Life Below Zero - General Discussion

[ProfCrash]

I enjoy this show and am happy to see it back. I was kind of hoping that the tree would fall on Glenn's cabin, he annoys me that much.

Most of the shows participants are proud of how they live but know that not everyone wants to live the way they do. They are happy to share how they live, the good parts and the struggles but I get the "I know this isn't for everyone" vibe from most of them. Glenn is a sanctimonious ass. When he talks about taking a bath in the freezing cold it sounds like he is so insanely proud of himself. He talks about living off the land while hunting with a modern rifle and using plenty of modern tools. He sure as hell did not hike in all the stuff that he has at his camp so his continuous stream of how cool he is just annoying. Love the way that you live but stop acting like you are living the way people did ages ago, you are not. You have the benefit of modern technology and equipment. You clothing, your tools, your camp site, your rifle are all massive advantages. It is a hard way to live but it is not something that he is able to do because he made enough money to be able to buy all the stuff that he has that allows him to live that way. Give me the folks on the Alaska Railroad show that own up to being hermit like in their life style and loving it but still need the goods that they get from town through the railroad. Give me the Hailstone's who are proud of their traditional life style but are fine with using modern technology and discuss how that modern technology helps them. Give me Erik and his wife who hunt and guide hunts because they love the lifestyle but get that it is not for everyone. Give me the dog dude who made some dumb mistakes in his life and moved to Alaska to live a different life. He likes the work and trying to make it on his own but he understands how the community helps him succeed. I might wonder how some of these folks are going to survive when they are no longer to live off the land but I get what they are doing and why.

Glenn is clearly making a choice that is not living on the edge because he clearly has the money to do what he is doing. It is a choice based on ego and proving how manly he is with a hint of loving living off the land and being a bit of a hermit. We have never seen what he does when he returns to the city, which we know he does on a regular basis, or hear d him discuss it. I know Sue is pained whenever she has to go to town. She hates it. She is a hermit who loves what she is doing and loves the work. She has worked hard to buy her camp and has a back up plan, the cabin we saw her check on a while back, but she wants to avoid going to that place for as long as humanly possible. We also know that she has some good relationships with her family and people in town.

Glenn just screams to me that he is out there for ego and because he can, not because he really needs to be. The others all strike me as being really driven to b e doing what they are doing. They are living where they are year round and fighting to make the lifestyle work. We see gardens, fishing, hunting, repairing buildings and prep year round.

[BeautifulOhio]

I really enjoy watching the Hailstones but I find some of the comments here a little naive.  It seems when we think of Native Americans, Eskimos, indigenous peoples in general, we think of people who are connected to the land and oh-so-at-peace with nature.  Reality is that they live with nature, and kill it for their own needs.  Just like a bear would kill them for its needs.  Agnes' lifestyle and hunting practices are typical, traditional Eskimo practices.  She is living a lot like her ancestors did and it's a bit silly to say the Hailstones are gratuitous hunters by our standards, i.e., non-indigenous peoples in the lower 48.  I have particularly enjoyed the comments made here by people who know the Hailstones or know Alaskan life in general.  It's just something out of the realm of normal for most of us and that fact should keep us from being so judgmental of them.  

Oh, and I like Glenn okay but you can tell he's lonely.  

[NoJustNo]

He is so full of himself. Shut up! You aren't any better than anyone else. Good grief. 

[humbleopinion]

Agreed, he loves himself without any reserve or shame.

But he can afford to be insufferable since he lives alone in the Brooks Range...

[NoJustNo]

4 hours ago, humbleopinion said:

Agreed, he loves himself without any reserve or shame.

But he can afford to be insufferable since he lives alone in the Brooks Range...

I think it may be a chicken/egg kind of thing. hahaha. He is a neat enough guy but why does he have to put down people who live in "civil-lie-zation" (as he says) and he doesn;t seem to get that he is privileged to be able to do that in the first place. 

[NoJustNo]

Well deserved-shooting in these conditions is next to impossible-I can't imagine. 

[humbleopinion]

Self awareness may not be his strong suit...

[Beden]

I have no feelings  regarding Glenn; never met the guy, likely never will. What I know about him is from a few minutes here and there on a reality show...I take it with a grain of salt. Is he arrogant? I honestly don't know nor care but keep thinking about the old saying 'it ain't bragging if it's true'. He really does seem to live the life he chooses and pretty much as it's portrayed. He has and has honed skills which allow to live a difficult and dangerous lifestyle fairly competently and with success. His personal life, his relations with his various family members  aren't any of my business and I don't care unless he's actually violating some laws or something along those lines

I wouldn't want to do it but give him credit where it seems due

JMO, take it--or not--for what it's worth. 'Not wanting to start any unpleasantness here.

[rcc]

I hear all the negatives about Glenn and agree with some of them. But, he is my favorite on this show. I think he always finds interesting ways to accomplish things and I like that he gets satisfaction in that.

[Magic Mare]

LBZ producers have done a very good job of representing different lifestyles.   I wish there would be one more family LBZ would represent.  A townie or townie family, with a non substance lifestyle.  Maybe a local teacher, shop owner, undertaker, or  whatever.  I'd like to compare their lives, life below zero trying to start the car at 40 below.  Dressing the kids for winter school.  Social life in the dark times.   How much does food cost when someone else kills it, or when shipping costs five times as much as the food does.  How much do they make doing the same thing as someone in Chicago, Boise, Miami?  I think LBZ does a fine job of showing the exception ... the non conformists, but my guess is that even everyday living in say Fairbanks (larger city closer to the arctic circle) would show those of us in the lower 48 that the colder areas of the last frontier are different regardless of how you work to survive.

[Magic Mare]

It's troubling to see just how many people think the Hailstones, and others,  harvest of meat is somehow cruel, greedy or unnecessary.   You use the word 'unsportsmanlike'???.   Since when is killing better as a SPORT than it is as supplying food for survival?  You weekend warriors who want some sport?  Meet the animals on their own terms... with your bare hands.  Now that's sporting boys!      Oh wait...Glen, Chip, Andy all have chased something down and stomped it to finish it off.   Have you?

And Chip, Agnes, Andy, Sue etc.) don't meet with your shooting criteria?  They don't have the option of cancelling the trip if weather conditions aren't ideal.  Sick or healthy, they have to chase meat and stockpile whatever is legal and is palatable ( not trophys) They use guns that have been doused in fresh and salt water, frozen and thawed a thousand times, dropped, tweaked, repaired and rebuilt.  They shoot after hours of stalking in sub SUB zero conditions.  And finding Caribou swimming is a godsend because they can select the best, kill efficiently, and waste nothing.

Just how many meat bearing animals would you need to kill in a year to feed your family, extended family, and elderly, disabled folks in your town.  You are clueless.   Unlike shopping thru a butcher supply house, there is no guarantee that the moose, caribou, salmon, you catch will be readily available again, that week, month, or perhaps that year.  Remove the supplier and then tell us how you would go about surviving?   

To anyone who has ever earned a living based on performance, such as realtor, lawyer, doctor, waitress, mechanic.

Does a great week of work, lots of clients, patients, tips, mean you should lay back the rest of the month?  No.   I'd put up as many animals as legal just as I earned as much money as I possibly could.  Greedy?  No...SMART.

What about Humane killing?  Jam thousands of cattle into a feedlot.  No freedom for months on end.  They have no natural life, and no way to survive.  They stand in shit, and are cycled toward an eventual end of a life they never lived.   There is no chance for any one of them.  

 On LBZ  species compete, ambushing each other, fleeing, escaping, getting caught and or successfully killing other wildlife, humans, sled dogs, fish.  Even the terrain kills, beast and man.  When was the last time you drowned in the seafood department.

Whether LBZ individuals shoot, club, ambush, harvest eggs, harpoon, or trap an unwary prey, it is so much more fair than these holier than thou hand wringing Folks who pay someone to do the dirty work...no details please.    Next time you toss the leftovers out, of that miserable hog that lived in a stinking void so you could eat a porkchop, understand that in subsistence living, that leftover would be bait, compost, a second meal or extra food for the disabled tribal member.  And he would have had a chance to NOT become a porkchop.  

Quit talking about LBZ like it's some hobby hunting program where the poor species are pets and tribal hunters who help feed large numbers of people are savages.  We're all savages.  You just don't butcher the flesh you consume.  

LBZ is a way of life where goods don't necessarily require funds.  Where cash doesn't always block out the reality of our survival.   

 

Vegetarian....old Eskimo word for lousy hunter.

[Medicine Crow]

^^^^  You have "verbalized" my thoughts exactly!!  Kudos!!!  ^^^^

[ProfCrash]

I would Glenn a lot better if he owned up to the fact that most of what he has out there were delivered to him and was bought in a store in advance. He lives a tough life, when he is out there, but he leaves every year for a period of time. He does not live out there year round, he is not using native techniques or weapons. He is someone who enjoys extreme camping and has a great camp site set up. My problem with him is that he is pretentious. He presents himself as this total off grider using age old techniques and not as a well off dude who can afford to take 6 months of the year off to live in the wilderness in a camp where all the goods have been bought in a store and delivered to his location.

There is no way he carried in or built the foundation for his tent, the canvas for his tent, the various steel drums he uses as stoves and the larger size tools that he has. He is hunting with a modern gun, has a modern canoe and a lot of premade tools and supplies.

What he is doing is hard but it is much more of a hobby for him then a lifestyle. Most of the others that we see are living a specific lifestyle all year. They are doing what they do because they love it and they want to survive a difficult way of life. Glenn likes the solitude and to camp and hunt but he is cool with walking out every year, hanging in the city and then coming back with more gear that he bought at a store.

I am more impressed by Erik, the hunting guide, and his wife or the Hailstones.

I picture Glenn with a GPS tracking device that will bring in a rescue crew if he gets hurt doing whatever it is he is doing out on the Brooks Range.

[humbleopinion]

I miss Erik and Martha Mae and their dry, dry humor.

[Sup wit dat]

Jessie won a 300 mile race in 2016 and was the surprise winner of a 440 mile race in January 2017.  It sounds like he's really making a name for himself in these races.  Here's an article about the race and some details about his life before Alaska:

 

https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/2017/04/10/little-known-nenana-musher-notches-major-breakthrough-at-kobuk-440-2/

[ProfCrash]

Good interview with some nice background. He sounds happy and fulfilled and that is what matters. He also lives close to Andy, they are both in the Eagle area. I wonder how far apart they are? I know that the distances can be pretty far so the fact that they are both in the Eagle area might really not be all that close.

[SRTouch]

8 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Good interview with some nice background. He sounds happy and fulfilled and that is what matters. He also lives close to Andy, they are both in the Eagle area. I wonder how far apart they are? I know that the distances can be pretty far so the fact that they are both in the Eagle area might really not be all that close.

Actually, the article says he lived in Eagle, but moved to Nenana about 6 years ago. IIRC, Nenana is southwest of Fairbanks, and Fairbanks is around 350 mile from Eagle. Quite the trip by dogs sled ??

[ProfCrash]

LOL Thanks for catching that. I missed that for some reason. I think I got stuck on Eagle and thought Andy and then ignored the rest.

[ProfCrash]

Erik and Martha May are great.

I think that is my problem with Glen, all the other contestants have their issues but they are living a lifestyle because they love it. It is hard and it challenges them and they love figuring out the solution to the problem. You can see that they all dread the day that they might not be able to live the way that they are currently living. Glen is out there and enjoying himself but nothing about what he is doing is a full life style choice. The way he talks about what he is doing strikes me as bragging.

I suspect that Erik did the show initially because he could use the cash and he wanted to show people how he lived. He has been hit or miss since that first season, it seems like he pops up every other season now. It feels like he knows that the money is nice but that they over all show is intrusive. He doesn't want to spend his day filming stuff. And I suspect that some of the hunts that he guides don't want cameras around.

Glen likes trumpeting what he is doing and how superior it is to live this way. The Hailstones are proud of the native traditions and ways and want to share those with their kids and the rest of the world.

I think we see so much of Glen and the Hailstones because they are the most interested in sharing their lives on TV. I think we get a lot of Sue because she is an interesting story and needs the money to run her camp so she tolerates the film crew. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they rent space at the camp to film, which benefits Sue.

[Sup wit dat]

The hunting on this show doesn't bother me.  A shot or two and the animal dies.  But the trapping bugs the hell outta me.  The animal getting snapped on the leg then struggling to exhaustion and slowly freezing to death sucks.  Or sometimes they chew the limb off to escape.  I usually compare how the animals die with how I'd prefer to die if I were hunted, and trapping seems like a really tortuous way to die.

Ok so it earns them $$$ but man, I'd find another way to earn it.

[Sup wit dat]

Andy's new pups are all kinds of adorable.  Hey, Andy, luv ya man, but how'd it feel to have your finger smashed and almost cut off?  Maybe kinda like it would feel if you got caught in a trap?  (Don't mean to harp on the trap thing but you know, karma, lol!)  

That was way cool showing Jessie racing his dogs, and he won!  I always wanted them to film him in a race and see how he controls the sled.  Awesome.  Hope they show more of that this season! 

I also would've liked more of the Arctic Wildlife Refuge.  That place looks both terrifying and amazing.

[Diane M]

If you want more of the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, you should watch The Last Alaskans, my favorite Alaska show.

[TheRealT]

On 7/24/2017 at 3:37 PM, ProfCrash said:

I would Glenn a lot better if he owned up to the fact that most of what he has out there were delivered to him and was bought in a store in advance. He lives a tough life, when he is out there, but he leaves every year for a period of time. He does not live out there year round, he is not using native techniques or weapons. He is someone who enjoys extreme camping and has a great camp site set up. My problem with him is that he is pretentious. He presents himself as this total off grider using age old techniques and not as a well off dude who can afford to take 6 months of the year off to live in the wilderness in a camp where all the goods have been bought in a store and delivered to his location.

There is no way he carried in or built the foundation for his tent, the canvas for his tent, the various steel drums he uses as stoves and the larger size tools that he has. He is hunting with a modern gun, has a modern canoe and a lot of premade tools and supplies.

What he is doing is hard but it is much more of a hobby for him then a lifestyle. Most of the others that we see are living a specific lifestyle all year. They are doing what they do because they love it and they want to survive a difficult way of life. Glenn likes the solitude and to camp and hunt but he is cool with walking out every year, hanging in the city and then coming back with more gear that he bought at a store.

I am more impressed by Erik, the hunting guide, and his wife or the Hailstones.

I picture Glenn with a GPS tracking device that will bring in a rescue crew if he gets hurt doing whatever it is he is doing out on the Brooks Range.

This is my issue with Glenn too. From what I've learned of his life, it seems that he is independently wealthy. He has talked about how he could live wherever he wanted, but he chooses to live in the Brooks Range and about how he traveled all over the world looking for the perfect place to live before he chose to live there. Which, good for him, but it's hardly admirable to be independently wealthy and live exactly where/how you've chosen to live after spending your adult life shopping around for the coolest place to live. I see nothing noble about the way he CHOOSES to live (not that there's anything particularly ignoble about it either). He CHOOSES what modern technology to use, CHOOSES when to live in a remote cabin instead of in Fairbanks, CHOOSES when to hike 70 miles home rather than taking a plane, etc., etc. He can do what he wants, but it bugs that he seems so self-righteous about it. A rich person who chose to live in NYC could talk about how he has to deal with crowds; hot, sticky summers; crime; noise; bad smells; and other problems he wouldn't have if he lived in Greenwich, CT, but that wouldn't make him "admirable" for making that choice. Especially, if, like Glenn, he wasn't making the choice to somehow benefit others, but only because that's what he liked/wanted to do. 

Someone on FB asked Glenn why he doesn't use a chainsaw and he explained that he used to, but when his daughter was a toddler she used to ask to go with him when he chopped wood and he started using non-electric saws because it was safer/easier with her. He realized that woodcutting was more enjoyable for him that way, so he kept doing it. When I read that I realized that everyone else on the show doesn't have time to spend a whole day (or whatever) chopping wood because it's more enjoyable being able to hear the birds and not have gas fumes in their faces. For them, chopping wood is a necessity to survive, along with a bunch of other things they have to do to take care of themselves/their families. Glenn doesn't need to make a living and he only needs to get a relatively small amount of food and water for himself. So his life is like one big, awesome camping trip more so than a situation in which he has to struggle to survive every day. Everyone else seems like they NEED to do a lot of work to survive and don't have the luxury of choosing not to use the best tools at their disposal because it's more fun that way.

[walnutqueen]

Well, I don't have any problem with Glenn.  Enjoying one's life and talking about it doesn't rise to the level of torches & pitchforks - for me.  These folks ALL take some pride in their chosen lifestyles; and even some of the Last Alaskans don't spend the entire year living off the land.  So he has a trust fund - wish I did!!!

Everyone's darling Erik married his way into a thriving business, and nobody's knocking him for that ...

[Magic Mare]

On 7/24/2017 at 9:08 AM, Medicine Crow said:

^^^^  You have "verbalized" my thoughts exactly!!  Kudos!!!  ^^^^

Thank you Medicine Crow.

What I don't understand is how some people here think that killing animals in order to feed a meat dependent society need be done in a way that maximizes the animals escape options.

Can you imagine telling your village that you had two options for your village hunt?  One was in the river that guaranteed you harvest the maximum meat for winter.   The other was on the open tundra that would make it hard to approach unseen.   So to be fair to the animal, you opted for the open tundra!?    And so you only managed to harvest a third of what you could have.   

From what I've read here, without 3-5  pounds of meat fat per day, Alaskans can become very ill.  

[Beden]

10 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

Well, I don't have any problem with Glenn.  Enjoying one's life and talking about it doesn't rise to the level of torches & pitchforks - for me.  These folks ALL take some pride in their chosen lifestyles; and even some of the Last Alaskans don't spend the entire year living off the land.  So he has a trust fund - wish I did!!!

Everyone's darling Erik married his way into a thriving business, and nobody's knocking him for that ...

Thank you and I agree Walnut. We all make our choices as to how to live and , if we're fortunate to be wealthy or, at least, well off enough to not have to be tied to things we'd rather not be, then well and good. I personally don't give a rats ass if someone disagrees with the choices I've made and, I suspect, neither does Glenn. He has the option of renting a plane or simply living a more comfortable and far easier life; I don't criticize him for declining to do so, just as I frankly and openly admired a good friend who decided to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, start to finish while in his 60's. Hiked the entire trail alone and wrote a well received book about it. My friend has the means to simply buy a plane ticket or even just drive, he opted to do what he wanted for the experience and the personal challenge. I see little difference. Glenn also impresses me in that he states--often--that when he started this he taught himself what worked and what didn't...I give him credit. What he chooses to do isn't the easy route.

It's not for me, but then I assume my life wouldn't be for him.

[ProfCrash]

Trapping does bother me for exactly the reasons you said, I get that it is the same result but the idea of extended suffering really bothers me.

[ProfCrash]

11 hours ago, walnutqueen said:

Everyone's darling Erik married his way into a thriving business, and nobody's knocking him for that ...

Erik had an active guiding business in the first season. He had built his own house, complete with solar power and a battery system to keep the house powered when there was not a lot of sun. He was eating just fine, had his own equipment and the like. I believe he met his wife on a trip that he was guiding. While he might have married into a family with a bit more, he was successful before he married. That is why he was on the show in the first place. He actually did not appear in the second season, I suspect because he was dating and getting married since when he re-appeared on the third season he was married.

Glenn is welcome to live how he lives and be very happy with it. I think it is cool that he has chosen this life style over many others. I would simply prefer that he be a bit more honest about why he can do it and less pretentious. He makes choices that are good for him but not practical for others. It is kind of like the difference between Les Stroud on Survivorman and Bear on his ridiculous survival show. I can actually learn something from Les, he is showing reasonably practical survival tools and practices. It is not always exciting but it is useful and you understand what he is doing. Or I can watch Bear's much more exciting "This is what they teach in the SAS, an organization that less then 1% of professional military folk in the UK are able to join," I can't repeat 99% of what he does, I don't have the training or the equipment or the experience, but it is more interesting to watch then Les.

I always preferred Les to Bear because one was useful and practical and you understood why they were doing it. Bear was all show and no substance. And it turns out he was staying in hotels and eating at restaurants.

So yeah, give me Erik and Andy and the Hailstones. I get why they are doing it. They love the lifestyle and are working hard to be there because they choose to be and they have to do what they are doing. Glenn is making a cool choice but he is making decisions because he can not because he has to. And that is a huge difference. And there is nothing wrong with that but Glenn presents it like his choices are better then others when in reality they work for him because he has a variety of different options, ax vs chainsaw, opposed to the folks who are choosing to live in similar environments but have to use the chainsaw because they don't have the money to have stuff sent in.

If Glenn was a bit more honest about why he can be out there living that way, I would be less annoyed with him. But he does not portray himself honestly and comes off insincere to me. So kudos to him for living a challenging lifestyle but he loses watchability points for me because he is pretentious and his choices are less about surviving for a living and more about surviving for a lifestyle and fun that he can walk away from easily enough. The others don't have that same option so their stories are more raw and real, to me.

[humbleopinion]

Andy is back and he showed us the grody tip of the left pinky that got crushed off in a logging accident...Self medical intervention is not pretty so spoiler alert when the bandage came off...eww

Am surprised he doesn't have new female company since it's been a few seasons since Kate left.

Seems he is building his numbers of dogs back up...the pups are adorable.

[ProfCrash]

No offense but would you want to live with Andy? It takes a certain type of person to live that lifestyle and those people cannot be the easiest to live with. Erik found Martha May, someone raised hunting and off grid. Chip found Agnes, someone raised living a native lifestyle. I would imagine that finding your Agnes or Martha May is hard. And both Chip and Erik come off as people who are a bit more laid back then Andy. Andy is pretty demanding and in your face. So a super type A, off gridder. Yeah, I am not surprised he is on his own right now, just like I wasn't surprised when I read that Kate had left Andy. She was struggling with her back and other issues and Andy was criticizing her fence.

I am always amazed at some of the folks who found spouses on show like this or Alaskan Railroad and the like because it is not an easy life. Heck, could you imagine living with Sue? Clearly she had been with someone, she has kids and it sounds like she raised those kids. We see her family come up to help her, so we know she has contact with her family. But she is solo by choice. She doesn't live an easy life and is someone who likes to be in control. She is ok with calling in help when she really needs to but she is not going to do so unless she is pretty close to desperate.

[peaceknit]

Wow, Andy looks thinner and so much older than when he was with his wife. But - he appears happier and more stable. I think he's just one of those people who really prefers to be alone and thrives on it. 

[peaceknit]

18 hours ago, Magic Mare said:

Thank you Medicine Crow.

What I don't understand is how some people here think that killing animals in order to feed a meat dependent society need be done in a way that maximizes the animals escape options.

Can you imagine telling your village that you had two options for your village hunt?  One was in the river that guaranteed you harvest the maximum meat for winter.   The other was on the open tundra that would make it hard to approach unseen.   So to be fair to the animal, you opted for the open tundra!?    And so you only managed to harvest a third of what you could have.   

From what I've read here, without 3-5  pounds of meat fat per day, Alaskans can become very ill.  

I'd much rather see people hunting and harvesting their food than hunting for a trophy to hang on their wall, or a skin for their floor. Big game hunters sicken me.

[NoJustNo]

On 7/31/2017 at 9:38 PM, walnutqueen said:

Well, I don't have any problem with Glenn.  Enjoying one's life and talking about it doesn't rise to the level of torches & pitchforks - for me.  These folks ALL take some pride in their chosen lifestyles; and even some of the Last Alaskans don't spend the entire year living off the land.  So he has a trust fund - wish I did!!!

Everyone's darling Erik married his way into a thriving business, and nobody's knocking him for that ...

I don't see anyone even 1/10th this mad-not sure what you're talking about? He's a good guy-just a bit 'holier than thou'- although less now than in the earlier seasons. 

[Sup wit dat]

On 8/1/2017 at 5:45 PM, peaceknit said:

Wow, Andy looks thinner and so much older than when he was with his wife. But - he appears happier and more stable. I think he's just one of those people who really prefers to be alone and thrives on it. 

He's never looked really healthy to me but, yeah, he seems especially thin this year.  And the solitude does seem to agree with him.  He hasn't even cursed this season, haha.  The big question, though:  did he give the iceboat 5 stars on Amazon, lol.

I wonder if Jessie has a sponsor since his pups were wearing some nice coats that say "Cotter Racing Team."  If so, good for him because from what I've read mushing is ridiculously expensive.

I don't know if they got a new camera crew or drones but the scenery in this week's episode was stunning.  I seem to remember there being a lot of facial closeups but this week there were wide vistas that included the twilight sky and surrounding scenery.  Just beautiful.  And that shot of Denali during Jessie's segment blew me away.  Damn that's a huge mountain.  (The shot of Denali is at the end of his segment where he didn't find any ptarmigan.)

[pasdetrois]

I guess Jesse had someone feed his other dogs at his home base while he took a small team camping. At some point in this series I realized that some of the cast are relatively close to Eagle.

The dogs and puppies made me happy this episode. Andy's dogs are magnificent and very well cared for. When Jessie first appeared on the show, he and his dogs looked like they were malnourished. His dogs are still thin looking, but perhaps that is their breed.

If Andy ever has to retire to town due to age and ailments, I fear for his neighbors. He will be an extremely unhappy guy.

[Beden]

On 8/4/2017 at 0:17 PM, pasdetrois said:

If Andy ever has to retire to town due to age and ailments, I fear for his neighbors. He will be an extremely unhappy guy.

With respect I don't know that he's all that unhappy now and seems to accept his realities pretty well. He seems to take enormous pride in his homestead and everything he's  built there over thirty years--while admitting to be mostly self taught--and largely with his own hands. It looks to me that he has the life he basically wants and, if he's lonely, deals with it. He also goes into town now and then and certainly has interactions with people then, likely with friends. Last season he had that helper person building the yurt with him and, as I recall, a few years ago he and Kate hosted a man who wanted to learn survival skills from him. That's a tremendous base of accomplishments to draw from and just the little we see.

I do think that, if/when he has to leave his home due to age or injury--yes, he may well then be an unhappy and probably frustrated  man. But he strikes me as being  resourceful and, if he wants, should be able to still make a life for himself. No, not the same life, but anyone as self-sustaining as Andy should be able to work with whatever he has. Speaking from personal experience, we all end up having to make hard decisions and compromises. You either deal or don't, as you wish. Pissing and moaning aboutyour fate gets you nowhere, something I think Andy would grasp fast...and probably already has.

Edited August 5, 2017 by Beden

[bosawks]

Part of my love of this show is the incongruous dramatic music when they're doing something  innocuous.

Pounding bass, dramatic shot of person aiming with rifle and then..........a squirrel.

Love it!

[captain1]

Was anyone else's heart in their throat when Glenn was descending that mountain in the dark?  Amazing videography though!

[Magic Mare]

On 8/1/2017 at 5:51 PM, peaceknit said:

I'd much rather see people hunting and harvesting their food than hunting for a trophy to hang on their wall, or a skin for their floor. Big game hunters sicken me.

I couldn't agree more.  'Hunters' who hire a guide for thousands of dollars are only interested In killing the best genetic example of the species, which removes it from the gene pool.   It's not for food...  The statement is... I slaughtered the best of the best, with my guide, my assault quality weapon, and home comforts to keep me comfy cozy on the trip.

The Alaskan substincence hunters are far more interested in which gender was the best tasting and best fat producer at various times of year.  I've never heard any of the cast rave about the points on the animals rack.  Again, everyone's  first concern seems to be body fat for good eating.  And they work for it, rain, snow, frigid, day or night.

When I was a kid, my little brother had serious medical bills.  Money was tight, but my folks wanted to give us family time.  Our summer fishing vacations to freshwater lakes did that but also helped subsidize the cost of our summer family break.  And frankly, the lake did have some trophies.  But those could be gamey tasting fish  Instead we fished for white bass (actually a kind of perch) that was delicious and had a high daily limit since the lake was plentiful with them.   I recall how happy my mom (the family accountant) was when ended our vacation with loads of packages of average sized frozen fillets to eat thru the rest of the year. We weren't looking for the show fish.  Just healthy ones, and we had fun being a part of the supply process.  I did have to kill those fish so I could fillet them but knowing they would feed our family completely erased any regrets.  

[Medicine Crow]

Totally agree @Magic Mare ... subsistence hunting is exactly that ... you eat what you catch/hunt.

[Diane M]

He's pretty nimble-footed.  Must be part mountain goat.

[ProfCrash]

On ‎8‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 0:17 PM, pasdetrois said:

The dogs and puppies made me happy this episode. Andy's dogs are magnificent and very well cared for. When Jessie first appeared on the show, he and his dogs looked like they were malnourished. His dogs are still thin looking, but perhaps that is their breed.

I suspect that we would have heard something by now if his dogs were in bad shape. He races with them and is on a TV show, someone would have hit him hard if the dogs were not properly cared for. They are working dogs, which means that they are going to be lean because of the calories they burn when they are working. They all appear to be very energetic and happy so I don't think there is much to worry about.

[SRTouch]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

I suspect that we would have heard something by now if his dogs were in bad shape. He races with them and is on a TV show, someone would have hit him hard if the dogs were not properly cared for. They are working dogs, which means that they are going to be lean because of the calories they burn when they are working. They all appear to be very energetic and happy so I don't think there is much to worry about.

Yep, no expert here, but I sort of equate them to human runners - long and lean muscles versus bulky weight lifter muscles. If his dogs were supposed to be heavy hauling dogs I'd think they were skinny, but he's after long distance speed (with the occasional sprint race) with minimal weight in the sled.

Oh, and again no expert here, but my understanding is that once you reach big time racing the dogs' health is watched pretty closely - not just by the racers but by vets brought in by the race officials. I remember an episode of Dr Oakley where she was checking dogs when they arrived at a mandatory rest stop, and she pulled dogs out of the race when she felt they were overheated or too tired.

[rcc]

I remember my first time at a sled dog race and was surprised that they weren't bigger. They run their calories off apparently. Before the race they ate, rested a little, did their business, then were so excited when they were set up for the race. When the race started they pulled excitedly then settled down and ran at a consistent pace.

It is a lot of fun watching sled dogs race. I wasn't at the Iditarod but was at a pretty big one with many contestants from all over Canada and the U.S. 

[peaceknit]

So...were the Hailstones dropped this season because of Chip's incarceration? I've only seen them once, on the first season epi.

[Diane M]

Probably the reason.  I don't miss them.

[Sup wit dat]

8 hours ago, Diane M said:

Probably the reason.  I don't miss them.

Same!  (I always fast forwarded through their segments.) 

I didn't get why Glenn used the ice block for his in-ground refrigerator.  He did all that work to get a 100+lb block of ice then filled the gaps with water so it would freeze.  But instead of the ice block why didn't he just pack snow in there with water?  It would also freeze solid so why all the extra work for the ice block?  (Maybe I'm overthinking this...)

Edited August 12, 2017 by Sup wit dat

[humbleopinion]

He wanted to show off his ice saw...

[peaceknit]

Somebody was listening: http://www.npr.org/2017/08/15/543703415/british-columbia-will-ban-grizzly-bear-trophy-hunting

[ProfCrash]

I am with humbleopinion that he was trying to show off. Alternatively, it is possible that the frozen water actually lasts a lot longer then packed snow. I am sure that someone who understands chemistry or the process of transitioning from a solid to a water might be able to explain the longevity of each option. Ice blocks were sold for ages as a main source of refrigeration, I am guessing that there is a scientific explanation for his decision.

It could be that the ground is cold enough to keep things cold but not so cold as to cause the snow to freeze. The ice is already frozen and will stay in that state in the hole and will stay cold longer then packed snow.

I just watched the episode where Glenn made the igloo. That was pretty cool.

Edited September 1, 2017 by ProfCrash
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