Alaska
No other region in North America fires the imagination like Alaska – a derivation of Alayeska, an Athabascan word meaning "great land of the west." Few who see this land of gargantuan ice fields, sweeping tundra, glacially excavated valleys, lush rainforests, deep fjords, and occasionally smoking volcanoes leave unimpressed. Wildlife may be under threat elsewhere, but here it is abundant, with Kodiak bears standing twelve feet tall, moose stopping traffic in downtown Anchorage, wolves prowling national parks, bald eagles circling over the trees, and rivers solid with fifty-plus-pound salmon.
Alaska's sheer size is hard to comprehend. If superimposed onto the Lower 48 states, it would stretch from the Atlantic to the Pacific, while its coastline is longer than the rest of the US combined. All but three of the nation's twenty highest peaks are found within its boundaries, and one glacier alone is twice the size of Wales. In addition, not only does it contain America's northernmost and westernmost points, because the Aleutian Islands stretch across the 180th meridian, it contains the easternmost point as well.
Perhaps surprisingly then, a mere 665,000 people live in Alaska, of whom only one-fifth were born in the state: as a rule of thumb, the more winters you have endured, the more Alaskan you are. Often referred to as the "Last Frontier," Alaska in many ways mirrors the American West of the nineteenth century: an endless, undeveloped space in which to stake one's claim and set up a life without interference – or at least that's how Alaskans would like it to be. Throughout the last hundred years or so, tens of thousands have been lured by the promise of wealth, first by gold and then by fishing, logging, and, most recently, oil. However, Alaska's 100,000 Native peoples have been greatly marginalized, though Native corporations set up as a result of pre-oil boom land deals have increasing economic clout.
Traveling around Alaska still demands a spirit of adventure, and to make the most of the state you need to have an enthusiasm for striking out on your own and roughing it a bit. Binoculars are an absolute must, as is bug spray; the mosquito is referred to as the "Alaska state bird" and it takes industrial-strength repellent to keep it away. On top of that, there's the climate – though Alaska is far from the great big icebox people imagine it to be. While winter temperatures of -40°F are commonplace in Fairbanks, the most touristed areas – the southeast and the Kenai Peninsula – enjoy a maritime climate (45–65°F in summer) similar to that of the Pacific Northwest, meaning much more rain (in some towns 180-plus inches per year) than snow. Remarkably, the summer temperature in the Interior often reaches 80°F.
Alaska is far more expensive than most other states: apart from two dozen hostels and myriad campgrounds, there's little budget accommodation, and eating and drinking will set you back at least twenty percent more than in the Lower 48 (perhaps fifty percent in more remote regions). Still, experiencing Alaska on a low budget is possible, though it requires planning and off-peak travel. From June to August room prices are crazy; May and September, when tariffs are relaxed and the weather only slightly chillier, are just as good times to go, and in April or October you'll have the place to yourself, albeit with a smaller range of places to stay and eat. Ground transportation, despite the long distances, is reasonable, with backpacker shuttles ferrying budget travelers between major centers. Winter, when hotels drop their prices by as much as half, is becoming an increasingly popular time to visit, particularly for the dazzling aurora borealis.
Discover more to see and do in Alaska at www.roughguides.co.uk
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