By Grace Stonecipher (Yale University)
1 – The number of introductions to this blog post. Hey, I’m Grace, coming to Atlin from Seattle, Washington. I thought I’d mix things up a bit and give a by-the-numbers summary of the past week…
2 – The number of hours we spent listening to Uncle Jackie share his stories when he joined us for dinner on Sunday night. Uncle Jackie is a Tlingit Elder, a member of the Wolf Clan, and one of the few who avoided going to residential school. In preparation for his visit, all of us read Uncle Jackie’s book, Lingit Kusteeyi: What my Grandfather Taught Me, about a battle between the Tlingits and the Tahltan, another First Nation. Underlying many of Jackie’s stories was the idea of the importance of traditional culture, and his disappointment that most Tlingits have walked away from it (or been forced away, as the case may be). Because of this, he told us, he believes a curse has been put upon them, making them unable to believe in their own culture. The ‘white man’, on the other hand (read: all of us), doesn’t have this curse, therefore allowing him (us) to believe in Tlingit culture. Uncle Jackie told us that because of this, he sees the white man as the best hope for reviving Tlingit culture – he hopes that our belief in it will help Tlingits embrace their roots. Jackie also emphasized the importance of working together, symbolized by the blue Nakina River meeting white Sloko River. These two rivers converge, and although they remain separate at first, eventually the two waters are able to mix together to become one new river. Jackie says that we must learn to do the same. (Less heavy side note: Jackie’s presence was a great excuse to purchase our first salmon of the trip (and Ranjit’s first salmon ever!) It was a sockeye caught within the last few days, and it was delicious.)
3 – The number of caribou spotted on our hike up Idaho peak on Monday. Like El Dorado, Idaho Peak was one of the few hikes that actually had a trail – in the form of an old ATV track. All five of us had designated this as our Grinnell Day, and so the hike was broken up by stops to identify plants and flowers… about every 5 meters. Once we’d exhausted all easily identifiable flora (curse you, sedges!), and then exhausted Susie with endless inquiries regarding bird calls (thank you, Susie!), we finally settled into a pace that brought us up into the alpine. The three caribou were there waiting for us, keeping cool by standing in a snow patch and twitching as they were pestered by bugs. We all plopped into the heather, much less cool but just as mosquito-twitchy, and pulled out our binoculars. After 10 minutes of watching them chase each other around the snow patch, we tried to get closer, and promptly scared them off. Slightly disappointed in our lack of stealth, we made the final push to the summit, which surprised us with an amazing view of, well, Surprise Lake. After lunch, naps, ungulate searching, mosquito slapping, and some self-timer-picture attempts (selfie-stick, anyone?), we headed back down the mountain, hoping not to discover any new plants. We did find a tuft of grizzly hair that wasn’t there on the way up, but unfortunately, no actual bear.
4 – The number of canoes we rented on Tuesday for our adventure onto Atlin Lake. We paddled from Warm Bay up to the mouth of the O’Donnell, and then went a little ways up the river. We stopped for lunch on a gravel bar, and then practiced our marmot behavior and partook in some basking. We were all startled from our naps when Celine stood up and saw an equally startled moose, which quickly fled into the forest. Our trip back to Warm Bay was slightly more difficult due to increased winds, but nobody ended up in the lake, so we’ll call Round River’s first canoeing venture a success.
8 – The number of years that John Ward did the Nakina walk bushwhacking. He was one of the Tlingits who helped to recreate the trail, and we’re grateful that he’s already been down there this year to do some upkeep. John and his wife Gale came over for dinner on Thursday night, and it was really special to hear about his experiences on the trail.
17- The number of pieces of na’an handmade by George for dinner with Nan on Tuesday night. Ranjit got his mom’s recipe for chicken curry, and it was certainly a meal to remember – plus we got to spend time with Nan, Round River’s adopted grandmother, which is always a treat.
17 again – The number of marmots spotted during behavioral surveys on Wednesday. We also moved one of our two camera traps down to the road, so we’re excited to see what we can capture. We’ll take the other one down to the Nakina with us – maybe to get some shots of bears!
21 – The number of sheep that Celine and I followed around Ruby Mountain on Wednesday. There are two salt licks at which the sheep seem to converge, and we’ve been trying to get an accurate count on them, especially the juveniles.
28 – The number of known species of fish in the Taku River Drainage. Mark Connor the fisheries biologist for the TRT, joined us for dinner on Wednesday night, and also gave us a lecture on fish and fisheries. It got all of us excited to do some fishing down on the Nakina. People are buying their fishing licenses as I type.
76 – The number of plant species that we’re all working on memorizing. Time to practice our Latin!
240 – The number of minutes we spent volunteering for the Atlin Music Festival on Thursday afternoon so we could get passes for Friday to see the Tlingit dancers. The town is going to expand this weekend from 400 to a couple thousand, and there are already a number of tents set up – we had to put flagging tape up so people don’t join us in the backyard!
396 – The number of minutes we’ve collectively spent doing common nighthawk surveys. We went on both Monday and Tuesday nights this week, and saw a couple of gorgeous sunsets. At this point, though, I think we’ve seen more porcupines than nighthawks. Celine, George, Susie, and I spent a solid half hour watching a mother and a juvenile walk back and forth in front of our car. The mother wanted to go one way, but the juvenile preferred to pounce on fireweed. Teenagers…
Infinite – the amount of excitement I have to leave for The Walk tomorrow (Saturday). We’ve heard so many stories this past week, and I know that it will be a really special experience. Send us good-fishing vibes!!