Against the Wind

Even during the short summer months, the subarctic can be a harsh environment, and winter brought sub-zero temperatures, gale-force winds, blinding snow, overflow ice, and darkness. For the first rangers on winter patrol, spruce trees with large flaring skirts were a welcome source of protection because shelters were few and far between, allowing them some cover from the elements. In later years, these trees also provided shelter in the form of cabin walls, with round logs used for walls and sawed into planks for flooring, roofs, tables, shelves, and shutters, smaller poles used for roof supports, chairs, and tables, moss chinked between logs and mixed with dirt for added roofing insulation, and the trees themselves providing wind protection and fuel for warmth.

Healy, Alaska · United States