updated   Last minute

Bush living on Yukon river, help me with subsistence living in two old historic mining cabins in Ruby, Alaska, USA

Availability

  2026 

 Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    BASIC INFO: ***I need help June through December!!!!! I had a cancellation, so I am open again… I would plan on a minimum two weeks stay to make worth your money, longer stays are fine.

    I'm Scotty and am a retired special education teacher. I do alot of cultural subsistence activities living in the Alaskan Bush and really enjoy workawayer help with. It safer with two in the bush, also! AND, I'm a sociologist doing graduate work in Political Science, so I enjoy meeting new people and cultures! It gets boring 31 miles out of the village of Ruby, in my 2 remote cabins living by myself! So the company and help is nice!

    So I focus on subsistence activities such as hunting , fishing, trapping, recreational gold panning and dredging , butchering, fur handling, rebuilding my cabins and digging an outhouse,etc all set 31 miles out from a small native village called Ruby, on the Yukon River in the heart of Alaska. Ruby is about 300 river miles from Fairbanks which is a $300 plane ride away since we don't have any roads leading to our village!

    Ruby was established in the early 1900's as a gold mining city with the local native village 27 miles up river. Sometime about 40 years ago, the native village of Kokrines moved up to Ruby so their kids could go to the Ruby city school. So we are an integrated village which makes the living very good, although we have our 'small town problems', we have so much to do here!

    I have a friend here in Ruby that is a workaway host farm and he has sold me on this site! His workers come over and have helped me run a fish net for salmon, run a small dredge, helped me when I shot and processed bear, done moose hunts, mountain hiking, hauling garden dirt, driving out our 40 mile gold mining road to sleep over at my 2 cabins, jet boating up our white water river, rebuilding my house, and lots of cook outs with good food and beer! Always something to do here in Ruby! ALTHOUGH I spend most my time at the 2 remote cabins.

    BUT, in Ruby there is a store, post office and small clinic. Every village has an airport also!

    Depending on what time your here during the winter, you'll be able to have fun seeing our local community hot springs, viewing the Northern Lights, riding out the Iditarod trail via snow machine, watching the Iditarod dog race, running a trapping trail, ice fishing, and participating in local native community events!

    Depending on the time of year, you'll get to go with me on bear/moose hunting trips and can help me skin, prepare hides, process meat, etc but you can't hunt since I'm not a guide and your not a U.S. citizen, sorry!

    Our mosquito's can be bad, so please be prepared when you come here! You'll need a hoodie, head nets and the will to have fun no matter how tough the elements are!

    Feel free to let me know what type of activities, time of year you like, etc so I can let you know what time or season is best for you to visit! *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️ Just a legal note: You can go hunting and fishing with me, BUT, you may NOT pull a trigger since your not a U.S. citizen but may skin, process, and consume! Also, I am NOT a guide, so, you will NOT pay me to do any guiding, YOU ARE FREE to live MY LIFE with me though!

    ****This summer, I am rebuilding 2 remote cabins, doing berry picking, cutting wood, doing recreational gold mining, etc so most of our time from June 1-Oct1 will be rebuilding (I've been gone 3 years!). My cabins are old gold miners cabins, so i have not built my nice new cabin yet! AFTER Oct. 1st or so, I will be focusing on getting wood, cutting trapping trails, then trapping after Nov. 1st through the end of the new year!

    Think about what your "Alaskan Bucket Wish List" is, ie going camping up a mountain, going subsistence fishing, jet boating up a river, photographing the Northern Lights, etc.... and I'll see what I can do to fulfill your bucket list!

    Here is what to expect for fun, by seasons:

    April- May: (clean up, help on cabins, bear hunting, preparing for recreational gold mining and fishing in the boat) 20's to 50's, snow through the end of April usually with some snow machining to the hot springs and my gold cabins, few mosquito's, bear hunting, traveling out the road, fishing, possible hot springs in April via snow machine, gold mining, boat trips in May

    June- (bear hunting, help on cabins, gold mining, fishing) 30's -60's, few to moderate mosquito's, boating/bear hunting, gold mining, work around house

    July-mid August: (Fishing, gold mining, helping on cabins, etc) 40-70's, bad mosquito's, boating, salmon fishing, bear hunting, gold mining, house work, preparing for moose season

    Late August through end of Sept: (Moose/bear hunting, fishing, gold mining, helping on cabins) 20's - 70> no lie!~ all in one day, especially in September! We moose and bear hunt from the end of Aug through the end of September. I'll be processing bear and moose meat, maybe some fish. Then finishing up on preparing for the winter by cutting wood, trails, and stocking the cabins up!

    October-November: (Prep for winter, prep for trapping season, last bear hunt and fishing, ready winter gear adn machines, prep cabins for winter recreational gold mining ) Temps go from 40 down to -10 or so. Snow begins somewhere in October and really picks up in November. I'll be trapping, preparing for winter, helping on my cabins, going ice fishing, etc.

    *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️This summer and winter I needs a tough person to help me with my rebuilding cabins, hauling equipment around, preparing my trap line this winter! Trapping, That's Oct. 1 - 31st for prep and trail cleaning and then Nov. 1 - March or so is trapping season. It's tough, you'll be snow shoeing or skiing my trap line which has no longer trails than 2.5 miles.

    A note on the 'frontier culture' here: We are a mixed culture of whites and natives and a 60's to 70's culture is very much alive in our music and social characteristics. Marijuana is cultural as well as legal here, we have a beer store and old blues/country/rock rules here! So, with all the hunting/fishing subsistence activities of the native culture, then it's a good mix of the old native ways and old white frontiers ways! Hard work and hard play make Jack a well rounded person!

    A note on technology: I will have Elons remote satellite dish, and in Alaska bush I use gci cell phone since GCI is the cell phone carrier here. I do NOT have TV due to my own personal beliefs about the subject, it's destructive to a human's mind!

    *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️A note on smoking: it is allowed outside only.

    *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️A note on pets: If you have a pet, I might have room outside for them! We can talk about this.

    *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️email me your 'wish list' of Alaskan activities and I'll try to match you to the correct season so you can experience the Alaskan activities you love! BUT, this summer/winter will be spent mostly in the bush, 31 miles out an old dirt road from the main village, Ruby.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Language practice
    Help with Eco Projects
    Light gardening
    Creative DIY projects
    Farmstay help
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    Light maintenance
  • Interests

    Interests

    Culture
    Nature
    Camping
    Winter sports
    Mountain
    Water sports
    Outdoor activities
    Hiking
    Adventure sports
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    You will get to see native and white frontiers culture in the Alaskan bush...

  • Help

    Help

    You will be helping me with building on two small old cabins, cutting trail, cutting wood, recreational gold mining/panning, cooking, cleaning, trapping, hiking, snow shoeing, etc.

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    I live in a two old remote cabins, one has an outhouse, one needs the outhouse rebuilt AND we will dig it out since it is 75 years old and probably has coins and gold in it! (the old outhouse is DRIED for 75 years, so it is all dirt now, not smelly). We haul water, food, fuel, etc from Ruby which is 31 miles away.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    Time off: helpers can visit our post office, clinic, wash/dry/shower facility, 2 local stores, beer stores, Yukon river, hiking, camping, boating, interviewing elders, participating in local native cultural events.

    You MUST fly in to our village, there are NO roads! It's a $300, 1.5 hour flight, not bad, from Fairbanks, Alaska. Carriers are Everetts and Wrights Air out of Fairbanks, Ak.

    also, you need medical emergency insurance, incase you need a 'careflight' out of here! The insurance is $150 a yr, or they pro-rate it cheaper for weeks. A careflight costs $20,000!!!

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    you can put your van on the barge to get it here!

  • Can possibly accept pets

    Can possibly accept pets

    possibly

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    Two

  • My animals / pets

    My animals / pets

Host ref number: 325912221143

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