covid-19 in bush — John Stember

RECENT
PORTFOLIO
LONGTERM
FOR FUN
COMMERCIAL
EXPEDITIONS
- Into the Brooks Range of Alaska
- Bicycling 2,000 miles to Alaska

BIO

Menu

jstember1@gmail.com

RECENT
PORTFOLIO
LONGTERM
FOR FUN
COMMERCIAL
EXPEDITIONS
- Into the Brooks Range of Alaska
- Bicycling 2,000 miles to Alaska

BIO

In the 1980s, Steve left his job as a teacher in the Lower 48 and drove up to Alaska with his family to pursue a dream to live on the land. Over the next ten years, Steve and his wife Kathy ran sled dogs, maintained a trap line, and raised their dau

Steve and his wife Kathy, along with the help of a friend, built this wood cabin by hand in the 1980s. To this day, there is no electricity, cell phone service, and the nearest town of 20 people is 20 miles away.

In this part of the Arctic, air temperatures can drop to -50° F and direct sunlight all but disappears below the horizon from November to January. Access is also limited to small aircraft, dog teams, and snowmobiles.

In order to get to Steve’s remote cabin in the fall, Eric boated me and my supplies in a freight style canoe upriver for two days. Eric and his family live in Bettles year round.

Steve relies on his headlamp and lanterns to split kindling and keep the fire going in his cabin around midnight on October 15, 2020.

As winter begins to set in, direct sunlight quickly becomes a commodity. In January, the average length of daylight is only four hours.

Steve and his young dog Loki test out the dangerous ice during the early stages of winter near his remote cabin in the Arctic on October 18, 2020.

Steve stands on the edge of a large bonfire as a day of wood clearing burns in the twilight. With nowhere to process garbage, and to avoid attracting large animals in the area, the best way to break things down that you cannot reuse is by burning.

Steve wanders through the forest looking for signs from the Athabaskan trappers who seasonally used the area before him.

Although Steve brought solar power to the area for the first time during the COVID-19 pandemic, the only type of building power is by problem solving, using your hands, or hauling in reservoirs of gasoline.

Steve looks out over the country during the moose rut in the Brooks Range on Wednesday, October 4, 2020. Getting a moose in the fall is a critical part of the seasonal cycle and can provide meat for the entire winter if stored properly.

In Native Alaskan culture, it is said the lights will come down and take you away if you whistle or draw attention to yourself. The Aurora borealis ripples over the taiga almost every night during the winter in northern Alaska.