I landed at LAX at 5:15AM on a Sunday, after some fitful dozing on the 5+ hour flight from Anchorage. The good news is that Uber got me home in record time — turns out there isn’t any traffic at that time anywhere in LA. So I was able to get horizontal in my own bed for the first time in 2 weeks before the sun was up and grab a little catnap before starting the day.
It was a memorable and amazing experience visiting the 49th state. It is so vast and unpopulated that it reminded me in that way of Australia. Even the cities and towns have that small village feel, with things concentrated around a center, and people living on large bits of land outside. When the homesteaders came in the early 20th century, and then another influx after the two world wars, they had to sign up for some hard work and isolation and harsh weather. So there’s a spirit of that that you can almost feel. As if the distance from the lower 48 and the harshness of the landscape instill a pride of forging a life and a future that’s different from the states with easy access. It’s hard to get fresh fruits and vegetables, and when you run out of something a trip to the store is a planned excursion. That makes for an intrepid spirit in the residents.
Our adventure took us to some beautiful places, but we crossed only a fraction of the enormous state, which is about 2/3 the size of the lower 48. With rivers and glaciers and ice fields and more coastline that all of the rest of the mainland, there was an endless variety of things to see and discover. And we didn’t even get to the cruising of the inland passage, or Fairbanks or Nome or Juneau. But we got a glimpse of Denali and glaciers and wildlife and the long, long days of summer.
I’m so fortunate to have been able to take this trip, but I’m really happy to be home. There’s a heat wave here in LA, and I was cold EVERY DAY in Alaska! Below, some final pics from various days on the trail.
Until next time…. I am home again.
