Backpacker Magazine – May 2003

Alaska Made Easy

Just minutes from Anchorage lie dozens of world-class hiking and paddling trips. This guide gives you the best, plus gear and travel tips to smooth the way.

by: Steve Howe

The Great Land. It's the very definition of backpacking paradise, a big, brawling, pristine wilderness full of challenge and adventure. But claiming your piece of wild Alaska doesn't require a month's vacation, a floatplane, or a trust fund. Just outside Anchorage, salmon-choked rivers roar past unnamed, unclimbed peaks. Grizzlies prowl the tundra, Dall sheep peer from the crags, and whales leap in the bays. Minutes from the airport lie world-class hiking and paddling opportunities without a soul in sight. So start planning: Paradise is closer, cheaper, and easier than you ever dreamed.

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