Month In-stagram Review Alaskan Wilderness

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Over the last 3 years, my travel style has changed. Many years ago, when I started this lifestyle, it was about going to all of the places I had heard about but had never been to.  I was a late bloomer when it came to travel, having only gotten my first passport at 30 years old, so I felt like I had a lot of catching up to do.  I did the popular stops: Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Hong Kong, Sydney, Nepal, Cape Town, Greece, London, and Egypt, to name a few.  

I was happy ticking off countries and bucket list items. However, like everything in my life that I do for a while, it started to grow old, and I found myself yearning to do something different than the typical traveler.  I didn’t want to follow the well-traveled path; I wanted to discover new regions, the wilderness, and really chart the unknown in the world of travel, like the explorers of old.

“We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

That desire has led me much deeper into uncharted and unknown areas in the past few years.  Sometimes it has resulted in simply exploring underexposed regions like Thuringia, Germany, or the Cariboo Mountains in Canada, and sometimes it has led me into the remote, unexplored (and not often written about) wilderness like Wrangel Island. I’m finding that what excites me most is introducing new places to people and new ways to see those places. My last 4 weeks were spent doing what I love, exploring the Alaskan wilderness.

Wild Alaska

I spent 3 glorious weeks in my favorite state – Alaska.  I know you aren’t supposed to name favorites – but what the hell – I just did. It’s my favorite state because it’s really like no other.  A state with 3 million lakes, and 300,000 glaciers, overflowing with wildlife, mountain peaks, national parks, and very few roads. It’s our massive, unique wilderness gem in the US, and so much of it hasn’t been explored by tourists.

On my last trip to Alaska, I focused on remote towns, but this trip I focused on the remote Alaskan wilderness and adventure travel. I took planes, trains, vans, kayaks, hiking boots, and ATVs deep into the Alaskan wilderness to see if I could survive – and the good news is that I did.  

I rode the Alaska railroad with locals into the roadless wilderness to get a new look at homesteading.  I made a pilgrimage to one of the most famous cabins in all of Alaska, deeply nestled in Lake Clark National Park, one of our least visited parks in the national park system.  I kayaked across glacial lakes, hiked on the tundra, took a jarring ATV journey through riverbeds, and even went on a sunset photographic adventure. Damn, I love exploring Alaska.

Now I’m in Denver for a couple of weeks, letting it all soak in, and experiencing some much-needed stillness after the last 2 months of travel to Germany, Maine, Alaska, and BC, Canada.  As I sort through my notes and pictures and plan my future articles, I wanted to give you a small taste of what I experienced while exploring Alaska.  Here are some of my best Instagram photos from my 3 weeks in the Alaskan wilderness to share with you.

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Pastel skies tonight in #Anchorage. A great way to celebrate my 10-year travel-versary was going out on a photo sunset tour with @alaskaphototreks! Many more images to come from the tour…stay tuned!

A pink sunset among fall colors – like an Alaskan landscape kaleidoscope! Captured this while on my @alaskaphototreks twilight tour. They know all the great photo spots around Anchorage!

Colors and textures of Alaska. This was taken from my kayak while kayaking at Spencer Glacier. These icebergs had recently broken off and floated into the 600-foot-deep lake. #feelingsmall in this gigantic landscape.

The sound of silence. On the water staring at Spencer Glacier and no one but our little @ascendingpath tour group of 5 around. Can’t imagine a better way to see Alaska.

Alaska is one of the few states you can really see by train, and I took full advantage of it! I’ve now ridden every possible passenger line @alaskarailroad offers! This is the Coastal Classic that we flagged down at Spencer Glacier Whistle stop after playing all day on the glacier. A perfect way to relax and take in the views on the way back to Anchorage! I even treated myself to a beer!

Things to do in Anchorage, Alaska, in the Summer or the Winter

A fire sunset tonight captured from the @alaskarailroad Coastal Classic route. Another adventure-filled day via rail travel comes to an end. Spent the day kayaking and glacier hiking in remote Alaska.

This isn’t your normal fall foliage road trip. Exploring the colorful backcountry near Knik Glacier via ATV and 49th State Motor Tours.

Find out how to find fall colors in Alaska

What I woke up to this morning in Port Alsworth. I watched the steam roll around Lake Clark and thought about what it would be like to wake up in this environment every day. Port Alsworth is a float plane hub for the Lake Clark and Kenai areas. Such a hidden gem. It will be hard to leave this area today after a week in the Alaskan wilderness

Alaska from above. A braided river spills out into a glacier-fed lake. Taken while flying to Lake Clark National Park.

Flying in through the storm. We attempted to fly out of Port Alsworth twice but had to turn around due to low visibility. But the third time was a charm – we made it onto Twin Lakes and dropped off with our camping gear. There’s always something a bit unnerving and exciting when the float plane drops you off, and it won’t be back for 5 days.

Twin Lakes on a rare still day. Set up camp and hike up on the tundra for this view! The only bad thing about the still, warm day was the annoying flies that kept buzzing my picture!

I’m baaack! I’ve spent the last 6 days camping and kayaking in this pristine wilderness in Lake Clark National Park. No internet – just views like this at Twin Lakes. One of the most stunning and humbling parks I’ve ever traveled through. Can’t wait to show you more!

Traversing between the lower and upper Twin Lakes. We used inflatable kayaks to move around the lakes and move our camp. Loaded down with gear, we had to pull them through the strong current into the upper lake.

A short tundra hike up the hill from our campsite for some incredible views of Twin Lakes. There’s nothing quite like walking on the squishy tundra.

Fall is in full swing in Alaska! The tundra and forests are full of reds, oranges, and gold in Lake Clark National Park!

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