Imagine the first pioneers to Alaska. The first settlers here. Hostile and unforgiving country. Wild rivers to cross. Jagged peaks to traverse. Endless expanses of wilderness. There were no roads. There weren't any hotels with five star service. There were no fishing and hunting guides for the tourists that come to get that first hand wilderness experience. The only thing these pioneers had to rely on was themselves.

Why were they here? Endless possibilities and opportunity. Some came for the challenge of the newest frontier. Some came simply for the experience. Most came for...Gold. There's gold in them thar hills! They came for the outside chance of striking it rich. The Klondike, the Yukon, the Chilkoot Trail and more. Gold fever was the sentiment of the day when first we came north. A few struck it rich. Most turned back. Many died gruesome deaths. Even more simply disappeared into the bush, never to be seen or heard from again. This was a lawless land. Ruthless men ruled the day. Everyone came with the same idea in mind though...the hope of prosperity.

There were those who did prosper. They weren't the miners or the trappers. The ones that did well in the vast wilderness were the few supplying the many. The storekeepers and inn keepers. The ladies that sewed and did laundry for the miners. The bar keeps and good time girls. The assayers and the money changers (today we call them bankers...some things never change). These were the ones that grew prosperous on the backs of the miners (and many on their backs under the miners).

Remember now, we have a very short window of summer in which to work here. -60 degrees and frozen tundra is not very conducive to digging for gold. If the pick didn't break your back or neck, then the frostbite would take you if you weren't careful. The miners and the prospectors went out for their summer digging and hunting then would have to come back to town to winter over until the next season came. They couldn't just stop in and ask to stay somewhere. Like today, they had to have money to make it through until next year. The room cost money. Food and clothing cost money. Their supplies for the following season cost a lot of money. Companionship on those freezing cold winter nights cost money. Dn't forget the whiskey and the card games. All that gold they brought back with them was gone before they went back out. Most were in debt by the time they hit the bush again, promising to pay the debt the second they returned to town. Remember, there were no roads. Just foot and some horse trails heading to the hills. They had to come back to town. There was no way to avoid it. 

The first pioneers were tough old birds. Even the puny were tough by our standards today. I've met a few that live in and survive off the wilderness today, but they are very few and far between now. Most of us today couldn't hack it. We have a technological world now that has made us soft comparatively. Today, each person specializes in their schooling, learning to do just one thing. We hire out any work we need done. These old codgers had to do it all, from making their sluice box to building their cabin to hunting their own food. Heck, I've seen Youtube video's where young people believe and have said that no animals were harmed in the making of their hamburger. This is how disconnected and disjointed we have become.

I'm surviving here. I'm not thriving yet, but I am only now learning about having to wear many hats to live. Do things for myself. Conserve water and energy. I'll be honest with you...if it wasn't for my better half who is a born and bred Alaska Bush Baby, I would simply flounder and do like so many others today. Come up for a couple years, decide they can't hack it and head home to the lower 48 and warmer weather.

Not me.