National Geographic offers a variety of educational programs on Cable... one of which that I watch occasionally is Life Below Zero, which focuses on several people living in the remote areas of Alaska. It tracks how they live: hunting, building shelters, and planning ahead for the especially harsh winters that take place in these northern territories... temperatures can drop to 40 below zero sometimes. Food is harvested by fishing, trapping small animals, and hunting for moose. A bull moose can feed two people all winter long. And... there are huge forests of trees that can provide wood for a fire as well as long that can be used to build a cabin.
After watching a few episodes, essential tools are:
- dogs for a sled
- a dog sled
- chainsaw
- plastic containers
- rifle and ammunition
- hatchet and knife
- snow skis
- snow mobile
- small boat with motor
- warm clothes
- gloves and boots
- waders
- small hand tools
IRONICALLY...
I am watching these shows inside my warm house in sweat pants and a short sleeve shirt, drinking coffee, and not really worried about the cold winter months or where my next meal is coming from while supervising the cooking of split pea soup with turkey burgers instead of ham.
YES...
it is true that these people get paid by National Geographic to be filmed as they live their lives, so they are not totally without a source of income to pay for food if they really need it, but it is interesting to watch them as they pretend to be totally self-sufficient.
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