Hunting & Health in rural Alaska

Our neighbor got a moose earlier this year and shared a leg with us.  Josh had to skin it, butcher it, cut it into chunks and then grind it into hamburger.  It was a long process, but one that provided us with a lot of extra meat in our freezer, which is always a good thing!

Here is that process:

{We tried my Kitchen Aid attachment, but it failed!}

{Thankfully our neighbor loaned us their meat grinder, which worked great!}

{We put roughly two pounds into each bag}

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Hunting:

Before moving to Alaska, Josh did not hunt.  He also did not own guns.  In fact, I was one of "those" moms who wasn't going to allow guns. At all. Ever. Ha!  It's funny to look back and see how much I've changed!

When they get bigger, the boys will absolutely go shooting with Josh.  The magic age, we think, will be 8.  At 8, we will let them get a BB gun and start shooting that with Josh.  We will teach them with those, and go from there.  In order to actually hunt with him, they will need to be older and stronger physically as the chase can be quite exhausting.

They would love to hunt with Josh, and I think he would love that, too.

Living out here, they understand and respect more than I ever did, the animals' sacrifice so we can eat them.  They often ask what animal the meat we're eating came from. I am very frank about it. We killed it so we can live. I don't feel bad about it because it's not being wasted.

Hunting is done in one of two ways generally-- by boat or by snow machine, depending on the season.  Josh hasn't gone hunting alone, which I'm grateful for, both because it's safer, but also because if you catch something, it's really nice to have a second set of hands to help you butcher it and get it back to the village.  The moose Josh caught our second year weighed roughly 800 pounds, so he had to cut it into several pieces in order to move it.  Hunting from a boat is challenging because you are shooting from a bobbing boat, but hunting on snow machine during winter is challenging because once you shoot it, you have to go on foot through feet and feet of snow to track it and bring it in.

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Eating:

I have only had moose, seal and salmon.  I have not tried bear or wolf.  The moose is lean, and has a "gamey" flavor, but I love it.  Moose burgers are especially good, but we also use ground moose in everything, like tacos & chili.  Too much moose can be hard on my stomach to process, so I am careful not to eat too much.  Seal, which I have only tried once, was very oily and not to my liking.  But wild Alaska salmon... is amazing! I love it baked, canned, dried.  It's always delicious!

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{Beaver Dam near Marshall}

 Wildlife:

In Alaska the boys and I have seen a red fox and a moose off our front walk.  Wolves & bear often come into town.  Everyone will get on the VHF to warn one another.  We personally have not seen wolves or bears, but both have been sighted this year in town. 

This is the most dangerous time to run into bears.  They are waking up hungry, and the river is still frozen (no fish) and spring is not in full bloom (no berries). So what you have is a very hungry guy with no access to food, and that's bad news!

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{The Yukon River by boat}

Exercise:

Josh and I work out at home using videos in our living room.  I do yoga occasionally, also at home.  The natives love to play basketball, ride their snow machines and walk everywhere.  The kids ice skate when there is ice.

People walk along the tundra, down to the river or local sloughs, 4 wheel to Mt. Pilcher and hike, climb, or walk up our little mountain.  It is dangerous now that the are bears awake, so it's important to make a lot of noise when you're walking, as well as carry bear mace or a gun.  You can also run into wolves or moose, which can be equally dangerous.  Moose are fast! And often aggressive.  They are the largest land mammal in North America.

Our boys love to go on walks, play at the playground and ride their bikes.  They, too, have kid workout videos they can do while stuck in the house, which are a nice option for those long winter months when it's too cold to get out of the house.

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Stay tuned for the rest of the Rural Alaska Living Series:

Tomorrow is Life with Small Children in rural Alaska

Friday is The BEST and the WORST of life in rural Alaska

& Saturday closes up with Weather in rural Alaska