Winter trap lines

“As seen on tv” takes this one to the bank. While watching shows like the last Alaskans, etc. They stay in cabins during the winter months to tend trap lines. How can they afford that? Do they get summer jobs doing random things? Or are they banking on fur sales for sole monetary stability?

Many might be retired.

A combination of both. I know a few guys who work road construction all summer, then get laid off in the winter and trap bobcat. Keeping your expenses low is key. Don’t get into debt, don’t have a car payment and live frugally and you can pretty much live how you want to live.

Where do they stay in the summers though? This would be a dream for me in the future. I receive disability from the VA, but I don’t think it would be enough to survive off of per month in a place like that with cost of living so high.

Most rural Alaskans have multiple, seasonal income streams. Trapping is one of them. Others might include firefighting, construction, commercial fishing, etc. Our economy is quite robust during the summer. It's easy to find jobs if you are not picky. Some come with room and board.

I can make more money in Alaska in 6 months than I could in NC or TN in a year. The cost of living is somewhat higher but it isn't twice as high and no state income tax doesn't hurt. The price for groceries is higher but very affordable unless you live off the road system.

You're married but for a single guy there are plenty of attractive women who are independent minded and like the same in a man. Thank you early pipe line workers.

I could make the same income in NY but I could never be as free.

The few guys I know do as mentioned above. Firefighter, road crews, pipelines or canneries.

My grandfather was there in the early to mid 50s.He only trapped to stay busy in the winter. Wasn't his main source of income.

A lot of them would stay on their traplines all year round.They guide in the summer and trap in the winter.
With the price of fur low and the covid restrictions on their tourists they are hurtin big time now.

The trappers featured on the shows you mentioned make money on the shows and work summers. If they own an airplane some have a home here in the interior.

Now with the prices of fur they need a job doing something else!

Over the years I have trapped and worked construction here in Fairbanks I have met a lot of bush trappers who come to town and work the summer then head back out for the winter.

Will be interesting to watch the shows and see how those guys adjust to the covid restrictions.

Down here we just have more people spending time at their cottages.

I have a class A CDL but I don’t really like driving trucks. Juneau and Fairbanks are the two places I’ve looked at in the past. When I was in the Army I was stationed in upstate NY and I’ve felt -40. It was cold, but I didn’t hate it which baffled me because I’ve never even seen snow before I was stationed there. The trapping industry is more plentiful there than it is here. I was told today coons are going for .50 put up. What are marten, muskrat, and mink going for?

Don't believe everything you see on TV. Most of it is scripted and/or down right lies.

Matty, there are lots of open CDL jobs in AK right now. PM me if you're serious and want me to send you some.
Don't go to Juneau no matter what... very little economy besides political jobs. And not much trucking with nowhere to drive!
Like others said, there is LOTS of seasonal summer work in AK, which works out well for trapping. Construction, fishing, firefighting, mining, tourism, etc. With a Class A I'm fairly confident you could find a summer job, assuming we don't get shut down by a "pandemic" again...

Juneau and Fairbanks are quite different places, climate-wise, job-wise, and politically-wise.

Jim

good read wish I was 40 years younger ,

Kermit stearns told me around 1999 if he was young like me he would go to Alaska. I was 42 at the time,owned my place and had successful trapping business. Kermit had been there I believe 3 times and loved it. Rip Mr kermit.

Which part are you in?

One big difference I have noticed about how Alaskans are much different that most people from the lower 48 is that Alaskans are much more mobile and know how to travel around.
It doesn't really seem to matter much about ethnicity, income, or social status. People in Alaska are always traveling around. It could as easily be frequent flights into Anchorage or Fairbanks, or Honolulu, Seattle and Cabo.

Flights down to watch a Seahawks game, or to the Muckleshoot's casino, or to Spokane and then on to to Dave Smith Motors in Kellogg Idaho are routine.

The world to most Alaskans is a much smaller place than for many lower 48 Americans who don't get very far from the farm (not slamming farmers, I like to eat too).
It's just that the perception of work and travel are much different in Alaska than elsewhere.

Good point, Waggler. I'm usually flying somewhere a few times per year.

Jim

I think the PFD and Alaska Airlines sales are big reasons why Alaskans can afford to travel more. Long nights, short days, frigid temperatures, and extra cash all encourage out of state travel.

Plus you're isolated by Canada and most from Alaska from what I gather came from somewhere else in the low 48(that where their family and roots are).

That may be in some situations but I doubt that the PFD makes a difference in what MOST people can truly afford. They can't afford it most likely but they do it anyway.

Long nights, short days and frigid temperatures are all pluses in my book. I can't think of many reasons to travel out of state unless it involves shotguns !

I'd be happy if I never had to leave the farm.

Don't move to Juneau. That's as un-alaskan of a place there is while still being in Alaska. If you like southeast AK check out some towns on Prince of Wales island or Sitka. Totally different feel to those places than the interior or even Anchorage though.