04/01/2007 - Initial Thoughts.

"I find I'm so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think its the excitement only a free man can feel...a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain."

The Shawshank Redemption

(NOTE: All photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.)

Well, its hard to know what will happen when I get up to Alaska or how long I'll be there. My thought is two years, to experience each season once through, then have another crack at it. Whatever happens, here's a brief list (in no particular order) of things I'd like to accomplish (in addition, of course, to just randomly exploring around as time permits). Visiting in August 2006 provided some inspiration.

1. See the Northern Lights. I've heard Fairbanks, which I went through about 6 hours north of Anchorage, is an ideal spot from which to see them.

2. See humpback whales in the wild. I saw orcas (killer whales) when I was up there , but no humpbacks. In fact, one young orca fully breeched the water a couple of times, which was a sight to see. The boat I was on did have underwater microphones allowing everyone to hear the humpback "songs", which were pretty spectacular on their own.

3. Check out the Iditarod. I'm admittedly confused since I saw a marker for the start of the Iditarod in Seward, about 2 hours south of Anchorage, but all current indications are that it starts in Anchorage. Perhaps it changed over time. Regardless, it would be great to post up anywhere along the route and see it come through.

4. Hike. A lot. And then consider stepping it up a notch to backpacking.


5. Put my hand in the Arctic Ocean, which is no easy task. The driving distance from Anchorage to Prudhoe Bay on the northern coast of Alaska is 847 miles, about the same as the trip from St. Louis to Denver (a drive I know all too well, which takes 11-12 hours). Alaska being Alaska, however, a large stretch of the drive north of Fairbanks on the Dalton Highway is gravel, so the trip ends up taking a while depending on conditions (I'm guessing up to 20 hours). It's tough sledding, including the longest stretch of service-absent highway in the United States at 240 miles. You do get the privilege of crossing into the arctic circle along the way, on one of only two highways in North America to do so. It's an arduous journey through spectacular wilderness, and when you finally make it, apparently you see this!!! Glad I found that out ahead of time. There are other ways to reach the Arctic Ocean in other parts of Alaska which don't end in a lame $48 school bus ride, but as there are no other roads, you are talking air travel. A day trip by air from Fairbanks to Barrow runs about $450. This one may not be easy to pull off, but I'd really like to get it done.

6. Experience wildlife, safely. Below you can see (counter-clockwise) a sub-adult female wolf and a sub-adult male wolf I saw in Denali National Park and a blond grizzly bear sow and her cub (another cub out of frame), which I saw up there as well. Also, a black bear (which also inhabit AK) at my campsite in Yellowstone. Nothing quite like stepping back onto the food chain! (Click to enlarge).


8. Enjoy a nice sunny night. You don't have to head too far north in Alaska to get sun at midnight (one of its nicknames is "Land of the Midnight Sun", in addition to "The Last Frontier"). Even in Anchorage, which is in the southern portion of the state, the sun doesn't set in June until 11:39 p.m. From what I understand, the Arctic Circle is the southernmost point at which you can experience 24 hours of light or darkness for at least one day a year, at the summer or winter solstice respectively. As noted above, if I go to Prudhoe Bay, I'll cross it, but maybe not at the right time. How cool would it be to watch the sun skim across the horizon and never drop? Well, to me, pretty cool. The Arctic Circle is a mere 125 miles north of Fairbanks. As you go north, the total number of 24 hour days of dark or light go up. I think it would be an amazing experience to see 24 hours of daylight - you would really be keenly aware that you are sort of on the upper edge of the planet.

9. Go back here:

This is east of Denali National Park, in the area of "Tangle Lakes" - stumbled upon this area sort of by accident last time I was up there, finding myself unexpectedly on the 135 mile (about 120 of it dirt) Denali Highway which runs between Paxson and Cantwell. I was really blown away by the area, and like most of Alaska, there was almost no one else out there. I think it would be safe to say this area has haunted me ever since.

Alaska is an amazing place. Spectacular scenery:

And occasional reminders, even when not in your view, that the wildlife is pretty spectacular too:

Those are wolf tracks right at the edge of the tree line from the previous photo.


In closing, the Earth is a big place, and Alaska is pretty darn close to on top of it!