SEASON II: INTRODUCTION

Cows line up at Mugrage Hay & Cattle outside Delta Junction, Alaska. (Erin McKinstry / July 2019)

Cows line up at Mugrage Hay & Cattle outside Delta Junction, Alaska. (Erin McKinstry / July 2019)

Alaska Berries owner Brian Olson walks through his berry farm. He uses the berries to make wine and other products.

Alaska Berries owner Brian Olson walks through his berry farm. He uses the berries to make wine and other products.

Lynn Mayo picks vegetables at Spinach Creek Farm outside of Fairbanks, Alaska.

Lynn Mayo picks vegetables at Spinach Creek Farm outside of Fairbanks, Alaska.

Rita Jo Schoultz looks out on her peony field near Homer, Alaska. She says she had the first commercial peony field in the state.

Rita Jo Schoultz looks out on her peony field near Homer, Alaska. She says she had the first commercial peony field in the state.

Mike Emers shows a marijuana plant at Rosie Creek Farm outside of Fairbanks, Alaska.

Mike Emers shows a marijuana plant at Rosie Creek Farm outside of Fairbanks, Alaska.

Kevin Irvin of Sundog Orchards had his best apple season ever thanks to the warm weather in summer 2019.

Kevin Irvin of Sundog Orchards had his best apple season ever thanks to the warm weather in summer 2019.

Tenley Nelson of Wood Frog Farm in Strelna, Alaska, grows cabbage to sell, give away and put away for her family for the winter.

Tenley Nelson of Wood Frog Farm in Strelna, Alaska, grows cabbage to sell, give away and put away for her family for the winter.

Pete & Lynn Mayo sell vegetables at the Tanana Valley Farmer’s Market.

Pete & Lynn Mayo sell vegetables at the Tanana Valley Farmer’s Market.

Foundroot sources seeds from non-GMO, open-pollinated seed companies. They also grow their own seeds. All of their seeds are bred for northern climates.

Foundroot sources seeds from non-GMO, open-pollinated seed companies. They also grow their own seeds. All of their seeds are bred for northern climates.

 

I: CLEARING LAND

Sally Boisvert picks raspberries at her farm outside of Haines, Alaska. Her two children accompany her on a tour of Four Winds Farm. (Erin McKinstry / August 2019)

Sally Boisvert picks raspberries at her farm outside of Haines, Alaska. Her two children accompany her on a tour of Four Winds Farm. (Erin McKinstry / August 2019)

Freshly harvested summer squash and zucchini at Four Winds Farm.

Freshly harvested summer squash and zucchini at Four Winds Farm.

Buckets of winter squash at Four Winds Farm.

Buckets of winter squash at Four Winds Farm.

Sally Boisvert and her son walk through a field of cover crops at Four Winds Farm.

Sally Boisvert and her son walk through a field of cover crops at Four Winds Farm.

Sally Boisvert and her infant son walk through a high tunnel filled with tomatoes and other vegetables at Four Winds Farm.

Sally Boisvert and her infant son walk through a high tunnel filled with tomatoes and other vegetables at Four Winds Farm.

Sally Boisvert’s two-year-old daughter shows off her onion scepter at Four Winds Farm.

Sally Boisvert’s two-year-old daughter shows off her onion scepter at Four Winds Farm.

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The view from the upstairs of Sally Boisvert’s greenhouse at Four Winds Farm in Mosquito Lake, AK.

The view from the upstairs of Sally Boisvert’s greenhouse at Four Winds Farm in Mosquito Lake, AK.

Leah Wagner holds up recently harvested beans at Foundroot’s farm in Haines, Alaska.

Leah Wagner holds up recently harvested beans at Foundroot’s farm in Haines, Alaska.

A bean on the vine at Foundroot’s farm in Haines, Alaska.

A bean on the vine at Foundroot’s farm in Haines, Alaska.

Leah Wagner stands next to her newly installed irrigation system at her farm in Haines, Alaska. Her company Foundroot sells seeds and produce. (Erin McKinstry / August 2019)

Leah Wagner stands next to her newly installed irrigation system at her farm in Haines, Alaska. Her company Foundroot sells seeds and produce. (Erin McKinstry / August 2019)

Jars of seeds at Foundroot, an open-pollinated seed company.

Jars of seeds at Foundroot, an open-pollinated seed company.

Garlic sits on a rack to dry in Foundroot’s workspace in Haines, Alaska.

Garlic sits on a rack to dry in Foundroot’s workspace in Haines, Alaska.

 

II: THE MIXING ZONE

 
 
 

EPISODE III: THE BREADBASKET

EPISODE IV: A GREEN EVOLUTION

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SEASON II: EPISODE V

SEASON I

A snow machine track down to the Kennicott Glacier.

An ice cave on the Kennicott Glacier. Photo credit: Ian Gyori

Snow machining on the west side of the Kennicott Glacier. Photo credit: Ian Gyori

"One of the things that I sort of promised myself when I moved here was the mountains are so beautiful--just all the beauty that God has put around us--I don't want to ever become inured to that, I don't want to ever become where I just don't see it anymore. I want to notice every time." -Laurie Rowland

Benny, my dog, laying in the snow on the east side of the Kennicott Glacier with Mount Blackburn and Donoho Peak in the background.

The sunrise outside my cabin

"I've practiced my lifestyle so that my impact is not a detriment to the wider society, so that when my time on earth is gone, people won't say well look at the huge mess he left behind. I want to leave the world a better place. And it starts with the environment I live in." -Mark Vail

Mark Vail's spinning wheel and fat tire bike

"You have a lot of personal space and ability to decide what you want to do each day. So that freedom and flexibility is what I love about it." -Kristin Link

Mark Vail's reading nook

"Out here you have a more direct relationship with your survival needs." -Greg Fensterman

Mark Vail's wall of yarn

The view out Greg Runyan and Kristin Link's window

"When I first came out here, I only planned to take a summer off and go gold prospecting and the life absolutely agreed with me more than I ever imagined it would. I just never left. There's more adventure out here. Every day is your own." -Gary Green

"Slowly I realized that when I ate from the land, when I ate from the garden that I grew and I picked berries and fished and hunted from stuff that came directly out of my environment, that I was part of the environment where I lived." -Mark Vail

"I'm here mostly in the wintertime so if I could even throw one word out there, it's tranquility. I sew a lot of leather products and things, and it has always been a time to regather up my strengths. I feel that it gives me that sense of shutting down the machine for a little bit." -Malcolm Vance

" I think it's interesting to spend some time in an environment where there aren't all those distractions. I think you feel a little more in touch with the realities of your existence." -Greg Fensterman

"If you live in what would be a absolute total safe environment where nothing could ever go wrong, I don't know, you lose feeling. You're supposed to have certain amount of threats and keep your senses sharp. I wouldn't want it any other way. That's why I live in the wild too is because it is wild. It's unpredictable." -Gary Green

Downtown McCarthy

Mail day at the mail shack

The historic buildings in Kennicott

The Chugach Mountains highlighted behind the mail shack.

A broken-down bush plane on Gary Green's property

The historic mill building in Kennicott, used in the 1920s and 30s for processing copper ore

Gary Green's driveway

The bridge over the Kuskulana River

"The reason it was called the pink house: Me and my mother and stepdad were partners on it. They bought materials and I did the labor and built it and my mom went and got some paint for it. The paint she picked out was salmon, that was the name of the color, but when we painted it on it was pink." -John Adams

A broken-down truck in downtown McCarthy.

The vehicle bridge over the Kennicott River

"Growing up, I wasn't like, yeah, I'm gonna live in the middle of the woods. But it just sort of happened. I didn't realize how much I would enjoy it. Just being able to see your carbon footprint basically: How much trash do I accumulate, how much water do I need. It's amazing how much you don't need too." -Ali Towers

"The freedom of living out here is really what it comes down to." -Scott Anthony

Ali Towers, Scott Anthony and their friend Isaac Hinckley pulling their logging sled after cutting down a tree.

Mark Vail outside his cabin

Birds outside Mark Vail's cabin

A neighbor's dog, Buddy, jumps for a stick.

Scott Anthony's dog "Hobo Joe" guarding their firewood.

A boreal owl outside Mark Vail's house

Three grosbeak eat sunflower seeds outside Mark Vail's house.

"My life has no journey, has no beginning and end. I was born here and I'm here. I have nowhere to go, nothing to strive for except for making this existence more than what it is and helping others." -Martin Morrison

Martin Morrison shooting his homemade bow and arrow.

"The whole lifestyle out here of kind of less is more...was so appealing to me. It was like what I was looking for that I didn't know I was looking for." -Karla Freivalds

Propane tanks outside Greg Fensterman's house

"I'd never built anything before I started building this place. I mean you learn and there's people around who will share their own experience and knowledge and then there's the internet and YouTube." -Greg Fensterman

Greg Fensterman's wood shed

Malcolm Vance's log cabin

Gary Green's cabin

Outside my cabin in January. Photo credit: Ian Gyori