Tales of Old: The Elements
Posted: Sun Mar 10, 2019 1:31 pmLooks like Nic is in command as the racers make their way over the southern Nulato Hill area toward the Bering Sea coast. As I write this he has a good 10-15 mile lead over his nemesis Joar Leifseth Ulsom, Jessie Royer and Pete Kaiser. However, there is a Winter Weather Advisory for eastern Norton Sound between St Michael-Unk-Shak-Koy-Elim including the Nulato Hills. This friendly advisory could turn into a Storm Warning in a matter of hours, or reappear as such in a day or so.
For decades if not centuries, these northern Bering Sea storms have wreaked havoc over the plans and ideas of Man, from turning back and delaying expeditions to gold seekers succumbing to its vicious and seemingly uncaring onslaught on man and nature. Ask any Musher back in the 70s and 80s events... the late Herbie Noyakpuk, billed the "Shishmaref Cannonball" for his fast and quick runs up the trail. He stalled and was holed up at the "blowhole" halfway between Shaktoolik and Koyuk. Ask Jeff King, stalled just out side of Safety (and in the lead until then). Ask the late Susan Butcher, in the lead and secure in a fourth win as she left Wt Mtn in the lead. At the time, a musher named Rick Swenson had the most wins at four. Her nemesis (Swenson) unknowingly passed her in a vicious storm that "came out of nowhere", and Rick has since been the winningest musher of the Last Great Race.
Bering Sea storms are what I count every so many years to upend the Top Ten listing of this Last Great Race...why...mainly because it is the storms of life and the struggle against extreme elements that uncover the hidden aspects and attributes (or otherwise) accredited to we as human beings...(Inupiat means "Real People" or "the real human being")...
In a nutshell, these northern storms can and have literally beaten the “hidden hell” (or “heaven” too for God’s sake) out of individuals who otherwise appear calm, cool, or collected under “normal” circumstances. (Ask Jeff King…)
What we civilized ppl tend to forget the reality of The Northland: there is no such idea or word as “normal”, “tame”, and /or even “civilization”...
Frozen
For decades if not centuries, these northern Bering Sea storms have wreaked havoc over the plans and ideas of Man, from turning back and delaying expeditions to gold seekers succumbing to its vicious and seemingly uncaring onslaught on man and nature. Ask any Musher back in the 70s and 80s events... the late Herbie Noyakpuk, billed the "Shishmaref Cannonball" for his fast and quick runs up the trail. He stalled and was holed up at the "blowhole" halfway between Shaktoolik and Koyuk. Ask Jeff King, stalled just out side of Safety (and in the lead until then). Ask the late Susan Butcher, in the lead and secure in a fourth win as she left Wt Mtn in the lead. At the time, a musher named Rick Swenson had the most wins at four. Her nemesis (Swenson) unknowingly passed her in a vicious storm that "came out of nowhere", and Rick has since been the winningest musher of the Last Great Race.
Bering Sea storms are what I count every so many years to upend the Top Ten listing of this Last Great Race...why...mainly because it is the storms of life and the struggle against extreme elements that uncover the hidden aspects and attributes (or otherwise) accredited to we as human beings...(Inupiat means "Real People" or "the real human being")...
In a nutshell, these northern storms can and have literally beaten the “hidden hell” (or “heaven” too for God’s sake) out of individuals who otherwise appear calm, cool, or collected under “normal” circumstances. (Ask Jeff King…)
What we civilized ppl tend to forget the reality of The Northland: there is no such idea or word as “normal”, “tame”, and /or even “civilization”...
Frozen
