I left AK in '82 even then real old time "sourdough" we're a thing of the past. Fact is the Alaskan so many romance about went the way of the old west gun slingers here in the lower 48 by the late '40s. This is not to say that in some parts of AK there do not remain some tough ass loner types even today but even these hermit types have some of today's modern conveniences.
When my grandfather opened up his place 80 miles up river of Fairbanks the place was then truly wild...he killed moose and bear every year in his garden his common law wife canned the meat over a kerosene stove that was modern for the time. He rode a horse to Fairbanks and back 3 times a year. And often talked about the old Russians who he considered the "Last True Alaskans"
