Society - Heimo's Arctic Refuge

Heimo Korth has been a trapper for 30 years and he lives completely by his wits with a little assistance from the occasional bush plane. He moved to Alaska when he was 19 to get as far away as possible from human civilization. He met his wife Edna while living in an Eskimo whaling village on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. Eventually he convinced her to move with him to the harsh Alaskan interior, more than 150 miles above the Arctic Circle and even farther from the nearest roads, supermarket, or schools. Two of last people allowed to live in an area the size of South Carolina. Their nearest neighbor is about 100 miles away, and the only chance of emergency medical care is by calling the Army for a helicopter ride. Theyve managed to raise a family out here while dealing with the fearsome climate, isolation, predators, and the drowning death of their firstborn daughter. The Korths migrate annually between three separate cabins. Rotating cabins keeps them from depleting the resources in any one spot and ensures that there should always be enough fur and meat available for them to make it through a winter.