Get out there and enjoy summer, Alaskans. Just prepare your adventures wisely.
Along with the usual gear-and-route checklist, be sure to evaluate skill levels and comfort levels — yours, and those of your companions.
Outdoors/Adventure
A once-in-a-lifetime partner
If you don’t know whether you’ve had the perfect hunting dog, it’s “because you’ve never had one.”
Riding fat-tire bikes while hunting a 1,500-pound bison in the Yukon is just another field trip for these Canadian students
The area is steeped in First Nations culture, and education about indigenous peoples is a mandatory part of the curriculum.
‘No argument, no fights’: Hunter says friend found dead on Kodiak Island had disappeared into the wilderness before
Aleksandr Neverov of Delta Junction said he found the body of 39-year-old Viacheslav Akimenko six days after Akimenko went missing. Troopers are awaiting autopsy results.
State gets right of way in agreement with Native corporation over Klutina Lake Road
But it’s still unclear whether free overnight camping and parking will eventually be legal.
Surviving the final weeks of trail snowmelt
Here are some ideas for maximizing your outdoor time until area trails completely dry out.
Ocean fishing is the best of both worlds — a day away from civilization, but back home by bedtime
A long day of hunting or fishing is a way to feel like you’re living off the land, while still living on the grid.
Injured snowboarder, climbing partner rescued after 4 nights stuck on Denali
The pair were the first people rescued from North America’s tallest peak this year, the National Park Service says.
Lots of kids, lots of reindeer and lots of wind await you in Stebbins
The north wind blows hard in this Western Alaska village; if you spit here, it had best be to the south.
Hooligan return to Cook Inlet waters
There is no limit on the small, easy-to-catch fish.
.44 Magnum has power and the Dirty Harry cool factor, but you probably don’t need one in the outdoors
There was a time when columnist Steve Meyer always carried a .44 Magnum when in the outdoors. Now he trusts bear spray and a short-barreled, big-bore rifle.
‘Like a road trip for us': This father and son just traveled 3,750 miles around Alaska with a sled dog team
Along the way, they took impressive detours, completing the Iditarod, Yukon Quest and Kobuk 440 sled dog races.
One of Alaska’s most scenic drives skirts Rainbow Mountain near Paxson
But wait until June, when the snow will be gone, advises John Schandelmeier.
Eagle River Campground closed until mid-June due to quake-damaged road
Last fall’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake has spoiled the plans of some campers at one of the first places they can go in spring..
Getting outside is nice, especially if you can get out of your head too
Enjoying the moment is easier when you choose to be present in the moment, columnist Alli Harvey has learned.
There be monsters in the Alaska outdoors. Or perhaps a porcupine.
Most Alaskans know it’s carelessness that creates danger in the outdoors, not Bigfoot. Until that silent, glowing orb in the sky follows you home.
Before the hunt comes the search for a good hunting rig
For $500, hunting columnist Christine Cunningham found the perfect vehicle for muddy people and gear, wet dogs, coffee spills and cookie crumbs.
For this Alaskan-by-choice, ‘home’ means finding a place that challenges and inspires you
The air is clean, the mountains invite you to explore them and people band together in a way that doesn’t typically happen in many other places.
Hunting game animals is about food, and sometimes about respectfully sharing it
The sharing of game in a respectful manner is about the sense of community — knowing those who might need a hand and making a personal effort to help them.
Snow geese are everywhere, and we need to do something about it
As their population grows worldwide, the birds are destroying the habitat of other waterfowl.