It’s there, maybe out of sight, nonetheless it’s there. It’s December 16th here on the trapline, well above the Arctic Circle. The sun has been hanging below the horizon for several weeks now but it’s clear today and I can see the orange smear on the tops of the mountains. I know by 2:30 I will be putting my headlamp back on. I only took it off a few hours back. The temperature is dropping -20, -25? Why would one choose to live in an environment like that?nThere is plenty of time to ponder that question , but it is a hard one to answer.
I know in April I will put my headlamp away. The nights will slowly slip away and the sun will ride proud above the horizon for weeks. Hard to imagine, I have been wearing my head lamp for most of my waking hours now. Extreme. Extreme, Alaska is. This is a land with mood, watch her weather and you will see. She can be hot, she can be cold. She can cry downpours and echo raging screams with those north east storms. She can sing the wind through the canyons and smile that clear bright smile on a warm April day. This is an extreme land with an untamed soul. Maybe that’s what I love about her most.
I stand on the sno go seat watching the glow of the horizon, darkness is already ebbing into the expanse of land before me. I smile and turn towards home.