Willie and I finally had a good phone connection last night. This is a journal entry from March 3 that he wanted to share:
March 3, 2008- When I reach the southern end of Cabin Woods the ice is still covered with snow making the walking easy. I see that the area where the wolves had bedded down from when I first tryed to set up the arctic oven in January is still being actively used. There are several trails heading into the area and several trails going through the woods. The wolves have recently been here and their sign is fresh. This makes me really happy with my decision to not stay here. I would have displaced the wolves and put both wolf and me in an unnecessary position of risk. I'm glad I trusted my instinct as setting up a permanent camp, given the wolf signs, just seemed like the wrong thing to do. Now that I am learning more about their habits and individual movements through the area I made the right choice.
It feels so good to be walking in the exact area where Sheldon & Karstens lived. I can definitely feel the historic energy. I think it is telling that a wolverine track heads straight through what had been their cabin, and wolves are bedding down regularly in Cabin Woods. Sheldon and Karstens were living the life of research and basic survival, nothing in their minds, I would think, out of the ordinary for them. However, that winter of 1907-08 and the previous summer of 1906, laid the foundation of one of the worlds most magnificent National Parks and had preserved a legacy of wilderness enjoyment for literally millions of people. The effect on the Denali sub-arctic ecosystem and all it's inhabitants has been equally, if not more so, profound.
I seem to be spending a lot of time in the dark. Laying in my sleeping bag with the headlight on, my little beam of light for reading my book or journal. This is what I anxiously look forward to at night, finding comfort in the pages. This is my self made company which grounds me as I write and opens my mind as I read. When I am back in my normal life this is missing, as my free time is occupied with a multitude of choices. A side of me comes out that I need wilderness which is hidden and only emerges when I am in the throws of it's rhythm. Now that I have spent so much time here, it will be interesting to see where my new balance point lands. Wherever it is, I'm better for it. When we know our choices it is easy to see how we can find happiness...
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