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12
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 Alaska
Hiking Trails
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Anchorage Alaska hiking hike trail trails
backpacking
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Last
Updated: July 07, 2010ka hiking
packing trails
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TO MY RETURNING
GUESTS
On January 16, 2010 I will no longer be
living in Alaska. After 10 years of exploring this incredible
state, my job is relocating me to Houston, Texas. While I'm sad to
be leaving Alaska, I'm looking forward to returning to the urban
wilderness that I grew up with in the East.
I plan on keeping this site active. However, there will be a few
changes.
- I will no
longer accept submittals for new hikes, pictures, or opinions. I
will only accept information regarding changes to a trail that could
seriously affect a hikers safety and/or enjoyment while on the trail
(for example: bridges washed out, trails closed to bear activity, etc.),
and the below.
- As you have
noticed on my hike pages, there is a "last updated"
date. It is important that the information stays correct.
If you see a date that is older than a year, please email me to let me
know the information is still valid.
Thanks to everyone, especially Ross,
Frank, Dan, Linda, and all of you who submitted, for making this site what it
is. It was real fun creating and maintaining this site.
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TO
MY NEW GUESTS
WELCOME! If
you are a visitor coming
to the Southcentral Alaska area or if you just moved here, my hope is that this site will be a useful
reference in helping you decide which trails to hike, backpack, bike or even
snowshoe and cross country ski. I have tried to cross reference the
trails in many different and unusual ways so that even if you wind up here on a business trip in February
with only an afternoon free, this site can be of some help.
 WHY
I CREATED THIS SITE
In 1999, I was thinking about moving up here and decided to come for
a visit in September. I wanted the trip to be half research and half
vacation and went about checking the guidebooks for a good 3 day
backpack trip that would give me the most scenery in one bang. I decided on
Kachemak State Park. To make a long story short, it was a bad
decision(*). September is the rainy season there. Add 30 to 50 degree weather and it was a very bad mix. I was very uneducated about
hypothermia
because I had only backpacked in the East when the temps were extremely
warm. In short, it was a disaster (although a very scenic
disaster) and I wish I had known someone up here that I could have contacted for
advice before I came up. Alaska Hiking
Trails Guide
After living here for 10 years, I'm much older and wiser.
In retrospect, I would have been better off sticking with Chugach
State Park for my backpacking trip and day hiking the Kenai
Peninsula. So for my little piece of good karma, I offer this
website to you as someone who lived here and who wants to help you get
the most out of your Alaska experience. It is also my way of repaying the
countless acts of kindness by Alaskans when I visited as well as when I first
moved up here.
*Which is not to say this is a bad
hike. It's an incredible hike and I highly recommend it-just not
in September. Go to Grewingk
Valley for the whole ordeal.
 WHAT
THIS SITE IS
When I first started this site, it was going to have everything and
be a complete resource in itself. I realized very soon that this goal
and a fulltime job -not to mention actually spending time outside
hiking- were
not going to go together. Subsequently, I limited myself to making this a supplement
to the already fine and useful trail guides that are already on the
market (go here for more info).
The real problem with most guidebooks, however, is that they
try to be too objective. Subsequently, I have tried to be a little less formal in
my reviews. I have also tried to
include some info that the books don't provide. My action plan
while writing about each hike was to write my first thoughts, edit, then use the
books for verification so that the hikes in these pages weren't just a
rehash of what's in the guides.
Another small problem with guidebooks , due to the cost, is
that the photos are only in black and white which makes choosing more
difficult. Most of the trails in this site have at least 4 photos.
So.... basically you can use this site first and get some ideas of where you would like to
hike or backpack, then use the guidebooks and other sources for more
detailed information ....or you've read about a
trail somewhere else and would like a second opinion.
 Before
you start actually hiking, please go to my Education
page as well as other sources so that you are prepared for the unique
dangers and challenges that can arise when traveling in the Alaska
backcountry (see
below).
 WHAT
THIS SITE ISN'T
I WANT TO BE REAL UPFRONT ABOUT THIS: THIS SHOULD NOT BE YOUR ONLY
RESOURCE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT HIKING AND BACKPACKING IN ALASKA! Most of the hike pages on this site are only cursory examinations. They usually do not go into detail about every
section of the trail. This site is only a jumping off point or a
supplement to guidebooks and detailed topographic maps. Please
read the disclaimer below and please read my Education
page as well as other wilderness safety publications.
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Peak to Peak Trail and Wilderness Links
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