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Alaska Magazine
Author

Susan Sommer

Browsing
Columbine brighten up the Resurrection Pass Trail on the Kenai Peninsula.
30-Second Reads

Devoted to Digital

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Good riddance to the days of film Very few people are nostalgic for the old days of photo processing: the interminable wait to see if you got even one decent image on a roll of 36 frames of film, the abject disappointment if you failed to, and the cost of prints and slides. If you had your own darkroom or worked in one, the routine included agitating film canisters by hand, mixing smelly chemicals, wielding tongs and washing trays, and the constant fear of light leaks. Wild horses couldn’t drag me back to those times, but I did have some interesting photo lab jobs over the years. My first was in a small Wasilla-based business. During that time, I also volunteered at a horse boarding stable and had lightly frostbitten my fingertips while wearing damp gloves. I quickly learned that peeling fingertips from winter’s nip does not go well with…

30-Second Reads

Weird and Wonderful

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Alaskans rank at the top Alaska, as readers of this magazine know, is a dream travel destination as well as a fine place to live. What many might not know, however, is how quirky Alaskans can be. From various sources—and a little experience—I’ve discovered the following stats about my fellow northerners. Among all 50 states, Alaskans eat the most ice cream per capita. Perhaps that’s one reason Anchorage-ites were voted the worst dressed by a different magazine’s reader poll. It’s easier to hide the tummy roll under an old parka, right? Also, XTRATUFs are a staple on any real Alaskan’s boot rack, but add to that a pair of baggy Carhartt pants and a well-worn sweatshirt, and you’re ready for an evening out on the town for some…dessert wine? Yes, we Alaskans apparently like the sweet stuff, as we purchase, per capita, the most. Ruby port over “Crude Oil” (chocolate…

Ken Chase
30-Second Reads

Who’s in a Name?

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Real people are in all those unnamed photos  In this photo taken by my mom when we lived along the Iditarod trail at Farewell Lake in 1974 and ’75, musher Ken Chase takes a break from the race to chat with us and rest his dogs. An Athabascan from Anvik, Chase ran the Iditarod 16 times, most recently in 2002. He placed in the top 10 three times. Hear his recollections about racing on photographer Jeff Schultz’s Faces of Iditarod site: faces.iditarod.com/ken-chase. Something that has always made me uncomfortable as an editor is using photos of people without naming them. Historical photos of Alaska Natives are notoriously nameless; the caption typically reads along the lines of “Native man in a boat,” or “Tlingit shaman in full costume.” So I’m particularly excited to share this issue in which nearly all of the images of individuals include names of Alaskans living (or…

My View North
30-Second Reads

A Very short History of Alaska

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Spoiler alert: it doesn’t include everything My family’s history in Alaska goes back to just before statehood, when my parents, who hadn’t yet met, each moved here for work and adventure. To me, those origins—my origins—seem distant, but through other lenses, our time here is a mere blip on the screen of existence. History, this issue’s theme, is messy, multi-layered, and fascinating. And it’s always told from a certain perspective. This region’s past didn’t begin with statehood, of course, nor with overseas explorers, nor with Indigenous cultures. When did it start, then? With the dinosaurs roaming ancient lands? When plate tectonics and volcanism were building Alaska’s mountains?  When we decided on this theme, I thought, “How should we narrow it down? What to include? Leave out?” As happens with each issue, the process is part logical planning and part chance depending on what ideas writers pitch us and what photos…

My View North
30-Second Reads

Wilderness for All

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Appreciating Alaska’s parks and other public lands I live in Alaska because I was born and raised here, and it will always feel like home. But I stay in Alaska because it’s the only place on the planet with so much dramatic and varied wilderness. Alaska’s national and state parks alone total nearly 60 million acres. Some of that is right out my back door. Getting away from it all to play on public lands is as easy as hopping in my car and driving 30 minutes to a trailhead. Add a bit longer drive plus an air charter or water taxi, and I could be dropped off in the middle of nowhere to enjoy only my own company for days or weeks on end.  Once out there, though, I wouldn’t really be alone, as so many wild creatures roam the land and water: grizzlies in Denali National Park and…

At the foot of the Kennicott Glacier in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve.
30-Second Reads

Wilderness for All

By

Appreciating Alaska’s parks and other public lands I live in Alaska because I was born and raised here, and it will always feel like home. But I stay in Alaska because it’s the only place on the planet with so much dramatic and varied wilderness. Alaska’s national and state parks alone total nearly 60 million acres. Some of that is right out my back door. Getting away from it all to play on public lands is as easy as hopping in my car and driving 30 minutes to a trailhead. Add a bit longer drive plus an air charter or water taxi, and I could be dropped off in the middle of nowhere to enjoy only my own company for days or weeks on end.  Once out there, though, I wouldn’t really be alone, as so many wild creatures roam the land and water: grizzlies in Denali National Park and…

Chance Wildlife Encounters
30-Second Reads

Chance Meetings

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Indelible Brushes with Wildlife Unexpected encounters with wildlife are my favorite kind. Just yesterday, a moose and I startled each other on the trail. It wasn’t the wildlife viewing opportunity of a lifetime, but it was exhilarating to hear a noise, glance up, and behold that mass of shiny, brown, rippling muscle hotfooting it downhill toward me. Had I stood still, it would’ve come close, but I reacted instinctually, leaping for the scant protection of a nearby birch. My motion scared the animal and it bolted.  Another time, a campground coyote slipped by almost unnoticed. I happened to see it amble across the road and alerted my boyfriend. We grabbed cameras and moseyed to where the canid had disappeared into the bushes and were surprised to see furry ears flashing in the setting sun. Wiley sat on its haunches and watched us watch, then laid down and curled its tail…

Sometimes you find weird stuff off the beaten path.
30-Second Reads

Out of the Ordinary

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And into your own journey Getting off the beaten path, this issue’s theme, means different things to different people. A short hike to an overlook above a lake popular with hikers and paddlers on weekends might be all one person needs to recharge her batteries before heading back to the city. Another might think teaching students in rural Alaskan communities is sufficiently out there to qualify. Someone else might consider diving deep into frigid waters to photograph undersea creatures his blissful escape. However you frame it, getting off the main drag in Alaska is as easy or complex as you want to make it. This month, our features lead readers away from the usual to places like Naknek, Kasigluk, and Tuntutuliak in “Never a Dull Day” (page 64); a tiny cabin visited every summer in “Off-Grid in Moose Pass” (page 72); and underwater around Kodiak and Valdez in “What Lies…

navigating the north
30-Second Reads

Navigating the North

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Be a good road trip passenger Not good,” Pat said as we added our brake lights to the standstill on Interstate 40 west of Albuquerque. Semis surrounded us, idling. “Is there a way around this mess, Navigatrix?” he asked. I was already tapping my phone to check Google Maps while simultaneously flipping through the New Mexico atlas on my lap for the corresponding page. On our road trips, it’s partly my job as “Navigatrix” to find the most efficient, scenic, or interesting route. When we’d checked the app earlier, we’d seen the red section, meaning traffic delays, but figured we’d give it a try anyway, as there really wasn’t another good way to head toward our next destination. While it took us nearly two hours of driving down alternate side roads (even passing one called Alaska Loop) and then backtracking because everyone else had the same idea, I discovered one…

Spring is in the Air
30-Second Reads

Spring is in the Air, and Water, and Land

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A time of renewal for all Capsizing in my sea kayak is one of my biggest fears. Taking a class in self-rescue is on my list, and I know that completing such a task would ease my anxiety. I’ve practiced in shallow, calm, warmish lake water—and though I was able to haul myself back on deck and into the cockpit, it was exhausting and required all my strength. I ended up with bruises. Tipping over in cold marine chop far from help is another story altogether, and one we present as a feature in this issue, about an experienced kayaker whose wherewithal, preparation, and luck saved his life. Alaska’s waters are, of course, also major sources of fun, subsistence, income, environmental data, and natural beauty. We cover all of this in these pages, from spring river breakup to a portrait of a remote island in the Bering Sea to steelhead…

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