview, gave us a tour of the bakery, and donated lunch as well as produce to us. We all agreed the food at the bakery — the pizza, the soup, the chocolate chip cookies, the Yukon cranberry smoothies, the bread—was absolutely delicious. It goes to show that fresh, organic ingredients create healthy, great-tasting foods.
Suat is an inspiring person. He immigrated to Canada from Turkey about thirty years ago, and worked as an engineer in Calgary for a long time. At the age of forty, he decided that the business world was not for him; he walked away from his career and salary to start an organic restaurant in Whitehorse. That took courage.
Fortunately, the Alpine Bakery is successful (the entire time we were there at least five people were waiting in line). The Alpine Bakery is also a focal point of the organic food movement in the Yukon — organic farmers drop off their produce there once a week, and there is an upstairs meeting room where environmental films are shown and other events occur. The Produce Club (with over 150 members) is centered at the Bakery — it is a club where members get organic produce delivered to their homes once a week. Thank you, Alpine Bakery. I think if I lived in Whitehorse a third of my income would go towards purchasing food, coffee, and chocolate from there.
Friday, July 13: Whitehorse shows thriving organic underbelly
Our long drive south continues. On the road, we are living off of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and dehydrated organic Mary Jane's Farm meals. We are lucky the CT Solar panels are keeping our music and batteries charged. There has been a lot of wildlife on the road, including rabbits, prairie dogs, deer, and moose. (The animals are particularly active at night).
We made it to Whitehorse, the capital city of the Yukon Territory. On the surface, it appears as a small town with a lot of summer tourists, with a mix of independent and chain stores, and dozens of gas stations. Scratch the surface, and we come to realize it has a thriving community of people dedicated to organic foods and the Slow Foods movement. If I understood this correctly, the Yukon Territory is the last place in North America that has resisted using genetically modified crops. There is a movement right now that intends to keep it that way. As farmer Tom Rudge pointed out, there have been no documented health benefits to eating genetically-modified food.
Our first stop was the Whitehorse recycling center, to unload the massive bag of recyclable items we'd been carrying with us since Fairbanks. We were really impressed with how organized and detailed the Whitehorse Raven Recycling center is — they recycle so much, including plastic bags, 6-pack rings, aluminum foil, etc.
There was also a free-cycle section at the center: free objects people would have thrown away, but might be of use to someone else, (including shoes, clothes, books, cooking ware, etc). We walked around the center and filmed the giant blocks of paper, plastic, and cardboard, already crushed and ready to be processed for a second life. Whitehorse also accepts compost at the recycling center, which they use for the community garden.
Wednesday, July 11: Canada gives a great encore
We continued driving through Canada, the second-largest country in the world. We ended up camping near Burwash Landing, at a spot with an incredible view of Destruction Bay. At night, we witnessed a bright red/orange/pink sunset — it was probably the best sunset we have seen so far.
JJ and I climbed a peak, a small mountain a couple thousand feet high. Hiking on the mossy, soft taiga land was interesting; it was like climbing a carpet staircase, it was so spongy and absorbent.
When we sat down, the ground would sink to our weight; it felt almost like a couch. We climbed past the tree line, and observed the colorful orange lichen growing on rocks and all of the purple, yellow, and blue wildflowers. I filmed JJ while he climbed up the final rocky summit.
Up on top, he spotted two white dall sheep with curved horns. They were grazing on the green shrubbery. Upon asking JJ what else the sheep were doing, he commented, "running away from me." Camilo filmed us climbing from the bottom, and we filmed a lot of panoramic shots from the top. It was incredible scenery—we could see mountains and the bay for hundreds (if not thousands) of miles.
JJ apparently has a music solo project going on, which I was subjected to during our climb, as he belted out tunes including "Get to the Top of the Mountain," "Flowers in the Breeze," and then the smash hit, "Red Jacket Supreme." I believe his melodies were to scare bears away; he was successful.
When JJ and I returned, we learned the unfortunate news that the car had a flat tire. Driving through that rocky terrain to our campsite involved going over lots of rocks; also, parts of the road were used for construction and collecting gravel. Not the best place to go off-roading. It was a conundrum because we were off on a road without a name; we had no phone reception; and triple A does not apply in Canada.
Camilo tried his best to change the tire, but because of a bent bumper, the spare tire is permanently attached to the Yellow Bull. It cannot come off, no matter what. If we had a set of pliers to completely remove the bumper it might have been possible, but that was not something we had, so Camilo drove the car with a low tire to a gas station that was close by (fortunately). If we had waited until the next morning, it would have been totally totally flat.
Hopefully, this will be the last of our car troubles. It turns out the culprit was a nail.
Tuesday, July 10: Rain reminds us Alaska "is what it is"
The rain is never-ending!!
It is unfortunate because we had kayaks donated for us to use this morning, and Camilo had even figured out a system to make a waterproof helmet camera, but the cold, freezing rain prevented us from going into the ocean. Well, I suppose there's no use to complain about the weather, because, to repeat probably the most frequently-used quote said on this trip: "it is what it is."
We spent another day in Valdez, and interviewed a couple more people who were around during the 1989 oil spill about how it affected their community. We also went to the museum and visitor's center. A striking fact I learned from watching a documentary about the building of the pipeline: 10 million gallons of fuel were consumed during the construction of the pipeline. This includes all of the trucks, the tractors, running the trailers and bulldozers, etc. Still, more oil was spilled in Valdez than was consumed during the construction of the 800-mile Alaskan Oil Pipeline. That gives perspective to the scale of the 1989 oil spill.
We left Valdez, the low-ceiling clouds and the green mountains, and began our drive back to the Lower 48 (or "outside," as they refer to it in Alaska).
Monday, July 9: Touring the Exxon oil spill is eye opening
Our original plan for the day was to climb the Worthington Glacier, but due to rain, we decided to stay in town. We were fortunate to visit the RCAC (Regional Citizens Advisory Council), where we interviewed John Devens, the man who was mayor of Valdez when the massive 1989 oil spill occurred. Needless to say, this was a phenomenal interview, not just for filming reasons but also to talk with a person who was present during this historical disaster.
Before the oil spill happened, many people in the Valdez area had raised concerns about the possibility of an oil spill, and whether or not they were prepared for it. In fact, the night before the spill happened, a citizen's meeting discussed the possible plan of action in the event of an oil spill, and what they needed to do to prepare.
John Devens recalled getting a phone call at 6 in the morning that an oil spill had occurred, on a scale that had never happened before. An Exxon-Valdez tanker, (one of the newest ships in their fleet), had run aground some ice and ruptured. Devens told us about flying on a plane over the spill that morning; at that point, the oil was still contained in one big slick.
One of the biggest tragedies of the entire event is that it did not have to be such a mess. For three days, nothing was done. The weather was calm, and the oil glop just sat in the ocean while Exxon and the town of Valdez and many others discussed what they could do.
Fair enough, they had never had an oil spill before and so did not know the course of action; there were no booms or equipment to clean it up. Unfortunately, after a couple of days, the weather became turbulent, the oil separated and became gummy, and spread all over Prince William Sound. At this point, damage control was not possible.
A low estimate is that 11 million gallons of oil spilled, although many contend it was much more than that. A high estimate is that Exxon cleaned up 20% of the oil, but many contend that is falsely optimistic. Prince William Sound lost half a million birds; the herring and shrimp populations collapsed; 5,000 sea otters died; 300 harbor seals died; and 22 orca whales were also lost.
Exxon claims that they have cleaned up the oil. Almost twenty years later, a person would not know this ecological catastrophe occurred in such a beautiful place — on the surface, things have recovered. (The four of us went on a boat ride and witnessed abundant wildlife and clean beaches). However, on certain beaches, a person only has to scratch the surface and they will find a black, gummy substance that remarkably resembles oil. In fact, a person working at the RCAC showed us a sample cup filled with oil that had been collected earlier that day in the Sound. John Devens told us that certain populations are recovering, but even now, sea creatures such as mussels will take at least 30 years to reach their original populations.
On one hand, the fact Valdez is a beautiful place is a powerful testament to how nature can heal itself. On the other hand, the fact whale populations are lower than they used to be, and one can find globs of oil on certain beaches, demonstrates our direct impact on the natural world. Fortunately, John Devens assured us that an oil spill like the one in 1989 could never happen again — so we learn from our mistakes.
Sunday, July 8: Beautiful coastal Alaska
Today we went out on a boat ride guided by a local from Valdez. Our guide, his four-year-old son, and a college intern took us all over Prince William Sound.
There are big mountains here that are very lush and green, almost like tropical terrain; the water is a teal blue. We were lucky to see so much wildlife on the boat ride. Animals we spotted include sea otters, seals, sea lions, puffins, salmon, and whales.
We passed the fishing boats and cruised past dozens of small islands that dot the sound. Our captain spotted a blowhole from a distance, and we spent at least 45 minutes tracking two Minke Whales. It was very exciting, watching these creatures rise for air: their dorsal fins broke the surface and sometimes their tales crashed on the water.
The whales were following a big school of fish, which we could see at times because the water is so clear. Surrounding the whales and the school of fish was a pack of sea lions, who were barking and bellowing loudly, and occasionally one of the whales would emit a deep-pitched groan, perhaps to ward off the sea lions from the fish (?). Overhead, white arctic terns circled, and on the water, puffin birds floated, as salmon jumped up from the water. We were all in awe of the wildlife.
We captured great footage today, definitely.
In addition to the whales we passed by rocky beaches completely packed with lounging sea lions, who were all sleeping, barking, wrestling each other off of rocks, or swimming nearby. We also\ spotted sea otters flipping and playing on the surface of the water.
Our guides brought us close to the Columbia Glacier, one of the fastest receding glaciers in the world. The air temperatures dropped near the glacier, where blue ice chunks floated on the water—it was very cold. It was so quiet and still there, and the ice made soft crackling and whistling sounds, caused by the sea water melting and sculpting the ice. There was one particularly large floating iceberg, and we shot a film sequence of JJ hiking on top of it, while Camilo filmed from the boat. JJ had his ice axe and his crampons on—we were a little nervous when he jumped from the boat to the ice that he might fall in the icy water, or the edge of the ice shelf would break off and he'd fall in the icy water, but fortunately he made it unscathed.
Something about the cold fresh air really takes a lot out of you, (similar to returning home from the beach, when you feel the sun has leached all your energy)—we were all exhausted by the time we made it back to our campsite. We were lucky that it was clear when we went out boating, because it has been raining ever since we arrived.
Fortunately our Sierra Design tents have kept us dry.
Saturday, July 7: No oil refinery access
We are in Valdez, Alaska, by the ocean, in the midst of the majestic Chugach Mountains and blue-green water. It has been cloudy and dreary, though—I see why there are more than ten coffee shops in this four-block town. Everyone has been very friendly—we were given a jar of fresh salmon within the first 15 minutes of arrival.
We attempted to get footage and possible interviews at the oil refinery and the oil storage facility, but after 9/11, there has been increased security and it was not a very successful venture. However, we did visit the old Valdez town site, where there are old tankers and buildings. There is one old oil tanker on the shoreline that is corroded and decrepit — Camilo climbed inside and stood on top, getting some cool footage.
Hopefully more food donations will come soon, we have been eating pasta everyday. I think I will go on a pasta-free diet for six months after this trip.
Thursday, July 5 - Friday July 6: Rural Alaska is no easy place
I was late getting to Fairbanks from Nulato even though I had reservations on the 8 a.m. morning flight. I got bumped off the early flight because the plane picked up too many people in Kaltag (a nearby village) who were flying stand-by (a funeral had occurred the day before). But the pilot was nice and he said, "Wait here, if the person leaving for medical reasons doesn't show up in Koyukuk, I'll radio in and come back to get you." (Koyukuk is another neighboring village).
The pilot was willing to fly back to Nulato to pick me up if there was space, almost like a shuttle service. But before he could take off, the air agent's truck in Nulato broke down on the dirt runway, so the agent and the pilot had to push it out of the way. (I did not end up getting on the morning flight). When I finally got out on a later flight in the day, I stepped on the plane and two women were having a huge argument, and every time the plane landed they would keep arguing. Only in rural Alaska is flying like this.
So I reunited with the rest of the crew, and we left Fairbanks and headed towards Valdez. The drive was mostly uneventful, although we did stop and get more great shots of the pipeline. We also saw a young bull moose by the side of the road. Camilo climbed out of the car and carefully approached it, coming quite close, filming some great shots. He admits had it been a bigger bull or a cow with her calf, there is no way he would have advanced towards it. (Many people in Alaska would agree that moose are actually more dangerous than bears). The moose seemed not to even notice us, it was calmly munching on willows. We found a great campsite near a wide, shallow creek, with mountains in the distance and magenta fireweed flowers everywhere.
Wednesday, July 4: Celebrating our independence from dependency
Happy Fourth of July!
We enjoyed America's birthday up in Alaska where it never gets dark in the summer. I flew out to Nulato, an Alaska Native village in the
Interior located far down the Yukon River, where I was a teacher for two years. I participated in the subsistence lifestyle by helping out with salmon fishing and processing, taking my turn at cleaning and gutting king salmon with an ulu knife. This is the best salmon in the world. I also went on some boat rides on the Yukon River, enjoying the beautiful and undeveloped landscapes. Thank you, Nulato, for your generosity.
JJ, Camilo, and Jenny took a day to relax and eat free-range hamburgers. Jen McLean, who offered us so much hospitality (thank you Jen!) brought JJ, Camilo, and Jenny berry-picking with two Alaska Native elder women, who told stories about their childhood, and how times have changed. (They use berries for homemade jam and fish icec ream). There were lots of blueberries everywhere in the dense brush, and many signs of moose. In the old days, the elder women told us, they used to go anywhere for berry picking because the land was there for all, but now a lot of the places where they used to go are restricted. Jen pointed out the plants they use to make Indian tea, and provided smoked salmon strips. We were all surprised at how hot and sunny Fairbanks was—a person could practically get a sunburn at 9:00 p.m.!
Tuesday, July 3: Problems and solutions of the pipeline
We left Talkeetna and headed north to Fairbanks, where it is really light out all the time in the summer. Our first stop was the pipeline, where we shot footage of this 800-mile pipe streaming oil from Prudhoe Bay all the way down to Valdez. The pipeline is an engineering feat, considering it was built on permafrost, ground that is frozen year-round. The pipeline was built aboveground because the permafrost can melt and the ground can shift; if it was underground, this would be too much of a hazard for spills. Heat transfer fins in the upright posts help keep the ground frozen and the posts stable.
The pipe also rests on crossbeams, and is in the shape of a zig-zag, so it can move without cracking in the event of an earthquake. There are some areas where it is underground, to allow for roads and caribou migrations.
On the top layer of permafrost is boggy, swampy black spruce forest, which is home to ducks, geese, moose, bears, and many other animals.
The pipeline is symbolic of environmental causes for many reasons.
The actual structure itself is built on permafrost, which is a pulse signal of global warming. The pipeline is having many mechanical and engineering problems because the permafrost is melting so fast. In addition, the pipeline ends in Valdez, Alaska, site of the infamous 1989 Exxon-Valdez oil spill, where millions of gallons of crude oil dumped into the pristine Prince William Sound. This gravely disrupted the habitat of many animals, including salmon, eagles, seals, sea lions, otters, and whales.
The pipeline also passes by ANWR, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, another hotbed of environmental issues. There are proposals on the table to start oil drilling in this refuge that is home to large herds of caribou, which Alaska Native people in northern villages depend on for their subsistence lifestyle. Drilling would create jobs, but what is the hidden cost of disrupting one of the last large wilderness areas left in the world? Are we really at a place, culturally, where economic progress is so much more important than a priceless stretch of land?
The Alaska Pipeline is an example of how everything is connected to everything. Our consumption guzzles oil; the pipeline carries oil to Valdez, where an oil spill devastated the ecosystem; the pipeline passes through a refuge where oil will most likely be drilled in the future; and the actual ground the pipeline rests on is shifting due to our human footprint on the environment. This is not irreversible, however—with less carbon emissions and less fuel consumption, our impact on the environment can decrease. It is an unfortunate but dire prediction that the next major oil spill will occur not from the ocean tankers, but from an inland burst of the pipeline due to dramatic melts and shifts in the permafrost.
We stayed another day in the charming town of Talkeetna. By now we know the streets and stores like the backs of our hands. Jenny and I embarked on a fruitless quest for internet access in order to get computer work done, which took most of the day, and involved going to several different places (including the far walk to the library); it seemed that wireless internet was not working in the entire town. Jenny visited a gift shop called Alaska Things and Dreams, where 95% of the items sold are made locally. Some of the dolls and other crafts had fur attached, with the fur originating from recycled scraps of the local taxidermy shop. It has been interesting while traveling to think about the trinkets and gifts and postcards that we buy and where they come from.
Camilo and JJ were fortunate to have a free airplane ride donated to them from Talkeetna Air Taxi, and they were able to shoot aerial video footage of Denali National Park from the airplane. The plane landed at a glacier, and all of the passengers got out of the plane to walk around. Camilo was able to sit in the co-pilot's seat up front.
In the evening, we met and talked with many climbers from all over the world, who were also staying at the Talkeetna Air Taxi Bunkhouse.
We played with a little kitten named Ebony who was only three weeks old. We learned at the West Rib restaurant that the town of Talkeetna does not recycle, because it is such a small town with limited funds, and at this point it is impractical for them to haul their recycling to Anchorage. Unfortunately this is the situation for many small Alaskan towns and villages—the cost to ship out recycling does not make sense—however certain places have recycled in creative ways. For instance, in some villages they have recycled plastic bottles for use in road-paving materials.
Sunday, July 1: Bad weather changes plans
It’s official: climbing Mt. McKinley is not part of the itinerary any longer due to bad weather.
Instead, we will be spending a lot of time in Denali National Park, and we will also travel up north to the Arctic Circle and the pipeline to capture some amazing footage. (“Traveling from Death Valley to the Arctic Circle.”) In addition, thanks to the generosity and sponsorship of Talkeetna Air Taxi, two of us will be able to fly on a scenic tour of Denali and visit glaciers and get aerial footage of Alaska. Next stop: Fairbanks, where hopefully we will get more footage of the beautiful Alaskan scenery and wildlife.
Saturday, June 30 : McKinley climb looking unlikely
We left Anchorage today, later than expected, due to more errands in the city and more intense group discussions in parking lots.
Finally everything worked out and we headed to Talkeetna, a tiny, one-hors town that has thriving communities based on tourism, mountain climbing, and dog mushing. We are lucky to have space at the Talkeetna Air Taxi bunkhouse, which has running water and heat, so therefore it seems like the Holiday Inn in comparison to our backwoods camping.
Since we have arrived so late in the season and the weather is bad, it seems likely the climbing of Mt. McKinley will be cancelled. We will still get shots of other mountain climbing (such as Mt. Rainier). Talkeetna has been a great town, despite all of the rain — everyone is friendly, we have met really nice climbers from all over the world in our bunkhouse, and we have enjoyed the local establishments such as the West Rib (locally brewed beer!).
Friday, June 29: In Anchorage; we made it!
We are in Anchorage!
We’ve been very busy — thank you New Sagaya for the food donation — working on computers, getting equipment, planning out routes, etc.
There has been some drama between the four of us, which hasn’t really been posted, and it’s not something we are going to include in the documentary because a). it has nothing to do with sustainability, and b). we don’t want to create a reality TV show. But today was a dramatic day. Collectively, we spent a lot of time in parking lots talking about issues in our group dynamics, and things we need to change in order to make the best documentary possible, etc. To be honest about the situation, we are four strangers from very different backgrounds randomly put together for two months of constant, 24-hours-a-day working and traveling. Even among good friends, conflicts are bound to arise.
Fortunately the day ended a lot better than the way it started. Steve from Organic Oasis donated a meal to our crew, and we had one of the best dinners in a long time (no offense to JJ’s Udon noodles). We had organic pizza made with all-organic ingredients, with fresh pizza dough and sauce; it came with sprouts on top (grown at the café), which at first I was skeptical about — sprouts on pizza? — but it was delicious. I almost died when I had amaretto crème brulée made with organic eggs. Everything was wonderful, and afterwards, we interviewed Steve, who gave us a full tour of his restaurant. “Don’t panic, it’s organic.” We all agreed he was a very inspiring person, who truly cares about people eating right and being healthy. Steve told us stories about people with health problems (including himself) who switched their diets, and were cured. He also told us how he wants truckers and average Americans to eat better — he knows if he just served wheatgrass and spirulina people would not eat it, but if he meets everyone halfway by serving dishes like healthful pizza, then that’s a step in the right direction. Not only did he give us a free meal but he also gave us several products like energy cakes and dietary supplements. Thanks, Steve from Organic Oasis.
Thursday, June 28: Composting on the road
In our discussions in ways we are or are not being sustainable, two things come to mind. First of all, one weakness is occasionally buying drinks at convenience stores. This happens when we don’t have water, which happens for various reasons (i.e. the night before we did not camp near a water source). Also, when we’re driving for long stretches at a time, there’s nothing like a cold, (preferably caffeinated), drink. A way we have decided to solve this is to buy an extra cooler, keep it stocked with ice, and only keep organic sodas and drinks inside for when we’re traveling.A second problem we have encountered is generating trash. We are trying to reuse as much as possible — reusing all plates and silverware and cups; using Light Load towels instead of paper towels; recycling everything we can; basically trying not to participate in the patterns of our throw-away culture. However, we are still generating a lot of trash, almost a bag a day, I’m not even sure from what. As a solution to this problem, we have designated one of the bear canisters as a compost pile. (Our bear canisters, given to us by Backpacker’s Cache, are impermeable black cylinders used for storing food). So we are going to take composting on the road, putting all food scraps and paper products into the pile.
We left Canada and returned to the Homeland, the US, by crossing into Alaska, although in some ways Alaska is almost like its own country, or at least a different territory. We were afraid the border patrol would make us take down the “upstairs,” the tarp, and it would take about five hours, but fortunately they let us through without a problem. We spotted our first moose, and made it to Anchorage, where we witnessed a stunning 2-hour sunset on the top of one of the Chugach Mountains.
Wednesday, June 27: Eating more sustainably than the bears
The car ride to Alaska continues.
We awoke from our beautiful campsite somewhere in the Yukon Territory next to the rushing creek, with mountains in the distance, and continued our drive on the highway. It was a long day of driving. We reached Whitehorse at some point in the afternoon, where JJ had to make a couple phone calls. (My cell phone bill right now makes me want to cry. I don't know how it grew to such huge proportions, but I am going to start a Melanie Hibbert Verizon Wireless donation fund soon. Anyway, I am probably not going to use my phone for the rest of the summer).
The day grew later, it was all of a sudden 5 p.m. and we hadn't eaten anything yet except for cereal in the morning, and we were starving.
It did not seem practical to cook out in the parking lot, so we came to the decision that we wanted to eat at a restaurant. In our efforts to be sustainable and environmentally conscious, we had to think of how to make the best decision under the circumstances. Chain restaurants were out of the question. Considering most ethnic restaurants in northern Canada have to ship in most of their ingredients, it seemed to make the most sense to eat somewhere that served local food. We asked people from the area, and they suggested a restaurant at an inn that has wild game and local meat on the menu.
Since by this point our blood sugar levels were crashing and we were almost about to eat Clif Bars for dinner, we said heck yeah. At the restaurant JJ, Jenny, and Camilo ate delicious buffalo burgers from a local farm, and