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Showing posts with the label Koyukuk River

Living in the Arctic Circle

  Welcome to Wiseman, a small community 63 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska. Gold was discovered in Nolan Creek near the village in the early  1900s and miners turned this town into a bustling settlement until the boom ended. Today, there are fewer than twelve people living in Wiseman. It’s the perfect getaway if you crave peace and quiet or love hiking and mountain climbing. Wiseman is sandwiched by the Brooks Mountain Range and the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve. We passed by a portion of the Alaska Pipeline on the Dalton Highway on our way to Wiseman from Coldfoot where our plane landed. This stretch of highway continues on to Prudhoe Bay in the Arctic Ocean. Residents of Wiseman are allowed to hunt just one moose annually for food consumption. Not surprisingly, there are antlers everywhere. Many of the cabins display antlers above their doors.  Our guide, Jack Reakoff, showed us his house and explained to us the mechanics of heating, cooking, planting vege