Trip Preparations

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Genesis of the Idea

"You want to go to Alaska?" I asked, incredulously.
"Yes," replied Hobbit, "I want to see glaciers and mountains."
I pointed to Mount Rainier, off to our left and said, "Those glaciers aren't good enough?" and then I pointed to the Cascade mountains and said, "Those mountains aren't good enough? Alaska is just like the Olympic peninsula, except the ferry ride is longer and the prices are more expensive."
"My parents want to go on an Alaska cruise," she said, "and I was thinking that we could go with them."
We decided to join her parents on the Alaska cruise, but, instead of taking a tour bus, we decided on a little more adventure ...

Planning

We put together a list of the things that we wanted to do, then trimmed the list (going to Prudhoe Bay from Fairbanks would cost over $1,000 for the two of us, so it got cut from the list.)
We trimmed it down to cycling and riding the train - Fairbanks to Denali, biking in Denali, train to Anchorage, biking from Anchorage to Seward and then the Inside Passage via HAL's cruise ship the Ryndam.

Supplies and Equipment

The Alaska sourdoughs were required to have 2,000 pounds of supplies and equipment before the Canadian Mounties would let them pass into the gold fields in the Yukon. We're packing a little lighter - Hobbit's stuff (on the right) weighs in at 41 pounds and my share of the stuff weighs in at 45 pounds.

sleeping bag and thermarest pad sleeping bag and thermarest pad panniers panniers camelbacks with 2 liter bladder bike rack pack bike rack pack 2 cans chili, 2 cans corned beef hash, 2 cans spam Propane canister Insect repellent and sunblock First aid kit bike tools (tire irons, allen wrenches), chain lube, pedal wrench, patch kit, spare inner tubes bike helmet, attached headlamp, bike gloves Surefire flashlight Binoculars Yaesu VX7RB Ham Radio Maps of Denali, Seward Highway wrapped in baggies Digital camera Food - water purification tabs, Gatorade, Clif Bars etc. Cold weather clothing - Filson wool socks, polar fleece gloves, wool XC Ski pants, polar fleece jacket Rain gear - rain jacket, Goretex XC Ski gloves Biking gear - 2 sets of bike shorts, socks, biking shirt (1 short sleeve, 1 long sleeve) and Waterproof Tyvex STP Jacket Plane Clothes - Ex Officio pants and shirt to wear on plane to Fairbanks. Propane Stove Messkit and canteen cup REI Flashlight 2 Person Tent Soap, towel, toothbrush, toothpaste, etc. Hobbit's bike helmet Bike tire pump, bike lock, headlamp, bike rear blinker Toilet paper (very important!) Cellphone, 50' parachute cord, reflective arm band, train, plane and cruise ship tickets. towel and small pillow Rain pants, polarfleece pants, bike shorts, cold weather balaclava Biking shirts, rain jacket, polarfleece jacket Wool socks, biking socks, polarfleece gloves, rain gloves four pairs of sunglasses

Training Rides ...

We packed our gear onto our bikes and did a bunch of training rides - 20-30 mile rides around Redmond/Bellevue to prep and ensure that

Good Advice

We queried my friend Robin, former editor of the Alaska edition of Fishing and Hunting News. He offered the following bits of wisdom ...
Turnagain Arm is the place I was telling you about with the sucking mud. That huge mudflat you'll see is marbled with something not quite like quicksand. Once you step in it, getting back OUT of the mud can be extremely difficult. More than one person has got stuck out there and died when the tide came in, despite professional attempts at rescue.
Safety tip: When you stop to camp, beware open, green clearings. Before you start unpacking, make sure the grass you're standing on isn't FLOATING. There are a number of lakes in the Anchorage area, surrounded by big trees, that either have big moss shelves that look like land, or are completely covered by vegitation. The moss and such is the same species that covers the land, so there isn't an obvious indicator of where the land begins and ends. (Been there. Fell through once. Got out of a canoe and walked -- and fell through -- with Spencer -- once.)

Not So Good Advice ...

"Grizzly Bears will ignore pepper spray - but they hate the smell of road flares - you should take road flares instead of pepper spray in case of bear attack." We didn't see anyone in AK carrying road flares, but more than a few with pepper spray.
"You need to take a Personal Locator Beacon." The Personal Locator Beacon, $450, sends out an "emergency signal" and your GPS coordinates - Search and Rescue shows up with police, fire, rescue and everything else including the dog catcher. We took a handheld ham radio and a GPS so that we could call for help, if needed, and get only the assistance that we needed. There are a LOT of Alaskans who have ham radios.

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