After a wonderful two weeks with my wonderful wife, we are returning to our normal summer schedules. Lisa has returned to Logan and I will be returning to the north tomorrow. For the next week, my supervisor, my major professor, another recreation ecology professor and his graduate student from Virginia Tech, and I will be measuring the extent of informal trail formation in the Atigun Gorge of the Arctic Refuge (see the Google street view below). Then, the other graduate student and I will be traveling south to Denali National Park to compare informal trail formation there with park staff. Needless to say, I am going to be really busy for awhile. Fortunately, I will be in beautiful places and will be packing a camera.

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On another note, the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics (WEIO) open in Fairbanks on Wednesday. Unfortunately, due to my fieldwork, I am going to miss the event. Here’s a description of some of the competitions from the local newspaper, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:

• BLANKET TOSS: Several walrus skins are used for this event. The skin has holes on the edges so that rope can be looped all the way around the blanket and used for handle grips. One person gets in the middle of the skin and stands while being tossed. With a good, coordinated effort on behalf of the pullers, the person being tossed can get as high as 30 feet in the air and lands on his/her feet without falling down. It is similar to a trampoline, with the only difference being that people are the springs and they can move to catch an errant jumper. The blanket toss was used in celebration of a successful whale hunt or to spot game on the horizon.

• ALASKAN HIGH KICK: This is a game of balance where the athlete sits on the floor below a target with one hand grasping the opposite foot. With his/her remaining free hand planted on the floor, the athlete springs up and attempts to kick the target with the free foot. After kicking the target, the athlete must show balance upon landing — he/she is at the original position before kicking. Height is the objective.

• KNUCKLE HOP: This is a game of endurance to pain and a test of strength. The object is to see how far one can go in a push-up position, with elbows bent and knuckles down. The only parts of the body touching the floor are knuckles and toes. From this position, the participant hops forward as far as possible keeping the back straight and elbows bent. This game originally was played on the floor of a traditional community center or hut, or outside on the ground. Now, this game takes place on the arena floor.

• EAR WEIGHT: The weights used in this event are 16 1-pound lead ingots, which are threaded through twine. The contestant must loop the twine around one ear and by lifting straight up, without using the cheek, pack the “weight” and go for distance. Before lead weights were used, sacks such as 25 pounds of flour were used. Distances of over 2,000 feet are attained.

• EAR PULL: In this event, there are two people sitting down facing each other with twine looped around each other’s ear — right ear to right ear, left to left. The two begin a “tug-of-war” to see who the winner is. Best two out of three wins the match. Participants alternate ears each round. The victor demonstrates he/she can withstand pain, a trait sometimes needed to survive the harsh realities of the North.

• DROP THE BOMB: In this game, the contestant lies down on the floor face down with arms straight out in an iron cross position. Three spotters position themselves — one at the feet holds the ankles, while the other two grab each wrist. The participant tightens all of his/her muscles, and the three “spotters” lift the body so that the body is approximately 1 foot above the ground. They begin walking at the speed dictated by a floor official. When the body or arms begin to sag, the participant “drops the bomb.” The objective is to go the farthest.

For more on WEIO, go to www.weio.org.