Monthly Archives: December 2016
Denali
Denali, as seen flying into Fairbanks. Until Saturday night’s snowfall, The Mountain had been unusually social, showing itself off in the clear, subzero air.
Before the snowfall
Climbing up Murphy Dome
Post Script: A Happy 5-0 to one of our sponsors: the President of Minnesota Expedition Outfitters.
1957
A Flashback Friday Edition:
The Royal Iraqi Army with a Series I Land Rover and a Dodge W100 Power Wagon in 1957.
Photo Credit: Life Magazine
Happiness is a day without long underwear in December
Dog days of winter?
I arrived back in Alaska on December 7th, and today was the first day that the temperature rose above zero since my return. I have no idea how many days it was below zero prior to my return, I’m told that it had been weeks. I do know that we have seen quite a few -30’s of late.
I knew something was off around 4am, when I woke up due to being too warm. It was -8 at 6am, and by noon the temperature had risen to a balmy +12F. Suddenly, my hat is too itchy, my coat too heavy, my feet too warm in the mukluks. It was invigorating!
The talk is for temps in the 20’s for Saturday, and I’m practically giddy.
Sometimes, it’s all about the simple pleasures in life.
Stack Robber
A stack robber, or heat reclaimer, has been a popular heating accessory for decades in Alaska’s Interior. When I outfitted Alaskans for a living, I sold hundreds of these every year.
They install in the chimney pipe of either a wood or oil stove. The only difference between the two units, is that a wood stove reclaimer has the crimping going down towards the stove, and a reclaimer for an oil stove has the crimping going away from the stove.
The heat reclaimer has a series of 10 tubes, which the exhaust from the stove travels around as it makes its way through the chimney. The units are thermostatically controlled: At a certain temperature, a fan in the back kicks on, and blows the warm air out into the room. When the stack temperature drops to a certain level, the fan kicks off.
I do not run mine all of the time, but it’s quite the space heater when temps drop to minus forty or minus fifty. Since Alaska has some of the highest electric costs in the Nation, my bill definitely goes up when I plug anything in. Like anywhere, there is a price to pay for comfort.
The rod in the front, pulls a plate over the ten tubes, and clears them of any creosote that has built up.
As with any wood stove, what matters most, is burning dry wood. I have never had a creosote problem in either my chimney piping or in the stack robber, with dry firewood. There is no short cut here; I usually burn wood that has been seasoned two years, at the minimum.
Walk-In Freezer
The hardest part about leaving Alaska’s Interior in the winter, is returning to the Interior in the winter. Especially, when you rely on a wood stove for your heat source.
It was in the vicinity of -22F outside when I unlocked the cabin door. My ride from the airport was in a car with a thermometer that stops at -22, and my outdoor thermometer finally gave up the ghost around September.
The thermometer inside the cabin clearly read -15F.
The plan:
Get a fire going in the wood stove.
Start the truck, and let that warm up.
Add firewood and plug in the stack robber.
Drive to the store to pick up enough groceries to get me through a day or two.
Return to a slightly warmer cabin, add firewood, turn on the heated mattress pad, then walk over to the neighbor’s for dinner.
What actually happened:
I left Alaska in such a hurry that I forgot to have kindling ready.
First step was to put on a hat and warmer gloves. It was 6pm.
Second step was to split some spruce for kindling.
Once the fire was going, I went out to start the truck, but my neighbor did not plug it in like I requested. For the first time, my Chevy did not start.
Plugged in truck.
Returned to cabin to add firewood and plug in stack robber.
Walked over to the neighbor, and casually mentioned my truck did not start.
Borrowed neighbor’s warm car to drive to town.
Returned with groceries to a cabin that had warmed to -5F. Progress at 8pm.
Added firewood.
Walked over to neighbor’s for a strong cocktail, and dinner.
Returned to my cabin at 10pm to add firewood and crank up heated mattress pad to a level I’ve never experienced before. The cabin was now at +20F.
Went back to neighbor’s for another cocktail.
Returned to my cabin at midnight. The air temperature was +55F inside the cabin. Tolerable. I filled the wood stove, and went to bed exhausted. I had been up for 23 hours. Love travel days.
Was awake by 7am. The cabin was now 65 degrees. The water jug on the counter was starting to thaw; those on the floor were still solid blocks of ice.
It total, in took 36 hours for the cabin to truly heat up, reaching all nooks and crannies, and for walls, furniture and a fully stocked wood pile to stop radiating cold.
Chevy starts up immediately after being plugged in overnight.
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