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AUDIO SLIDE SHOW: ALASKA EXCURSIONS
Frozen ground with no snow means much of the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge is accessible to walkers. Explore the shoreline southwest of the city in this Excursion.
September 2009
There's a reason Flattop Mountain is one of the most popular destinations in Chugach State Park. The views are spectacular, especially as the season changes from fall to winter.
JUNE 2009
Explore the Winner Creek trail
Explore the Winner Creek Trail, in Girdwood, which takes hikers over boardwalks, gravel and steps on the easy lower portion near the Hotel Alyeska. The upper trail climbs higher in the Chugach Mountains toward Winner Creek Pass before descending to the Twentymile River.
APRIL 2009
Before the warm weather melts Portage Lake it's possible to ski the crusty snow out to striking Portage Glacier. Get a close look at the blue ice formations in this day trip.
April 2009
The train to Whittier - the only way in or out
After a rockslide buried the only highway access to Whittier recently, the AK Railroad began free, temporary passenger service in and out of the town on Prince William Sound. See the views of the trip down Turnagain Arm and into Whittier and hear its residents describe their tenuous connection to life on the other side of the highway tunnel in this Excursion.
JANUARY 2009
Anchorage and Mat-Su have seen temps at 15 to 30 below zero for most of two weeks. But high pressure and clear skies reveal Alaska in its best light. Get out and see it in this "Excursion" slide show.
DECEMBER 2008
Good early winter snowfall has made conditions great for cross country skiing the trails in Chugach State Park. Take a look at the sights from Prospect Heights, the Eagle River Nature Center and see the peaks of Glen Alps by moonlight in this Excursion.
OCTOBER 2008
A steep hike up Falls Creek in Chugach State Park in autumn passes through beautiful birch forest, across colorful tundra and up to snowy mountain
AUGUST 2008
Photographer Marc Lester takes another excursion through the Southcentral landscape with a trip to breathtaking Pioneer Peak.
JUNE 2008
The small eastern Prince William Sound city of a few more than 2,000 residents is accessible only by boat or airplane, yet at this time of year it resembles a bustling metropolis as the home port of the Copper River flats commercial salmon fleet.
MAY 2008
A mid-May bike ride in the Matanuska Valley was a combination of beautiful scenery and brutal wind.
APRIL 2008
Hundreds of people made the trek to Curry this year on the Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage Ski Train.
MARCH 2008
Living in Alaska, winter isn't something you simply get through. Break-up, the rapid melting of months of snow in a few short weeks, is something we all suffer through.
FEBRUARY 2008
Downhill skiing isn't the only outdoor winter activity in Girdwood. Explore some of the trails on the valley with photographer Marc Lester.
Excursions is a multimedia photo column of Marc Lester’s experiences in the Alaskan outdoors. In narrated audio slide shows, Marc shares the sights and sounds of day-long adventures, weekend road trips and essays on unique aspects of being outside in the Great Land.