Jun 27

Written by:
6/27/2001 12:00 AM 

When the early Cripple River crew arrived in Nome, they were greeted by a late spring snow storm. The snow covered the beach road from the tundra to the sea. The road was impassable for the camp trucks, which meant the first crew had to make a chilly ride from Nome to Camp on ATV'S. The ride down the ice and snow laden beach was quite a challenge as they had to go fast enough to keep from getting stuck in the snow yet slow enough to keep from driving into a crevasse. When the crew arrived in Camp (which was buried in snow) the digging-out process began. "The snow was so deep you had to bend over to enter the Chow Hall, and there was snow inside the building too! It took six and one-half hours to shovel the snow inside back out", said one crew member. Add to this, damp wood that doesn't want to burn, wet clothes, soggy sleeping bags and an inch of new snow. You can see why the early crew is made up of hardy prospectors who aren't afraid of "roughing it". Things change fast at Cripple River, one week later Chip was seen picking flowers!

Like a great shaggy bear the Cripple River Camp is coming to life after a long, winter hibernation. As the blanket of snow melts, the crew is hard at work getting the camp ready for the GPAA gold rush of 2001. Getting the camp ready is a gargantuan job made up of many smaller tasks. To name just a few: water lines run, repaired and the system purified; chow hall pantry shelves filled with individual servings of nutritious easy to prepare food so each person fixes what they like; outhouses and showers scrubbed and disinfected; hooches cleaned; stoves and stovepipes set up and working; roofs repaired; wood hauled in and cut; supply restocked and organized; the store set up; all the myriad of motors, pumps, and gold getting equipment serviced; the dredge and trommel operations working; upper camps opened (still LOTS of snow up there); beach boxes repaired and modified (that's- what this camp is about-getting the gold); our luxury limousines (giant trucks rigged for rough running) to bring out prospectors to the camp and - well the list goes on and on. Along with the thousands of jobs that getting the camp ready for summer entails, is added the buzz and hammering of new construction. A chapel is being built and many buildings are in the process of remodeling. For a primitive camp we do have some creature comforts like a shower and a microwave. Of course if the miners of the early 1900's Nome gold rush saw us, they would laugh at our roughing it and call us all TENDERFEET!! They sure never had it this good.

There is more to Nome Alaska and The Cripple River Camp than just gold. There is excellent fishing for Dolly Varden trout and Arctic Char in the Cripple River. Nearby, the Sinuk and the Nome rivers have Arctic Grayling and Northern Pike. With a beach and a river at our doorstep, there are tiny sea shells, unusual colored stream tumbled rocks including rare pieces of Alaskan Jade, beautiful wild scenery, and many special photo opportunities. This has been a good spring for animal watching, we saw a polar bear from camp (from a safe distance) a baby seal, a mother moose with twins, a mother grizzly bear with three cubs, a bull moose, a musk ox, arctic squirrels, a porcupine and many different birds. Flowers are starting to bloom, and bushes are budding out.

This unusual unspoiled place has a unique beauty and charm. The people are friendly and there are unusual shopping and dining experiences in town. June 21st, the longest day of the year, gave us over 23 hours of sunlight, and no night. Last weekend the Midnight Sun Festival in Nome included a polar bear swim, Lions Club Barbecue, a big parade, river raft race, and more! This is a real celebration that epitomizes the small town American spirit that some of us have never been lucky enough to experience. It was certified a "REAL HOOT", by Camp Manager, John Backstrom. He also told me this year's crew is the best ever in terms of talent, cooperation, and spirit-----it's going to be a GREAT YEAR!!!

Now the important question---how's the gold? As you all know the GPAA doesn't control Mother Nature or the gold. But I know there is gold all over here. So I tried an experiment. I did my laundry and panned the water- I found color. I swept out the outhouses and the showers and panned the dirt - more color. I took dirt from under the truck bumpers - panned out color. I swept out my hooch, cleaned my ATV and panned the dirt - yep, color. Now I'm not talking nuggets, I am talking flour GOLD!!! If you work hard, and listen to the experienced miners you will get gold. The camp is here, the help and equipment are here, and the gold is here. All that's missing is you. So until we see you, may the bottom of your pan turn gold.