“Here skies are clearer and deeper and, for the greater wonders they reveal, a thousand times more eloquent of the eternal mystery than those of softer lands.” - Rockwell Kent
No matter how much or how little you know about Alaska, you know that it’s big. How big, however, is not something that any human imagination can comprehend.
One could cut two-thirds off Alaska and say, “No roads or trails penetrate these parts.” Yet in these roadless regions are hundreds upon hundreds of tiny villages, rich in traditional and indigenous cultures living right on the edge of modernity, subsisting largely on resources directly from the land. In Alaska, rural means off the road system and these villages are accessible only by small plane or boat.
It is through these places that I have traveled with my partner Bjorn Olson by means of sea kayak, packraft, and fat-bike, in both summer and winter, and I have documented my adventures in a stack of nature journals.
After traversing thousands of miles across Alaska’s most remote regions, I have gained a completely new perspective on wilderness and nature. Mostly I have learned humility. I have also learned that without trails or human-intervention, nature creates lines and routes that are conducive to human migration. Like a tiny ant that crosses the yard one blade of grass at a time, humans are adapted to cover ground and water over vast, untamed reaches.
Most Alaskan landscapes are so remote and so dynamic, that documentation of natural events is sparse. I have used my journal to collect citizen science information on climate-change signals such as shore-zone erosion, seabird die-offs, de-glaciation, and the spread of trees.
Human-powered wilderness trips require tremendous efforts of all kinds. Maintaining a regular practice of journaling while underway requires dedication to overcoming the challenges related to time, energy, and cold. But the grandeur of the landscapes and the richness of wildlife means that inspiration is never lacking. Over the years I have accumulated a treasury of stories and experiences, often enhanced by the practice of journaling, and I know that I will continue to collect them as long as I am able.
See more of Kim’s work at KimsNatureDrawings.com, and Kim’s Nature Drawings on Facebook and Instagram and more of Bjorn’s work at MjolnirofBjorn.com.