You’d expect a destination that’s 2.5 times the size of Texas to have a few secrets. Here are 14 hidden Alaska gems worth visiting.
Photo by Mauro Paillex / Unsplash. A renaissance mountain man, lifelong Alaskan Ed Shanley has stories stretching across the state. He’s humble, likeable, and a favorite human being to anyone who knows him. That said, pound for pound he’s likely the most versatile and accomplished guide in the north. He’s guided ice climbing, glacier trekking, wildlife viewing, hunting, fishing, and reality television productions. But far and away, Ed is most passionate about big mountains. He’s guided many of the world’s most extreme snowboarders and skiers in Alaska’s remote wilderness and brutal conditions. Based in Juneau, Ed guides helicopter skiing and ski mountaineering trips through his company, Alaska Powder Descents. When not in the mountains, Ed can be found around his cabin on the Taku River with his family enjoying the wilderness. He’s always happy to discuss wild places and trips at [email protected]. Gear descriptions by Ed Shanley Garmin Inreach SE+ I rely both…
A fiddlehead fern recipe for hot giardiniera, a Chicago-style relish good on hot dogs and franks. PIck fresh Alaskan fiddleheads for the key ingredient.
Patagonia’s Triolet Jacket is a breathable and waterproof jacket that held its own against the wind, snow, and rain of southeast Alaska.
All your questions answered about whether Alaskans love tall tales, Balto the house cat, organic tofu bacon, and truth or dare in the far north.
Salmon caviar is all the rage because of its availability, healthy nutrients, and taste. Taste salmon roe at its best in this traditional Russian dish.
People have used glacier ice from Alaska to cool their cocktails since at least the 1850s. The company Alaska Glacial Ice still harvests ice for cocktails.
Charlie Anway strawberries were huge. The largest berries measured seven inches in circumference. “This strawberry is without a rival in size or quality,” wrote his biographer.
Parade on Nome’s Front Street, 1916. Courtesy Library of Congress Loving liberty, Americans honored their nation’s birth in Alaska when it was still foreign soil. Two years before the United States bought the territory from Russia, the Western Union Telegraph Expedition’s Surgeon-in-Chief Dr. Henry P. Fisher arranged its first July Fourth bash in the capital New Archangel, present-day Sitka. As guest of the Russian governor, Fisher had tired of the outpost’s routine and diet. The Brooklyn exile decided to celebrate Independence Day stylishly, helped by two supply vessel captains anchored in port. He requested the customary gun salutes and received Russian-American Company officials and their wives and daughters for a light meal on Clara Bell’s quarterdeck. Before music and dancing commenced, they all toasted Lincoln and the Tsar. Elegant shipboard dining continued to mark the anniversary: a Depression-era feast-day menu for the Inside Passage on SS Aleutian—a steamer considered “palatial”—boasted…