23 July 2016 Two in the Far North

Denali

As I have travelled through this North Country, I have had a companion (besides my husband). This companion has helped me understand the land and its people more fully and as I have discovered, has helped save this Alaskan wilderness for people like me to enjoy and appreciate.

Mardy Murie

My companion, Mardy Murie, now deceased, has written to me in a book called "Two in the Far North" and tells of her adventures in the land of the midnight sun, with her husband, the renowned Alaskan biologist, Olaus Murie,. Eerily as I read her stories, I have traced some of her footsteps, travelling in the same places - though not in the same style of course! In her early life, Mardy travelled by dog sled and boat through this wilderness, and later by float plane. Her tales of the land are intimate and helped me go below the surface and get a glimpse of what a hard-toiling and light-spirited life was like here in Alaska in the early 1900's.

With their deep knowledge of the land, Murie and her husband helped the country save this wilderness for the people and the wildlife that inhabit it. In 1980, congress passed the ANILCA (Alaska National Interest Land Conservation) Act to set aside 106 million acres of federal land as refuges, wilderness, parks and recreation sites. The Act recognized native culture, as well as traditional subsistence harvesting. Denali National Park stands as the most visible testament to the Murie's voice for the wilderness.

Finally the Caribou!

And yes as my journey north ends, I am treated to a herd of about 15 caribou. Thank you Mardy and Olaus for giving me this opportunity to see such beauty.