The-Atlantic-thefemalesurvivalist

A short video taken on a clear day, believe it or not!

I'm beginning to realize that rain is the constant, sunshine the exception. Its amazing how inspiring a little blue sky can be.

Give yourself some time, my daughter said. She's brilliant, as always. I've been in Alaska now for 13 days and things are beginning to feel more comfortable. Its all about the adventure. No one said you had to do this forever. That is, unless you want to.
Well, you can't beat the beauty, the warmth of the people, or the nearly daily discoveries.

Four-fifteen a.m comes pretty early in the morning. Its only a five minute walk to work and its not even cold. But, for the last five days its been raining. All day, all night. Its ok. Well, I keep saying that, but this morning, it started to get to me.

I arrive with my pant legs wet, my socks wet, my mind asking, DOES the Sun Ever Shine in August?

Well, I finally asked Emmerson, one of the chefs, and he looked at me, asked, "Didn't anyone mention this is a rain forest?"

"What?" I asked, perplexed. I mean, we're nearly at the NORTH frickin' pole....

"This is a rain forest, the northernmost rain forest in the world."

I'm sure he's pulling my leg. Come on...but his face says he's serious as he quips, "You have to have the sun inside." And then he walks away to finish getting the kitchen in order for an onslaught of breakfast eating guests.

Its ok, I figure. At some point it has to get cold enough to snow and then we'll go skiing.

Leaving work just after 2 p.m I walked outside to a beautiful view. The sun was out, the clouds were puffy, the sky was blue. Marvelous. Thank you, trail gods! Ask and you shall receive.

I came across the actual blog for Alyeska Resort. This should be a fun site to read.



http://blog.alyeskaresort.com/mountain-news/meet-monty-the-newest-member-of-the-alyeska-ski-patrol/

I arrived last Tuesday night in Alaska. It was almost surreal, like I couldn't quite believe I was really on the Last Frontier. Anchorage seemed like it could be in the lower 48.

Jason International Hostel had some interesting characters. I think some of the people actually were residents. Many heavy accents, too, from around the world: China, Israel, India, New York.

After working a few days, I spent my first day off hiking the Winner Creek Trail. It's been raining a lot, so it makes keeping the camera dry a little challenging.



I clip my bear spray on my belt loop, just in case I meet trouble. So far, nothing dangerous has happened. When I got to the hand tram, I thought maybe the basket was on the opposite side and all I had to do was pull on the rope until it came back to my side.

Not so. Another hiker arrived and gave me the scoop. He'd used the tram in 2009 and immediately saw the basket was gone and the equipment on lock down.

Youtube sends a suggested videos of interest group to me on about a weekly basis. This one makes large group underground bunkers sound like a condo situation in the Caribbean.

I felt like I was hearing a sales pitch for a silo converted multilevel five year plan. Its only a couple million dollars. Not bad: Well appointed living in preparation for an apocalyptic survival shelter.



What do you think? Would you sign up to live in one?

I posted a thread over at a survivalist forum, asking for advice
Moving to Alaska Survival Thread There's been a lot of great replies. Everyone has been supportive of this life decision. Just feels like its time for some big change. Another thread over at Wilderness Survival forum, Alaska

Check out this great link http://alaskaslist.com/ It looks great, much like craigslist for Alaska, with over 172 million page views so far.




Its always great to touch base and get real information from those who have and are there, done that.

I'm not often shocked by rising costs of health care. I know with the "affordable" health care bill moving through the American system of implementation, every one with a hand in the pie wants their chunk. I mean, if you're going to set the standard for emergency resuscitation, you better get a price on it now, before any ceilings are set.

What should a normal childbirth cost? What should a "check up cost"? And, now that everyone is going to be walking around with some form of card that says we get to see a doctor now and again, what does a check up entail? We're finding out maybe guys don't NEED the prostate exam as often as we thought, or, maybe mammograms are over rated and over used...and maybe
NO ONE wants to pay for it...especially some random clients who were forced to buy health insurance anyways.

Sometimes a person doesn't have a choice, though. Its pretty obvious you need help. I read this article and shook my head. God help us all if our insurance ever lapses. Hospital Bill of 55k for snake bite treatment is outrageous. How can 18 hours and anti venom treatment for a healthy woman cost more than a pick up truck. I know, I know. There's the cost of diagnosis. The milking of snakes to get the venom (you mean this hasn't been automated yet?) Are you kidding me? We can send a man to the moon but we can't automate getting some of this fantastic miracle stuff. As Americans were pretty used to getting what we want. Maybe I should say, used to be that way. Some of us are downsizing. Keeping the same old car for years, wearing the same coat season after season.

But, How do you downsize emergency care?

In less than two weeks I'll be living and working at a fantastic resort in Alaska, near Girdwood. Part of me says, time to start a new blog.

 The Femalesurvivalist deals with wilderness survival, not the biggest, wildest, most romantic place in the United States. Now, before I get hit with lovers of Hawaii and Florida, I know the Last Frontier is cold and has long dark nights in winter.

And, just in case you wondered, I never did nor would vote for Sarah Palin. Her venture into running for the vice-presidential seat was a joke. But, politics aside, I'm looking forward to meeting the fiercely independent people that are said to live in this place.


I've been doing a little research and found a great book called, Frommer's Alaska The publish date on this fantastic thrift store find is 2008. Not too old to be of use. There are tons of maps and insiders tips from the author, Charles Wohlforth. I plan to take tons of footage and learn more about winter survival skills.


My backcountry skis are packed in a custom sewn carrying case. The matching duffle bag was sewn using upholstery cloth. A long zipper was sewn along the top edge. All told, I'll have a carry on (laptop in daypack), one large duffle with clothes, shoes, etc, and one tall carry case with skis, boots, poles, and ultralight backpacking gear. I'll take photos of this custom sewn gear at the airport and share them here.

Every once in awhile a person runs out of paper or just wants to utilize natural resources instead of man made products.
Keeping debris to a minimum increases enjoyment for everyone traveling through the area. I've never understood why anyone wouldn't want to cover up the discarded toilet paper. 





If you don't know what poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac looks like, remember the adage: leaves of three, let them be. Photos here