Alaska – Home of the Tough and the Brave

We headed to Alaska under the guise of Bryan’s 35th high school reunion.  This also gave me a chance to experience Alaska for the first time and allowed Bryan to play tour guide in his home state. In addition to helping with the reunion, Bryan was the ultimate showman, assembling a curated list of his favorite hikes, a stay in Seward for kayaking in Resurrection Bay,  and a visit to see his brother in Homer, where we experienced the family tradition of fishing.

Some Fun BIG Facts About Alaska:

– It’s twice as big as Texas, capturing the eastern, western, and northernmost points of the US (I’ll let you think about how that is possible).

– It has 2 time zones, reduced from 4 a while back.

– Over half of the world’s glaciers are in Alaska.

– There is about 1 square mile per resident in Alaska… and given how many guns are also there, this may not be enough space per person.

While most holiday-goers we talked to seemed to be in Alaska for hunting, fishing, or cruising, I was very happy that we mostly took the less conventional route—seeing the sights by foot or paddle.

Highlights of My First Visit to Alaska:

• Hiking: The mountains are stunning. Formed by a trifecta of volcanic eruptions, tectonic plate shifts, and glacier melt, they are incredible! The steepness rising directly from the water makes them appear like paper cutouts from a distance. The abrupt transitions from plush forest, rock scree, simple ground cover, and glacier fields left my head spinning. And surprisingly, everything was so green! Any surface not directly horizontal or frozen seemed to have something growing on it or supporting life in some way.

• Seward: A small town with a big heart, with glaciers, hikes, and kayaking at your doorstep. Many residents live there year-round, braving the cold, dark winter months, which may be part of the reason for the strong sense of community. Instead of competing, small businesses support each other. Our kayak group made a point to buy their lunches from a local cafe owner instead of getting supplies from Costco. While waiting for a dinner table, we popped into another restaurant for a drink. When the bartender asked where we were eating, she raved about how great it was, despite her restaurant also having great food. The town’s overall feeling was spot on. The only downside was the chaos from the enormous cruise ships that regularly stopped in for a few hours.

• Glaciers: Standing in front of a 100-foot glacier wall was awe-inspiring and humbling. Witnessing the massive gray stream of melt carving through the collapsing wall—it’s an experience that is exciting and tinged with sadness. Drinking glacier water from neon blue streams and ponds was unreal like being on an alien planet. (Turns out Hollywood thought similarly and filmed part of ‘Star Trek’ on this glacier.) Overall an experience of mixed emotions that I will never forget.

Lowlights:

• Americans: I know, ironic since I am American, but honestly, the number of gun-toting, rude visitors there just to “get a kill” or “hook a big one” was disheartening. So much beauty, natural diversity, and vast open spaces are completely overlooked for the desire to get a selfie with the biggest animal they could find to kill. Very sad and not my favorite side of American culture.
• Guns: Along with the ‘merican theme, guns are clearly ingrained in all parts of Alaskan life. Some comments that shocked me but didn’t even register as unusual to Alaskans:
  • “We don’t lock ’em; we load ’em,” when we inquired about keys while checking into one of our ’boutique’ accommodations.
  • “No firearms on the premises. This includes concealed,” at Donna’s (Bryan’s sister-in-law) mental health clinic.
  • “Check the car for all belongings and please ensure you have not left any firearms in the vehicle,” a standard greeting when returning the rental car.

I’m not against all guns, and I understand there are valid reasons for owning them. But I do think there should be much stricter laws on who can own what, when, and how. With all the casual discussion and display of guns, I, for one, definitely did not feel safer.

One thing is clear: Alaskans are tough! I got to see Alaska during some of the easieest, longest and warmest days of the year. Hearing stories of life there during the winter—with little to no daylight, subsistence hunting, and weeks or months where access to other towns can be cut off—it takes a strong, unique type of person to survive and thrive in Alaska.

Next stop sunny California (the Bay area) where I took forward to stowing the puffy coat deep in the backpack and soaking in more friends, family and sunshine. 

Certainly! Here’s an edited version of your footnote:

Footnote: The bear picture was taken with a 10x zoom at a wildlife rescue, with two layers of fencing between us. It turns out if you’re patient enough and take a million shots, one is bound to turn out well. There are some great analogies to business here, but I’ll save that for another post.