Get to the Last Frontier!

I get really excited when getting ready to go to Alaska. I can't express what it means to me, but my suitcase gets nervous in the closet if I don't go often enough. I need to see the Northern Lights, smell truly fresh air, hear a wild wolf howl. It doesn't take long after you've gotten your supplies together in Anchorage: 20 minutes either north or south on Alaska Hwy 1 and you are well out of town.

Quick Tips:

Most people visit Alaska on some sort of organized tour/cruise. I think that's great for the first time, but after that you really need to rent a car and get out of town. Most of the people who visit Alaska never get out on their own. So do it! Rent a Subaru, my car of choice for Alaska. They're full time 4 wheel drive. You don't have to worry about slip-slidding around.

Best Way To Get Around:

Public transportation is not enough. You need a car, preferrably a Subaru to get around Alaska. Buy a MILEPOST for about and you will have plenty of info mile by milepost along the various sorts of roads in Alaska including, gas stations, food, drink, lodging and campsites.

Don't miss the jade staircase in this well-liked Anchorage hotel. It has the additional value of being exremely handy to the Performing Arts Center. A good place for an Anchorage stay over either on arrival or the night before departure.

The Captain Cook is without question the best of the Anchorage hotels both in food and lodging. The views from the bedroom windows vary from spectacular to slightly blocked by the hotels own towers. Verify what you are getting when you make your reservation. :ublic restaurants and/or bars are open on the top of one of the towers for some spectacular views of harbor, mountains & town. The hotel bedrooms are typically modern in style. I would never call them homey. Don't worry about 'shelping in' through the Captain Cook's fancy lobby with all your outdoor stuff. They're used to all sorts of folks and all manner of gear. After being out in the bush or on Kodiak for a while, a night or so at the Captain Cook will help your to rest up before your long flight home. Built during the lush years while the pipeline was under contruction, this hotel offers more than most visitors expect in the way of amenities, luxury fittings and beautiful interiors.

Over the years I've had many meals and snacks at this restaurant. Always good, especially if you are soooooo tired from a late night airplane arrival. Totally lacking in a view (this has always bothered me), the friendly atmosphere is still a plus.

The typical Alaskan road house is likely to be overlooked by most tourists, but don't overlook it. You won't see the Golden Arches once you get out of town and Unless you loaded up down at Carr's Grocery Stores in Anchorage, you have to eat somewhere! The prices will seem high, but the portions are huge. The food is often homemade by some woman who drove up the Alcan alone with her poodle. Stay around for a story or two. Often, laundry and shower facilities are available. See the MILEPOST for specific locations. If you wonder why some of them have showers, well it's because many of the folks who live out in the BUSH don't have running water. A real shower is worth paying for. Often you will see shelves of used books with signs that say something like 'bring one to trade for one plus $1'. Or some such! The winter nights are long and cold and a good book can be very valuable, especially if you haven't read it. You may not have any luck in chatting up the local residents. Often so isolated for a long time, they have a hard time finding something to say.

It's going to happen to you sooner or later in Alaska. You're going to see it on a menu & order it thinking you're going to get a special blend of tea in the Russian style. What you get if you order this is awful! It's a boiling hot mixture of instant tea, Tang, spices and extra sugar. It's absolutely horrible. Avoid it completely! It's not tea, it's suitable only for attracting ants. Don't waste your $2.

I've found that most of the people who ride the tour buses nap along the shores of Turnagain Arm. How sad! It's a most wonderful place. The scenery is wonderful and you might see whales. I need to mention the 'bear' factor. Yes, bears, the kind that are big enough to be a serious problem. Generally, in Alaska, they seem to be everywhere I want to go. What to do? Well follow the safety rules and be reasonable. Those are 'Teddy' type bears. They are fierce wild animals.

This Nordstroms is my favorite of all in the chair. Secord is the one in downtown Indianapolis. Everything you need clothing-wise for visiting Alaska, plus much stylish wear. In a totally enclosed downtown mall that's a good 'forgot it' stop for travelers.

I remember grocery shopping in the 'bad old days' in Alaska when there was hardly any point in asking if the food was fresh--it wasn't! Then came Carr's! Relief! Wonderful fresh foods and flowers at reasonable prices. Was I dreaming or what? Also a good place to get ready-made sandwiches, picnics, souvenirs & camera supplies. Although many national brand stores have come to Anchorage, I still believe that Carr's is the best and the most generally fair in pricing. Stock up in town as when you get out in the BUSH, you will have a hard, expensive time. Thank you Carr's!

Located in the Hillside area of Anchorage, the zoo is in a scenic area. Although many of the animals might be spotted in the wild, many visitors to Alaska hardly get out of Anchorage. So the zoo makes up for other things missed--to some degree.

Whittier used to be reachable only by train. But there's a Rube Goldburg sort of deal whereby on certain times of the day you can drive the new tunnel, the longest highway tunnel in North America, to Whittier. Two long tunnels. In the longest one, cars are kept 100 feet apart with a speed limit of 25 mph. When you're in the longer tunnel, you can't see either end. Umph! There's a new parking area between the tunnels where you can now see Portage Glacier without having to get on a boat. I think I'll stick to the train.

Whittier is beautiful in winter. A harbor village on the other side of the mountains from Hwy 1. A cruise ship port in summer. Darn quiet in the winter. Lots of folks cross-country skiing. I prefer walking/hiking. Bear and moose sightings. Be wise! Services are limited. Stay out of the freight yards--walking there is a federal offense. Do not attempt to walk back through the tunnels! High risk of avalanches in the mountains. This isn't Palm Springs!

Update: The Adventure. Two of us set out on a bright winter day to see the other side of the mountain. Two middle-aged women. Dare I say? Both experienced winter hikers, but when we found outselves in over 14 feet of snow, we realized we had a serious think coming. We arrived in Whittier via the train, which is slow and uncomfortable during the snow season. Our view of the magnificent Prince William Sound was frosted on all sides by millions of pounds of cold, white snow and blue ice.

We began our walk by committing a federal crime as we walked along the tracks through the train yard. Our destination somewhere ahead, an old cafe/bowling alley. A bit of nattering between us. We were on the wrong side of a long, long train. My dear hiking buddy Anne led the way as we climbed up into and through the cab of a locomotive. A second crime, I'm sure. We left the train and pushed on through the deep snow to the cafe. Coffee and candy bars. Suddenly a new thought. We were about to miss the return train back out to the highway where we'd left our Subaru.

We moved as quickly as one can when in such deep snow and made it back to the train just as it was pulling out of the station. A missed train meant a 2-day wait in Whittier. We would have had to knock on doors until we found someone willing to take us in. Don't do what I did! We threw both experience and common sense to the winds. It was very hard going in all that snow. Was it dangerous? Yes! Was it stupid? Incredibly! Was it an Alaskan thing to do? Certainly!

Some folks could write a book about the Village of Hope as it gets 100's of visitors a year. Do something most visitors to Alaska don't do, and drive around Turnagain Arm to Hope. The old gold mining town is actually at the northern end of the old way to get to Seward, the Ressurection Trail. You can make that hike if you want to. It's tough, but it can still be done. That trail is the way the gold miners and early settlers got around that part of Alaska and some people still use the trail for recreation and getting to their gold digs. Don't ask them any questions! The village is tiny, smaller even than it was prior to the 1964 earthquake when Mother Nature decided to remodel Turnagain Arm, raise the level of the sea bed by 16 feet, destroy many, many small villages and make the 'Arm' entirely too dangerous for boat traffic. Pre-earthquake---there used to be ferry service across the Arm from Hope over to Girdwood and Indian Point. Now when you stand on the beach at Hope, you can just about see the traffic on the Seward Highway that's heading for Anchorage, but you can't really get there from here. There's a fairly decent all weather road from Hope to the Seward highway, but I don't think I would enjoy driving it in the heart of winter. Just enjoy the village, spend a little money in the cafe and shops, and look around on the ground to try to spot a gold nugget. If you find one, you get to keep it!

The historically famous Captain Cook must have had a sense of humor when he named Anchorage, Anchorage. Actually, I know the historical part of the story. He anchored his ship at Anchorage, put 'anchorage' on his chart (or some one else did), and somehow back in the British Record Office, that became the name of a then non-existent village. Tens of thousands of people cruise to Alaska each summer season. Do any of them wonder why 99.9% of the cruise ships dock at Seward or Whittier and not Anchorage? It's not just the extra distrance/time that's need to travel up Cook Inlet (there he is again) to the harbor of Anchorage that's the problem. You see, the tides and currents at Anchorage are fierce, some of the most dangerous in the world. Yes, ships do go all the way to Anchorage. Sometimes a huge U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, now & then freightors, once in a blue moon, a cruise ship. But for the saving of money, souls, time and effort most ships make there way only as far as Seward or Whittier. In both towns large freight yards make it possible for goods to be off-loaded from ships onto trains to finish the 125 mile journal from Seward to Anchorage. Most cruise passengers go the way of the freight, up or down Alaska Highway #1. The port of Whittier was developed by the U.S. military during World War II as a 'safe' port for Anchorage that was relatively hidden from the threat of bombings from Japanese airplanes. Now, Whittier, pretty as any picture, is still a major freight transit point for Anchorage as well as a yacht basin for pleasure boat owners. Seward also is a safe harbor for pleasure boaters, both motor and sail. For, you see, you won't see pleasure boats in Anchorage harbor or Turnagain Arm as they just aren't safe for small boats.

Now you know the story most visitors to Alaska don't know. Perhaps someone will buy you a drink when you tell it.

And you'll have a much nicer time in Alaska. Yes, we have seen people try to do both. Moose, especially mother moose with calves can be as dangerous as a bear. The bears don't need explaining. Moose also like to stand on roads. If you run into one of them with your car, you loose. You might be killed and in any case, you don't get to keep the meat. It goes to the prisoners at the state pen! Alaska is real and is not a National Geographic special that you are acting in. Things happen! Be careful! do get out of town, but don't become a statistic. By the way, until you've heard a wolf howl in the wild, you have missed too much.

In Alaska, the residents dress for the weather. It is extremely rare to see a necktie. You wear what you need to to stay warm and dry in the winter and comfortable and dry in the summer. Sometimes in winter it is extremely difficult to tell the males from the females. No French nude beaches in Alaska.

In the non-summer months it is best to pile on layers of clothing with particular care given to what you wear on your head, hands and feet. Jeans, sweaters, sweatshirts, turtleneck shirts, tights, long underwear etc.

In summer jeans, short pants (rarely) tee shirts and sneakers go a long way. I advise people who travel to Alaska to save room in their baggage for tee and sweat shirts bought along the way. They make great souvenirs and you can get some use out of them in Alaska.

For footwear, we used to wear big, heavy hiking books for hiking and serious walking but have long since given them up. In summer I prefer sneakers. In winter footwear sometimes called 'snow trackers'.

For outerwear, I prefer to wear a fleece vest as long as possible before it becomes absolutely necessary to put on a jacket. I like the freedom a fleece vest gives and they can be very warm if you shop carefully.

I can't wear wool socks. My feet get too dry; so I stick to manmade fibers.

I like to wear a polar freece hat also. The best polar fleece is made by Maulden Mills in the US. I crochet a lot of wool hats and sometimes wear one of those.

For gloves I prefer polar fleece to wool for the same (dryness) problems mentioned in 'socks'.

Flights arriving in Alaska have a jolly atmosphere. Not so with those departing. It can be so quiet that you don't hear much but sighs and sobs. Oh, it hurts so much to leave Alaska! I always wonder if this departure will be my last, so I always refer to a trip as my 'most recent' and not last trip to Alaska. If you have a night flight and are lucky, you may seen the Northern Lights for a while as you head south. Before the plane reaches 30,000 feet, I'm planning my return. Click on my journals & give me more points that I can use to get frequent flyer miles! Please! I have to return to Alaska, and unlike Robert Service, I will!

My live-in editor reminded me that I keep writing about the MILEPOST, but I haven't explained what it is. The MILEPOST by Alaska Northwest Publishing is the road and travel bible of Alaska. You gotta have it, even if you are traveling only by cruise ship and guided tour. It has all the info on getting around Alaska, especially in remote places including where restaurants and gas stations are, good view points, bad roads, & tons of other data including ferry schedules. It also covers the parts of Canada that are included in the Al-Can highway, Alberta, the Yukon territories and British Columbia. It comes with a big, very good map of Alaska & parts of Canada. The MILEPOST sells for less than $30.00 plus shipping. While you are at it, order the MILEPOST Logbook. The current MILEPOST, ed. 52 goes through Spring 2001. The folks at Alaska Northwest Publishing continually update the MILEPOST, bringing out a new edition every year. They do a lot of driving themselves as well as taking reports from travelers. I find the ads fascinating. There are a lot of travel books about Alaska. If you can only buy one, make it the MILEPOST. for the MILEPOST.

In Alaska often you're a long way from a AAA rescue. One gray very cold late fall afternoon, Anne and I were driving along the Parks Highway when a bump in the road crashed the back truck window into the bed, unbroken. We continued along, slowly freezing, with the best efforts of the truck heater feeble against the Alaskan weather and wind from the speed of our driving, until we came to a road house/grocery store. We bought a lovely breakfast of six Snickers bars, coffee and a roll of duct tape.

Many people walked past us in the parking lot as we worked with very cold hands to tape the window back into the truck. That's not to say a request for help would have been denied, but Alaska women are known to be very independent. A man might get his head bitten off for offering a hand!

A clean window might have been easier to work with, but the old blue Dodge truck hadn't seen a wash in years. Filling up the dual gas tanks cost $60 back then. A ton of money! Changing a tire could be a nightmare and there were six of them! A giant Tonka toy but very reliable.

Summer tourists know the Parks Highway as a paved route to Denali Park and Fairbanks. Wide enough but often crowded with traffic. Off season, the crowd long gone, you can drive for a long time before seeing a light in a store or a passing truck. Lucky for us the Road House was open. An hour of fiddling and we packed up to continue on our way to meet our husbands and son Brian at the end of a rafting trip on the Talkeetna River. Rafting trip! Why? Their theory was that it was a good time to make one last trip of the year before winter set in hard. The mosquitoes were dead and the bears should all be denned up. Wives that we are the idea that they might fall into the river and freeze to death had passed our minds. The guys were wearing heavy wet suits and boots such as divers wear absolutely promised to float. They had two survival packs, food, a good tent and a lot of vodka. We called their raft Queen Mary. After the drowning death of my cousin on a rafting trip in British Columbia the guys had installed a rowing frame. A bush pilot flew them out to start their trip at a lake nearly covered with trumpeter swans. A very noisy night with little sleep before they began rafting.

We worried and felt stiff as frozen fish when we arrived at the planned pickup point, under a bridge on the Parks Highway. We pulled the truck off the road and set up to watch the river, much higher and wilder than we'd expected. Our hearts felt cold dread when we saw the Talkeetna rescue 'copter head upriver. We made a lunch out of candy bars and finished the coffee. Neither of us said a word for hours.

The men arrived a many hours late, tired and cold and stinking from days spent in the wet suits. Kiss me! Yes as we were so glad to see them again and alive. We helped haul the soggy raft and gear out of the river and loaded it into the truck bed that had 'caught' our rear window. The husbands weren't the least concerned about the quality of our repair, and we drove the 200 miles or so back down to home in the Chugach mountains above Anchorage to put the guys in hot showers as we made a big, hot dinner.

That truck rolled another 20,000 miles before being sold with the window still duct-taped in. Obviously I recommend having a roll of duct tape at hand if you're going to out driving around Alaska. That and a good supply of Snickers bars is sure a good idea also.

For those of you who wonder about the validity of my 'duct-taped window' and '14 1/2 feet of snow' stories about Alaska, I have a witness/reference who lives out in the Chugach Mountains southeast of Anchorage. She knows an awful lot about Alaska as she's been there since before the Big State got famous and important. Her son Brian is one of the best known wilderness guides in Alaska. (E-mail me if you want his web site address.) I've known that fella since I could carry him around. Now he can carry me, my husband and our dog. He's grown up to be a fine fella, and we're very proud of him!

Perhaps it would be better if I wrote 'should you pick a guide for a wilderness trip?' or 'should you go on a wilderness trip?' True wilderness adventuring is not for everyone. It's for a very select few people who are extremely physically fit, have a lot of motivation and a lot of money! Start reading ALASKA Magazine and the MILEPOST. Make a list of what your expectations are: fishing? rafting? hiking? How much service do you want? Ask a lot of questions and get references that you can check.

I have a guide that I am very fond of as I watched him grow up from a little boy who went out the back door of his Alaskan home to go camping alone (with a couple cans of beans in a sack). I've seen him handle nerve racking situations extremely well. He's good looking and as strong as one of his Viking ancestors. If you are wanting more info or just want a very good armchair (computer-side) read, try this WEB site. Northern Rim Wilderness Adventures.