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TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
(If you don't feel like clicking on all the links for the pictures just go
to the website at the end of this post and click on TR:s for the web version) The Gourmet trip. As I sit down to write this trip report it strikes me as one of the oddest fishing and hunting trips I have ever experienced. Having been asked to join a friend of mine, Andreas, for some ptarmigan hunting and Arctic char fishing in one of the more remote locations you could imagine we left home on the first Saturday of September. We drove about 450 kilometers from the city of Skelleftea on the east coast of Sweden to Hemavan village west of the small city of Tarnaby and close to the Norwegian border. Hemavan is a village situated in a beautiful mountain valley with several peaks in excess of 1500 meters. We were to fly with a helicopter, the morning after our arrival to Hemavan, our destination being a distant mountain valley west of Ammarnas village another 80 kilometers away. http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJALL404.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJALL703.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/g.../FJALL1002.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJELL303.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJELL404.jpg My friend being a hunting and fishing guide had arranged for us to stay the night at Sanninggarden mountain resort. This resort being where he normally hosts his hunting guests has won several honoraries for their excellent food. This trip was meant to be a chance for my friend to do some hunting of his own, something not very likely to happen whilst guiding others and his attitude towards the whole thing was that we should spare no expenses in order to make the most out of the journey. I kept telling my friend that there were limits to what I could afford, but his only response to the whole matter was that it will be all right. On arrival to Sanninggarden Andreas told me and Jimmy, our companion for the trip, that he had some unfinished business. At this point I understood his ever present comment that the economic issue would be all right. His unfinished business was to pay Sanninggarden mountain resort for all the guest nights he had booked. Knowing that he was to pay something close to a quarter of a million Swedish crowns to the owners it became obvious that he expected a nice cut in prices on his own and our behalf. That night became the first of the gourmet dinners we were to have, although under a more civilized manner than the rest. The first dinner menu: Starter, small fried pancakes filled with Vasterbotten county cheese, whitefish eggs, crème fresh and onion. Red wine (I'm sorry to have to confess that the name has slipped my mind). Main course, reindeer fillet with fried potatoes and salad. Red wine. Dessert, fried Vasterbotten county cheese with cloudberry jam. Red wine. We ended dinner with coffee and brandy in a very nice lounge next to the dining room. The owner being a friend of Andreas presented us with a exquisite little problem. He poured three different brandies for us to try. If we could decide which one was the oldest he would serve us a brandy, Grand Champagne, where one bottle alone costs close to 5000 Swedish crowns. We succeeded to find out which brandy was the oldest and alas ended the day with a new experience. Early next morning we had an excellent breakfast and left for the helicopter platform. Our flight was to leave for a mountain valley west of Ammarnas, a valley with two lakes and a small stream connecting them. As we sat and waited for Andreas to deal with some unfinished business, i.e. paying for all the flights bought earlier during the hunting season, I realized that the long flight was going to cost more than I felt I could afford. Not really reassured by Andreas attitude that it would be ok, I listened to the discussion about the price. It was obvious that Andreas had been taking his business to these guys all autumn and now wanted to have a fair price, and I must confess that I was positively surprised by the price he negotiated. 15 minutes later the helicopter was loaded with our gear and we were on our way, holding the dogs in our laps as we flew. Andreas had used his contacts and booked a Saami cabin in the valley, which in turn meant that we were going to have the luxury of a roof over our heads, real beds and a kitchen to cook in. http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJALL602.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/g.../FJALL1402.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJELL202.jpg I call it a luxury since I normally live in a tent when I visit the mountain area. When we arrived at the cabin after 20 minutes of flying we more or less just dumped our gear, loaded our shotguns and were on our way in less than 10 minutes. Hunting for ptarmigan usually takes place at an altitude of around 800 +/- 200 meters above sea level (a.s.l.). Having the cabin located at the bottom of the valley, at about 300 meters a.s.l., meant one hell of a hike before we were where we thought the ptarmigans might reside. I'll cut this part of the story short suffice to say that we walked 35 kilometers that first day with altitude differences of 700 meters, and we shot 24 ptarmigans. http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJALL804.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/g.../FJALL1103.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/g.../FJALL1301.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJALL501.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJELL804.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJELL602.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJELL101.jpg Once we arrived back at the cabin I was totally beat. It was getting dark as we hung the ptarmigans in a shelter and I was starting to feel despair over the fact that I hadn't tried the fishing in the crystal clear little mountain stream yet. http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJALL901.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/g.../FJALL1204.jpg Knowing that we had to eat before any fishing could be done I started to discuss this with Andreas when Jimmy surprised us both by producing a moose fillet out of the cooler. The next surprise came when we started talking about wines. We had all, without previous discussions on the matter, brought several bottles of better wines Dinner second day: Starter, three different Italian cheese and a red wine named "Velletri Riserva". Main course, moose fillet with fried potatoes and Karl Johan mushroom sauce. With this was served a red wine, "Grand Sangre de Toro". Dessert, fresh cloudberries. After dinner, and a sip of Mcallan, we were feeling dazed but reluctant to end the day without some fishing. As I approached the lower lake's outlet I could see what could not be mistaken for anything else than Arctic char rises. The fish had started feeding close to shore as the darkness became more and more evident. Not knowing and not being able to see what was on the surface I tied on a small shrimp imitation. Immediate success, on my fifth cast something really heavy took the imitation and I set the hook. The feeling of large Arctic char is that of how it feels to fight with a large trout, if maybe slightly less aggressive. - Tomorrow's dinner! Andreas said behind me, and the smile on his face proved that he felt satisfied that I had the fish on. God knows he had been bragging about the quality of this water for quite some time. After close to five minutes the fish started to become tired and approached the net. Suddenly Andreas' smile was all gone, - jeez! What a fish! he exclaimed. As I saw the fish approach the net I became seriously nervous. This was obviously one of the largest Arctic char I've ever seen. A quick estimate said that it was anything between 22 and 24 inches long. I felt that it was the appropriate moment to tell Andreas, who was on his way to net the fish, that a mistake would cost him his life. Andreas is still alive today, and the fish was 56,5 cm long or 22,2 inches, the second largest char ever for me. Before it was so dark outside that we felt it would be difficult to walk the 300 meters back to the cabin I also caught a trout at lb 1 ½ . Having heard all day that I was behind in the number of ptarmigans shot, I fell asleep with a big smile on my lips. http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/g...dingoring2.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/g...dingoring1.jpg The third day started with some more fishing at the inlet of the lower lake and after 3 hours of catching and releasing Arctic char in the lb 1 - 2 range I was quite satisfied to go hunting again, even though I knew I was going to be humiliated by my two friends' shooting skills. After another day of hiking up and down the mountain slopes, living from cavern hung salami on dry bread with spring water from the mountain sides, I was quite intent on making the Arctic char dinner one worth remembering. Dinner third day: Starter, Different French cheeses and a red wine named "Marqués de Riscal Gran Reserva". Main course, Arctic char, baked in aluminum foil with red onion, chanterelles, olive oil, salt and pepper. With this was served mashed potatoes and a white wine, "Chateau Bonnet". Dessert, fresh cloudberries. To cut the story short we were too tired to do any fishing that evening. The next day we decided to cut down on the walking part as we all started to feel the kilometers affecting our leg muscles. The irony of it all was that in spite of this decision we ended up walking further that day than any of the ones before. The total sum of ptarmigans shot during the trip was to become exactly 100. Take into account that we saw more than six times that number and you realize that there is an abundance of these birds in the mountains. The strange thing is that since the hunt was introduced the number of birds seems to have increased. I wasn't going to fish anymore during this trip but I have placed the small stream and the two lakes firmly in my memory, and I will return one day. http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJELL703.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/g.../FJALL1604.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/g.../FJALL1503.jpg http://biphome.spray.se/salmo/ROFF/gourmet/FJALL202.jpg Dinner last day: Starter, sandwiches with the rest of last evening's Arctic char and some fine chopped shallot and an Italian wine named "Masi". Main course, ptarmigan breasts fried with onions, potatoes, cream, red wine and a touch of lingonberry jam. The wine served with this was the same "Masi" as before. Dessert, Mcallan. One might draw the conclusion that all the good food would've made us put on some weight, but as a matter of fact I lost 7,1 kilo and I know my friends also lost weight. The probable explanation being, that a normal day would have meant at least a dozen times walking up and down the mountain slope, from say 500 meters a.s.l. to 1000 meters a.s.l. Next time I will spend a little less time hunting and a little more time fishing. When it comes to dinner plans I will change nothing. / Roger Daytime engineer Lifetime flyfisherman If you feel like it, visit http://biphome.spray.se/angler/ for info on flyfishing in northern Sweden, Lapland |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
Thanks, I needed that. A widely spread saying from an old after-shave commercial, I think. But I really *did* need that. Counting the days, hmm, or perhaps still the months, to the Swedish clave already. -- Jarmo Hurri Spam countermeasures included. Drop your brain when replying, or just use . |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
"Willi" wrote in message ... Roger Ohlund wrote: (If you don't feel like clicking on all the links for the pictures just go to the website at the end of this post and click on TR:s for the web version) The Gourmet trip. Great photos! Exotic country for me. Reminds me of the Canadian far north. In the Canadian far north, float planes are used for transportation - much cheaper than helicopters. Are the lakes in this area too small for float planes or is there some other reason they aren't used? Willi, They are used, allthough they're not that much cheaper, but in this case we chose to fly with a helicopter since this was the company that Andreas had been using all throughout the autumn and he knew we would get a good price. /Roger Guess what race the dog is!?! |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
On 12/3/03 7:21 AM, in article , "Roger Ohlund"
wrote: (If you don't feel like clicking on all the links for the pictures just go to the website at the end of this post and click on TR:s for the web version) The Gourmet trip. snip Damn fine trip report and even better photographs. Or maybe the other way around. That is some gorgeous country you've got there. But now my stomach is rumbling and I'm going to spend the rest of the day on Orbitz! Thanks, Roger! Bill |
The gourmet trip. (long)
"Roger Ohlund" wrote in message ... The Gourmet trip... TR diced and pared Thanks for the wonderful morning read. The vastness and emptiness of the country you describe/show is amazing to me, and while the likelihood of my visiting is quite slim, I somehow feel happy just knowing that so much open space exists. Great photos, too! Cheers, Bill |
The gourmet trip. (long)
"Roger Ohlund" wrote in message ... The Gourmet trip. Hi Roger, Neat trip report. I like the format, with the Dinner stuff included. We have Ptarmigan here in Colorado, but I have never hunted them. ( a few years ago here the daily limit was 3 birds, and the total birds one could have in possession at any time was 6) I'm envious of the trip. That would be a once in a lifetime trip for me. . ..heh . .heh . . . but won't happen. Like the pics. The picture of the dog alone is stunning. It is something that is publishable. Thanks for sharing. BestWishes, DaveMohnsen Denver |
The gourmet trip. (long)
"Roger Ohlund" wrote in message ... (snip) Next time I will spend a little less time hunting and a little more time fishing. When it comes to dinner plans I will change nothing. Yeah, well, ANYONE can eat. Its those char, trout, ptarmigan and unbridled vistas that really got my mouth watering. What a life. What a planet. --riverman |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
I can't stop looking at those pictures! Are the bushes with such beautiful
fall color on them the berry bushes? Cloudberry and lingon? Gosh. I've got a question though that just struck me. I'm not a hunter, so bear with me, and I'm not trying to start an argument. Just a question from someone with no experience in that sport: On 12/3/03 7:21 AM, in article , "Roger Ohlund" wrote: The total sum of ptarmigans shot during the trip was to become exactly 100. What do you do with that many birds? I mean, did you take them all home with you to eat, or do you leave them there for the scavenger animals? I guess that's the thing about hunting that doesn't appeal to me- kind of tough to do catch and release! Thanks again for such a great illustrated report! Bill (whose great grandparents left Dalarna in the 1870's...) |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
"William Claspy" wrote in message ... I can't stop looking at those pictures! Are the bushes with such beautiful fall color on them the berry bushes? Cloudberry and lingon? Gosh. Blueberry bushes, they look like that after the first nights with freezing temperatures. I've got a question though that just struck me. I'm not a hunter, so bear with me, and I'm not trying to start an argument. Just a question from someone with no experience in that sport: The total sum of ptarmigans shot during the trip was to become exactly 100. What do you do with that many birds? I mean, did you take them all home with you to eat, or do you leave them there for the scavenger animals? We took them all home. I shot 17 of those, not as good as the other guys with the shotgun (they have both competed shooting trap). Andreas sells his birds to people that cannot go there hunting and a restaurant in London, he might save 10 for himself but not much more. What Jimmy did with his birds I haven't got a clue about. I guess that's the thing about hunting that doesn't appeal to me- kind of tough to do catch and release! Thanks again for such a great illustrated report! Bill (whose great grandparents left Dalarna in the 1870's...) Hey there, shouldn't you consider a visit?? /Roger |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
On 12/3/03 11:25 AM, in article , "Roger Ohlund"
wrote: "William Claspy" wrote in message ... The total sum of ptarmigans shot during the trip was to become exactly 100. What do you do with that many birds? I mean, did you take them all home with you to eat, or do you leave them there for the scavenger animals? We took them all home. Excellent! Bill (whose great grandparents left Dalarna in the 1870's...) Hey there, shouldn't you consider a visit?? Hence my comment about spending the morning on Orbitz... :-) Bill |
The gourmet trip. (long)
"DaveMohnsen" wrote in message hlink.net... "Roger Ohlund" wrote in message ... The Gourmet trip. Hi Roger, Neat trip report. I like the format, with the Dinner stuff included. We have Ptarmigan here in Colorado, but I have never hunted them. ( a few years ago here the daily limit was 3 birds, and the total birds one could have in possession at any time was 6) I'm envious of the trip. That would be a once in a lifetime trip for me. .. .heh . .heh . . . but won't happen. Like the pics. The picture of the dog alone is stunning. It is something that is publishable. Thanks for sharing. And thanks for the kind comment. I did not only shoot ptarmigan, but also shot three rolls of film. The dog picture is my own favorite. I use a Nikon F90x and a 35-70 f2.8D Nikkor lens or a 80-200 f2.8D Nikkor lens with it. Ever since buying this equipment I've started to be extra aware of the fact that lousy pictures would be due to me and not the equipment. I've contacted a couple of Swedish and English FF-magazines to hear whether or not they'd like me to write an article or two but up to now I've not had that much success. However, I don't really care all that much, I use writing as some kind of pastime and/or relaxation therapy so the publishing idea is of no matter. And the editor of my own web site isn't all that picky about what he publishes ;-) /Roger |
The gourmet trip. (long)
"Roger Ohlund" wrote in message ... (If you don't feel like clicking on all the links for the pictures just go to the website at the end of this post and click on TR:s for the web version) Astonishing landscape views and really nice hunting pictures! Just the kind of trip for me! Some day... Thanks, Roger! OsmoJ |
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TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
"Roger Ohlund" wrote in message ... "William Claspy" wrote in message ... I can't stop looking at those pictures! Are the bushes with such beautiful fall color on them the berry bushes? Cloudberry and lingon? Gosh. Blueberry bushes, they look like that after the first nights with freezing temperatures. I've got a question though that just struck me. I'm not a hunter, so bear with me, and I'm not trying to start an argument. Just a question from someone with no experience in that sport: The total sum of ptarmigans shot during the trip was to become exactly 100. What do you do with that many birds? I mean, did you take them all home with you to eat, or do you leave them there for the scavenger animals? We took them all home. I shot 17 of those, not as good as the other guys with the shotgun (they have both competed shooting trap). Andreas sells his birds to people that cannot go there hunting and a restaurant in London, he might save 10 for himself but not much more. What Jimmy did with his birds I haven't got a clue about..... Fascinating that such a tremendous population of birds can be maintained where hunters can legally sell their game. Here in Wisconsin, and in most, if not all, of the U.S. (as far as I know) such practices are strictly forbidden and violations are met with very severe fines and even jail time. All this for good reason; more than one species (passenger pigeons come readily to mind) were driven to extinction by market hunting, and numerous others (bison, for example) to the brink. Were the practice still allowed here, Bubba would exterminate anything and everything even remotely edible......not to mention many other things that aren't. We are nothing, if not effective killers. A most interesting addendum to one of the cruelest trip reports ever posted to ROFF. Wolfgang who, in all likelihood, will never get to go to such a magical place. :( |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
Wolfgang wrote:
Fascinating that such a tremendous population of birds can be maintained where hunters can legally sell their game. Here in Wisconsin, and in most, if not all, of the U.S. (as far as I know) such practices are strictly forbidden and violations are met with very severe fines and even jail time. The practice is strictly forbidden in Idaho, and enforced to the extent possible. -- Cut "to the chase" for my email address. |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
"Willi" wrote in message ... Roger Ohlund wrote: /Roger Guess what race the dog is!?! Irish Setter? Nope! Good guess though. It is a Gordon setter that was born completely brown. /Roger |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
Great photos, Roger.
After two years travelling across Africa and Asia, during which I survived bullets, knives, unknown amoebas, hepititis, and crazy Arabs trying to kill me in a dungeon in Cairo, I wanted to breathe some cool air and drink clear water, but instead of going back to Canada, I went to Scandanavia in the summer of 1970. Denmark was a good taste, but Northern Sweden and Norway: I had forgotten the blue beauty of the lands on the road from Sweden to Rana. When I saw your first photo, I was sure I had camped near that place, taken there by two blond Lapp girls, who fed me berries they called "eutrom?" Somewhere I have a crude sketch of the place. The colors were the same in August when the light was long and the night freezing. The photo haunts me, a memory of youth and granite and skygods wielding terrible hammers. A hard beauty frosts the high land on the road to Rana, restoring men's souls before grinding them to dust. Cheers, Bob |
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Bob wrote:
... When I saw your first photo, I was sure I had camped near that place, taken there by two blond Lapp girls, who fed me berries ... ... A hard beauty frosts the high land on the road to Rana, restoring men's souls before grinding them to dust. You'll get no sympathy from me. You shoulda been satisfied with ONE blonde Lapp girl. ;-) -- Ken Fortenberry |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
"Bob" wrote in message m... Great photos, Roger. After two years travelling across Africa and Asia, during which I survived bullets, knives, unknown amoebas, hepititis, and crazy Arabs trying to kill me in a dungeon in Cairo, I wanted to breathe some cool air and drink clear water, but instead of going back to Canada, I went to Scandanavia in the summer of 1970. Denmark was a good taste, but Northern Sweden and Norway: I had forgotten the blue beauty of the lands on the road from Sweden to Rana. When I saw your first photo, I was sure I had camped near that place, taken there by two blond Lapp girls, She was a Swedish native! Trust me, there are no blond lapp girls...... Descendants form settlers, or hunters. who fed me berries they called "eutrom?" You must have one hell of a memory. It is not "eutrom" but "hjortron" aka cloudberries. Somewhere I have a crude sketch of the place. The colors were the same in August when the light was long and the night freezing. Actually, the landscape on those pictures.......there is more of it up there than the size of England. The photo haunts me, a memory of youth and granite and skygods wielding terrible hammers. A hard beauty frosts the high land on the road to Rana, restoring men's souls before grinding them to dust. Cheers, Bob Well Bob, you and I share a feeling.......... /Roger |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
"Wolfgang" wrote in message ... Fascinating that such a tremendous population of birds can be maintained where hunters can legally sell their game. Here in Wisconsin, and in most, if not all, of the U.S. (as far as I know) such practices are strictly forbidden and violations are met with very severe fines and even jail time. All this for good reason; more than one species (passenger pigeons come readily to mind) were driven to extinction by market hunting, and numerous others (bison, for example) to the brink. Were the practice still allowed here, Bubba would exterminate anything and everything even remotely edible......not to mention many other things that aren't. We are nothing, if not effective killers. That's for sure, although I don't think "Bubba" (being, I assume, a euphemism for a rural dweller of limited global awareness) is primarily at fault. I think its more "Winston P. Railbaron III and Associates" who has the resources and drive, and who inspires Bubba to buy a case of shotgun shells with a promise of an easy payday for a day out hunting. Americans in particular seem overly willing to blindly overconsume (or overproduce, or over-mine, or over-harvest) when it involves personal gain. Maybe it has to do with our Capitalist ideals: the thought that these things are essentially inexhaustible raw material for generating personal wealth, and an associated belief that it's essentially better to develop these resources than it is to let them 'go to waste'. A type of environmental Manifest Destiny, if you will. (I hear there's a good book out there called "Dominion", or something like that, which deals with exactly this.) I appreciate the ratrace idea that we all can attain disproportionate personal wealth (in fact, I regularly hope for it), but the basis for that wealth has to come from somewhere.... In the Scandahoovian countries, which are socialist, there are two essential differences to our American mentalities: everyone is provided for at a reasonable minimum standard (which greatly reduces the "get it before its too late" attitude), and there is an associated belief that nature is our friend (as opposed to American's essential fear of nature, and our view of it as something to be 'conquered' or subdued). Where the American psyche is filled with ideas of the historic "untamed West", and the "brutal savages" and dangerous animals who live there, the European psyche has given us the ideals of the preserved wilderness, and the rural countryfolk who dwell in harmony with nature (imagine what Grimm's Fairy Tales would look like if they were written by a resident of NYC). The last time I headed out into unexplored countryside for several days, my urbanized american friends expressed horror that I was endangering myself by going 'out into nature' alone, and wasn't I scared?? And all of my rural friends (american and european) expressed envy and asked how much fun it was. The idea of being surrounded by wild beests is anathema to the average american, and sheer protected joy to the average Scanahoovian, AFAIK. --riverman |
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Greg Pavlov:
On Fri, 5 Dec 2003 12:04:58 +0100, "riverman" wrote: Where the American psyche is filled with ideas of the historic "untamed West", and the "brutal savages" and dangerous animals who live there, the European psyche has given us the ideals of the preserved wilderness, and the rural countryfolk who dwell in harmony with nature (imagine what Grimm's Fairy Tales would look like if they were written by a resident of NYC). Funny you should mention grim Grimm. Have you ever read early versions of these stories ? I doubt that many residents of NYC would have been able to match them. Which brings to mind the difference in wolf/human interactions in the Old World and the New. If what I read some years ago is correct, Wolves in Europe have been documented to attack and kill humans while those in the New World have not been implicated in documented killings of humans. Then, we have the Russian tradition of dancing bear acts but no real tradition of dancing bears here, except at certain concerts. -- Stev Lenon 91B20 '68-'69 Drowning flies to Darkstar http://web.tampabay.rr.com/stevglo/i...age92kword.htm |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
"slenon" wrote in message m... Greg Pavlov: On Fri, 5 Dec 2003 12:04:58 +0100, "riverman" wrote: Where the American psyche is filled with ideas of the historic "untamed West", and the "brutal savages" and dangerous animals who live there, the European psyche has given us the ideals of the preserved wilderness, and the rural countryfolk who dwell in harmony with nature (imagine what Grimm's Fairy Tales would look like if they were written by a resident of NYC). Funny you should mention grim Grimm. Have you ever read early versions of these stories ? I doubt that many residents of NYC would have been able to match them. Which brings to mind the difference in wolf/human interactions in the Old World and the New. If what I read some years ago is correct, Wolves in Europe have been documented to attack and kill humans while those in the New World have not been implicated in documented killings of humans. No humans killed by wolfs since 1780. At least in Sweden. I know that killing 100 ptarmigans sounds as much, but consider the fact that our mountain region is the size of England and that hunting is allowed in only a small part of that area. Then consider that although Italians, Englishmen, Norwegians and Germans like to visit and hunt in this region you can still be out hunting for two weeks in a row without seeing a single soul. And this whilst you hunt in a valley 60 square kilometers in size. As a matter of fact all our predators, except mountain fox, and most of our hunting game is increasing. The hunting association on the other hand is growing smaller and smaller. The number of hunters is decreasing as well. Most people are to goddamn comfortable to visit such remote locations anyway. I felt bad being party of shooting 100 ptarmigans, but we were well within the limit, which coincidentally is a recommendation rather than a rule. It's hard to describe the size of the wilderness available considering that one can drive as far north as 400 kilometers north of the Arctic circle by car in Sweden. Anyway, I will soon post about the Lapland clave 2004. I have decided to hold it in such a remote location and I have been able to find a cabin that we can use together with tents. Thinking that those that will travel furthest can use the cabin. /Roger |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
"Roger Ohlund" wrote in message ... Anyway, I will soon post about the Lapland clave 2004. I have decided to hold it in such a remote location and I have been able to find a cabin that we can use together with tents. Thinking that those that will travel furthest can use the cabin. Works for me. :-) --riverman |
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Roger Ohlund:
No humans killed by wolfs since 1780. At least in Sweden. All the accounts I've read of wolves attacking humans are from that time frame or earlier, excepting Russian accounts. Given that they often were reported during extremely harsh winters, periods of warfare, and disease outbreaks, who's to know whether or not they were actually even wolves or if they were, instead, packs of dogs. -- Stev Lenon 91B20 '68-'69 Drowning flies to Darkstar http://web.tampabay.rr.com/stevglo/i...age92kword.htm |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
On Fri, 05 Dec 2003 16:16:30 GMT, "slenon"
wrote: Greg Pavlov: On Fri, 5 Dec 2003 12:04:58 +0100, "riverman" wrote: Where the American psyche is filled with ideas of the historic "untamed West", and the "brutal savages" and dangerous animals who live there, the European psyche has given us the ideals of the preserved wilderness, and the rural countryfolk who dwell in harmony with nature (imagine what Grimm's Fairy Tales would look like if they were written by a resident of NYC). Funny you should mention grim Grimm. Have you ever read early versions of these stories ? I doubt that many residents of NYC would have been able to match them. Which brings to mind the difference in wolf/human interactions in the Old World and the New. If what I read some years ago is correct, Wolves in Europe have been documented to attack and kill humans while those in the New World have not been implicated in documented killings of humans. Where is the documentation? The most famous one I recall was the old Russian one about the bridal party in sleighs being chased and attacked by wolves until all but two were killed. When examined by people outside the village those two were major strong men in, it turned out to be a lot more likely that the wolves (or some animals) had merely scavenged the bodies of those the two 'survivors' had killed and robbed. Something about the survivors having a lot of extra cash and possession of jewelry known to have been taken along on the trip by the 'wolf victims.' Then, we have the Russian tradition of dancing bear acts but no real tradition of dancing bears here, except at certain concerts. I have read that at least some of the dancing bears were pretty harmless because they'd had their fangs removed and their front paws broken. This made it easier to get them up and shuffling around on their hind paws. Add a little music and showmanship and you've got dancing bears. Not generally allowed any more due to the humane treatment of animals laws. -- rbc:vixen,Minnow Goddess,Willow Watcher,and all that sort of thing. Often taunted by trout. Only a fool would refuse to believe in luck. Only a damn fool would rely on it. http://www.visi.com/~cyli |
TR: The gourmet trip. (long)
Where is the documentation?
The most famous one I recall was the old Russian one about the bridal party in sleighs being chased and attacked by wolves until all but two were killed. Cyli, some of it comes from old journals and histories that I've read in the past for one class or another. Some from conservationist material that I've stumbled across, and some is anecdotal. I can't put my fingers on the specific passages today, or yesterday. It was merely an aside based upon something recalled. I may even have been thinking of old folk tales I've read that describe wolf attacks. Your Russian tale may well be an explanation for some of the recorded deaths. Stranger things have happened. As for the dancing bears, your recall matches with mine as to the bears' treatment. The lack of such performances in this country may also have something to do with the different species we have here. -- Stev Lenon 91B20 '68-'69 Drowning flies to Darkstar http://web.tampabay.rr.com/stevglo/i...age92kword.htm |
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