AK Travel Guide
7/01/2008 at 3:00 PM
Tags: Honky-Tonk-Surf-Towns, Surfing, Active Travel, Alaska Travel (all tags)
It's a balmy 50 degrees today in this southeastern Alaska town, and the waves are waiting: From an Inuit word meaning "the place where canoes rest," Yakutat catches great Pacific tides which keep the water warmer than the air year-round.
Don't by spooked by its proximity to the North Pole; boarders might find that with a wetsuit the ride is downright toasty. And how bad-ass is it to surf alongside a glacier? Photographer and Alaska native Scott Dickerson puts it this way:
There must be something about Alaskan surfers and the challenges that they must overcome to surf "the last frontier" that drives them to another level of addiction.
The town of 600 people, sandwiched between Mount Saint Elias and Mount Fairweather, even has its own gear outpost--the Icy Waves Surf Shop (635 Haida St.). Plus: No bears!
Related Stories:
· Surfing Yakutat, Alaska [Scott Dickerson]
· Honky Tonk Surf Towns coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: Bold Searcher]
by egw
7/01/2008 at 11:00 AM
Tags: Alaska Travel, Dangerous Travel, Animals, Bears (all tags)
Although Anchorage is a somewhat bustling city of 300,000 people, skyscrapers, great nightlife and one of the best bars in America (Chilkoot Charlie's), it still remains on the edge of some truly wild territory filled with animals much larger, tootheir and hungrier than humans.
This fact was sadly reiterated on Saturday night when a teenage girl riding in an all-night bike race was mauled by a bear who was foraging near the course in Far North Bicentennial Park. The young girl was outfitted with bear bells and two lights so as not to scare any wildlife, but a state biologist says that gusty winds on the night of the race and the rush of the creek might have made it difficult for the bear to hear her approach. That, he said, might've spooked the animal and caused the attack.
Two weekends prior, a bear charged at a pair of runners in the same area--though that's not stopping Alaskans from getting out to enjoy nature. Says one local:
It's not going to stop me from going out of the house and enjoying the short summer. But I'm thinking we should buy some bear spray.
Related Stories:
· Terror on the Trail: Bear Attacks Teen [Anchorage DN]
· Bears coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: kradlum]
by DanielR
6/19/2008 at 9:30 AM
Tags: National Parks, Cell Phones, Outdoor Travel (all tags)
Two hikers missing in Alaska since Thursday were found thanks to a still-kicking cell phone battery: Abby Flantz and Erica Nelson were helicoptered out of the tundra after air and ground searches failed to find the twentysomething hikers in Denali National Park.
Though rescuers couldn't find them, Nelson was able to pick up a cell phone signal to contact her mother.
The women, who are working for the summer at the nearby Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge, were scheduled to take a quick overnight hike near Mount Healy but failed to show up for work on Saturday. The pair had a wilderness permit for Denali, but were actually discovered outside park boundaries.
Related Stories
· Missing Women Found at Alaska's Denali Park [AP, via Yahoo]
· Review of the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge [HC]
· National Parks coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: kmesh]
by egw
6/11/2008 at 1:00 PM
Tags: National Parks, Active Travel, Summer Travel, Alaska Travel, Secret-National-Parks-Map (all tags)
Nothing screams summer fun like a national park, but who wants to visit Yellowstone again? This week, we're bringing you some secret spots to enjoy.
It's a shame that this park would be mentioned as a secret. With about 60,000 visitors last year, Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve really needs some marketing behind it--maybe a mascot?
Wrangell is the country's largest national park, and it's about the size of six Yellowstones. That makes it about as big as Costa Rica.
To get there, fly into Anchorage and take either Highway 1 or Highway 4 to the park. Like the other spots we've covered, a chartered aircraft is also a good way to get there, if a little pricey.
MORE...
by kjb
6/09/2008 at 12:45 PM
Tags: National Parks, Summer Travel, Active Travel, Alaska Travel, Secret-National-Parks-Map (all tags)
Nothing screams summer fun like a national park, but who wants to visit Yellowstone again? This week, we're bringing you some secret spots to enjoy.
To describe it, you'd say Kobuk Valley National Park is "outside" Fairbanks, Alaska, but it'd be more precise to say it's in the absolute middle of nowhere.
The park is only accessible by foot, chartered air, snowmobile or, of course, dog sled. There are no actual trails or roads in the park--or even leading to it--so you better whip out that compass or GPS and hope that you successfully stumble upon it.
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by kjb
1/20/2008 at 10:07 PM
Tags: Amazing-Race-12, Amazing Race 12, Chasing Racers, Television Travel, TV Travel (all tags)
Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race 12 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.
Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map--with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.
Well race fans, it's hard to believe we've actually arrived at the season finale! Eleven teams started out at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles on this once in a lifetime adventure, and traveled over 30,000 miles across four continents to get to the finish line. This was the quickest Amazing Race ever; it took teams only only twenty-one days to run the course. Ron and Christina began on a long mission to learn to work together, and their harmony finally paid off in the last few episodes. Nick and Grandpa Don have managed a great race, and Don is officially the oldest coot to ever make it to the final three.
TK and Rachel have focused on enjoying the experiences and each other, rather than the million dollar prize. These are three solid teams--and not necessarily the ones we thought we'd see in the finale. Will the Ron and Christina train plow through to a number one finish? Will TK and Rachel build on their big turnaround from last week? Will Grandpa Don simply run out of steam along the way to the finish line? All the answers and more after the jump!
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by Todd
1/09/2008 at 2:00 PM
Tags: World's Most Dangerous Airports, Alaska Travel, ADK (all tags)
We've got another airport to add to our list of the world's most dangerous airports. Adak Airport, the westernmost public airfield in the United States, makes our list, thanks to tipster Ron's awesome story:
This used to be a US Naval Air Station way the heck out 'n gone in the Aleutian Islands from about 1942 until closure in 1997. Since then, it's become a civilian-operated airport. I'm not an air operations specialist of any sort, but as a civilian contractor working for the Navy, we commuted through Adak a number of times in 1989, 1990 and 1991 on our way to Amchitka, from Anchorage.
I specifically remember bouncing into Adak virtually every time we landed or took off from there. Seems the winds were always 30+, and sometimes as high as 60 when we finally got in or out. Then there was the fog.
There were several times we stooged around over the island for hours, hoping for 1/4 mile visibility so we could land. We usually made it in about 50% of the time on flights from Anchorage. If we were lucky enough to get in and out of Adak, we made it to Amchitka less than 50% of the time. We were flying Reeve Air.
One takeoff from Adak remains firmly implanted in my memory to this day.
MORE...
by pbb
12/21/2007 at 4:00 PM
Tags: Alaska Travel, Movie Set Travel, Missed Connections (all tags)
This week we finally caught up to the movie "Into the Wild," and while we still like the Jon Krakauer nonfiction book better, we were thrilled by the sweeping vistas of off-the-beaten-path Alaska captured by director Sean Penn. Since our 49th state has but one communal Craigslist page, we thought we'd offer an all-Alaska edition of Most Missed, in case you have a hankering to travel north this winter. (Read Into the Wild first!)
La Mex, Anchorage -- This three-location Mexican minichain is famous for its fresh tortillas and (better for sharing with beautiful blondes) strong margaritas. 8330 King St.
Pump House, Fairbanks -- Woo her with dessert at this Gold Rush-themed grill. 796 Chena Pump Rd.
Cosmic Kitchen, Homer -- Scrambled eggs to smoothies are on offer at this charming little indie. Get to know the guy at the table next to you, because "Winters in Homer can be very lonely." 510 Pioneer Ave.
Related Stories:
· Alaska Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Missed Connections coverage [Jaunted]
· Alaska Hotels [HotelChatter]
[Photo: travfotos]
by egw
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