(Part 2) Top products from r/alaska

You have a bit of a lazy question so you're getting lazy answers but at the same time I totally understand where you are coming from. You need to narrow down your desire for solitude. I grew up in a cabin in the woods so have a bit of experience with this stuff. You may not know the exact answers to this right now but here's a few things to ponder:

how alone do you want to be?

do you want to have year round access to a store or is 2 to 3 seasons enough?

do you want to 'live off the land'?

do you want bush or ocean?

do you want to buy an existing place to live or do you want to build a home/cabin from scratch?

is the cost of travel from your home to society a concern?

do you want to earn a living or be completely self sufficient?

is having electricity a concern for you or your partner (if you have one)?

would living on a remote road system be enough to satisfy your wanderlust? (this will make life a million times easier)

Would living on an island be fun or would you prefer mainland?

How often do you want to interact with people?

These questions will get you started, I applaud your goals as I am starting to think about this again myself despite my brutal upbringing. There's probably 1000 books about living in the Alaskan bush that you can enjoy and learn from. Also, if interested check out the fantastic documentary called Arctic Son about a family who moves to the wilderness to live off the land. I feel it's a fair and unbiased look at it as the family themselves shot the footage. I happened to catch it on a AMHS ride and was blown away. The family is.... um, unique, and I think that that may be what t takes to spend a winter in the wilderness. You should also read this homesteader's book to get an idea. And look at all the books recommended by that book! Read read read about this! It's tough living!

Here's my advice: don't "live off the land." Instead find a town in Alaska you like and move somewhere near it. It's a huge place and you can live on the road system without ever being bothered but with still having access to a post office, library and grocery store. If you want comforts but true solitude perhaps consider moving to a town in SE like Sitka, Meyer's Chuck, Ketchikan or Wrangell where you can live in a cabin off the road system but only a short (30 minutes - ish) boat ride from the harbor. That way you never have to talk to a soul unless you want to and when you visit town for supplies. In SE you can easily weather out the storms because the winters are pretty mild there. At the moment there's lots available in George Inlet off the grid for only 30 or 40k!

I wish you all the luck in the world and I hope you find the peace and serenity that will sooth your soul. We all need our version of that!!

I'm glad you asked! I love learning what things are, so I'm happy to share. This should be apparent by the time I'm done with my data dump. First off, when in Alaska and where? That will depend on how useful some of these things are.

I use PeakFinder for mountain names. The desktop version is free, but the app is $4.99 and worth every penny. It will only show peaks, and not lakes, glaciers, or other formations. I use the Delorme Atlas for those. That's too unwieldy to take on hikes, though.

For birds, I know the President of the Anchorage Audubon Society uses iBird for an app, so that must be decent. There's a free demo version, but the full app is $14.99. For the Anchorage coastal area, I mostly use this checklist. If you can tell a duck from a sparrow, you can narrow down your bird substantially and use websites to find the right one. Although the list is specific to Anchorage, and results are very different in places like Seward or Fairbanks. If you're into bird identification, you'll get farther learning how a few birds sound rather than how they look.

The Eagle River Nature Center has a few events throughout the summer that help novices with identifying plants, birds, trees, and other animals. There are also guided bird walks at Potter Marsh and Campbell Creek Science Center throughout the summer.

For flowers, I'm not aware of any great apps. I do know of some good books. This is the best pocket-sized book for berries. This is my favorite for flowers. For all types of plants, this book is amazing. It's thick and heavy, so you won't be taking it hiking, but it's a wealth of information. Outside of Discovering Wild Plants, I would buy the other books used at Title Wave in Anchorage.

Trees are easy. I'm not sure you need an app. Here's a pamphlet from the Forest Service. Basically, if it looks like a Christmas tree it's probably a spruce. If it has big glossy leaves, it's a balsam poplar/black cottonwood. If it has smaller serrated leaves, it's probably a paper birch. That covers 90% of what you'll see in Alaska for trees. There are others like willows, alders, hemlock, tamarack, but the pamphlet can help with those.

There are subreddits specifically tailored to identify things like plants, birds, insects, trees, etc., so if you're stumped, take some pictures and post it online.

I agree with you that equality is a fallacy that doesn't really exist. Some people are simply born with better tools in their toolbox. Some people are nicer, smarter, better looking, and some people are are dumb, ugly, assholes. That's just the way of the world. However, the notion that race determines any sort of objective intelligence characteristic has been roundly rejected by the anthropological, biological, and sociological communities (read: all of credible science). Yes, race can determine your height, color of your skin, your hair type, but it does not determine your intelligence. Any studies that claim that race does this have been show to be using a biased test. Giving a kid from the Sahara a #2 pencil and asking him to complete an IQ test in English, isn't really a fair measuring stick. One also has to remember that race and culture are two related but different things. You are born WITH your race INTO your culture. There can definitely be cultures that place different levels of value on certain types of intelligence, decorum, physical beauty, etc and therefore cause their cultural members to strive for/away from those certain characteristics. But the thought that onc group is inherently better or smarter based on their race is the textbook definition of racism and asking for a separation of people based along these lines is extremely racist. Most of the differences that are apparent today have a lot more to do with opportunity, access to resources, geography, and well.. simple luck. I recommend Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel. In there he very eloquently explains a lot of the factors that lead to Europeans finding their way to the top of the heap.

That being said, if you want to have one country that is whites only that's totally fine for you to want it. But you gotta realize that's a pretty racist thing to want. I don't accept the notion that a homogeneous society is inherently better than a mixed race one. I have heard you claim that no one has provided tangible evidence of the benefits of a mixed race society. That is very difficult because the main benefits are acceptance and open mindedness and those are not very tangible benefits in the sense you are looking for. But I would ask you to explain to me the credible and tangible benefits to a homogeneous society. And we have to remember that correlation does not equal causation. Show me something credible that proves the link.

I have not done it, but know a lot about it, enough to think about a summit attempt next spring. And I've spent a fair amount of time on the Ruth Glacier (the glacier over from base camp).

akgreenman is wrong on a few accounts, the West Buttress route is the way to go for a beginner. There are established camps at 700 ft on the Kahiltna Glacier (base camp) then again an established camp with a medical tent at 14,000 feet, and then high camp at 17,200. (there are intermediate camps between those as well, but those are the main three)

The route is mostly a walk up with fixed ropes on the harder parts. It is not technical climbing, but you need to be very careful. The weather can be horrendous and the altitude is very trying. Because Denali (call it Denali not Mt. McKinley if you're a climber) is a higher latitude, it has less dense air and thus is equivalent to a much higher height at the equator. The most important thing are be careful and to acclimatize well and watch the weather.

You will want to read this book by Colby Coombs. Full disclosure, he is a family friend of mine, but it is very informative of someone who runs a guiding service.

If you are not very experienced at altitude and very cold weather, do a guided trip. They have experience and have been up the mountain many times. The cost of a trip like that would be something a bit over $6000 plus the $210 park entrance and mountaineering fee. Places to look at are Alaska Mountain School which is local out of Talkeetna (where you'll fly in from), Alpine Ascents, and RMI. The ratio on those trips will be 4-6 climbers to 2 guides. Colby Coombs (who I mentioned earlier) runs AMS (kind ironic acroynm eh?) and they are very experienced and reliable. I know a head guide for Alpine Ascents who I would follow up anything and I am friends with two younger guides for RMI and that group also seems very organized. Basically use one of those three.

As for training, just be in damn good shape. Know how to use all the gear that would be on the gear list. Go for hikes with packs, learn how to manage sleds full of gear. This is most likely going to be a slog where you spend the day shuttling lots of gear up to a higher camp then go down to a lower camp to sleep, and repeat several times. People say that you'll climb Denali three times for each summit.

If you are thinking that you want to do a more technical, exposed, or remote route - don't. Since you are here asking questions you probably aren't the most experienced and only a few people per year climb other routes than the West Buttress. Denali is not a mountain to be messed with, weather can turn at any moment. Be careful and have fun.

PM me (or just reply) if you have any more questions. I like talking climbing.

You should read this excellent book! It's a page turner.

It's about homesteading and a family dealing with their mentally ill father.

https://www.amazon.com/Pilgrims-Wilderness-Madness-Alaska-Frontier/dp/0307587835

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edit: Also, check out Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaksa. There's a lot of homesteaders out there and the living is a bit easier because the winters are less harsh. Plus, incredible fishing! I lived there for a few years and loved it. I'm going back for vacation in a week.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Wales_Island_(Alaska)

https://www.thealaskalife.com/blog/exploring-prince-of-wales-island/

cool little towns on POW:

http://ccalaska.com/

https://thornebay-ak.gov/

https://www.craigak.com/

Also, I love this blog post talking about the day in the life of a seasonal worker. I did something similar for years and LOVED it!

https://susanshain.com/seasonal-worker-ketchikan-ak/

If you have any questions let me know- I enjoy talking about my time in AK!

There are a bajillion good hikes in Skagway (Upper Dewey Lakes, A-B Mountain, and of course the legendary Chilkoot Trail). Good hiking and beautiful mountains around Haines too. I would recommend getting the book Hiking Alaska, which just came out with a new edition. Pretty much essential reading if you're into hiking at any level anywhere in AK.

Edit: Added link to book. Also, you might want to get a Milepost if you haven't already. It'll be a big help on the drive.

They definitely need better traps. I once had a rodent issue where I was living and definitely considered this after watching an enthusiast gush about them. Luckily, I was able to get out of my lease and move somewhere nice.

Wow, I'm in the middle of reading this book. Your friend is in for quite the journey.

Let's agree to jettison Into the Wild from this list.

Michener's Alaska would be a better choice. Or Lindstrand's Alaskan Sketchbook, if we can include a pictorial journal.

Russian America is one of the best books I have ever read. You can probably find a copy at title wave in anchorage for less than online

This one gives a good over view: Alaska: A History of the 49th State https://www.amazon.com/dp/080612573X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_qP2.BbEVNW77H

Find this book or someone who has it. I've seen it at Costco, I guarantee there's a recipe or four in there.

Two in the Far North

Try Nick Begich Jr.'s book (yes, the brother of the Senator).

Frigid Embrace is a great book about the resources in Alaska.

Fair Game I recommend this one if you're interested in Robert Hansen, Alaskan serial killer who just recently died in jail.

Tongass is all about the fight for the rain-forest in South East. Been awhile since I looked at that one, but I remember it being very insightful.