Kestrel
Flashaholic
In March of this year (spring, lol), I took a brief trip to interior AK ('The Bush'). The challenge was to maximize preparedness while minimizing luggage - taking a single handcarry for convenience (& also not incurring luggage fees). Furthermore, in a survival situation I wanted to have everything needed 'at hand'. So, an opportunity to think out & refine my travel system.
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Personal gear:
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Alaska-rated winter clothing, to include:
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As-packed:
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Everyone knows what commercial jet flying looks like, but the last leg of the journey is done in a Piper Navaho - an excellent twin-engine plane very popular for commercial interior AK flying. Note the full winter gear - sometimes-spotty climate control in the cabin, plus in the case of an emergency landing things will get very cold - faster than you can put on any additional winter gear packed away in hard-to-get luggage. Also note that these aircraft interiors will measure 86-87 dB during cruising flight so the earplugs come in handy here are well.
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Outside view of the northern side of the Alaska Range:
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Sunset - or is it sunrise? :huh:
('Birch Creek' I'm thinking)
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The southern bank of the Yukon River:
(The 'Banana Belt' )
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The main channel:
(Bank-to-bank, the Yukon River is ~2+ miles wide in this area.)
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A leisurely afternoon hike on a frozen lake:
(AK is highly underrated as a winter destination. )
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And to finish with the commercial return flight, a nice view of an extinct volcano in the Alaskan Panhandle:
(Always get window seats when you can - you never know what unexpected things you'll get to see. )
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Just a quick Alaskan 'winter vacation' - packing adequate survival gear but remaining light & mobile at the same time.
I hope you enjoyed the tour.
Kestrel
Edit: And thanks to nbp for suggesting I bring back pics for a thread ...
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Personal gear:
- Survival food - carob 'energy chunks' & cashews
- Travel kit (includes the basics plus lip balm, ibuprofen, and dental floss)
- Empty 1 pt Nalgene bottle - to be filled w/ water once inside security
- Gum & candy - note that ginger candy has extra power to 'heat you up'
- Flashlights: SureFire L1 (w/ 5000K XM-L2), Streamlight Stylus Pro / Fenix LD01 (XR-E) head, Streamlight Microstream / Fenix LD01 (XP-G) head, Muyshondt Mako Flood (5000K) - 'cuz this is CPF, after all.
- Spare AAA cell - note that three of the four lights listed above utilize interchangeable AAA Eneloops
- Lighter & duct tape
- Survival whistle & micro tool (pliers, screwdriver heads, etc - unfortunately no knife is possible due to flight security & only having one handcarry - so this tool is a viable alternate option).
- Earplugs - a MUST to get a little extra sleep on public flights or noisy airports
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Alaska-rated winter clothing, to include:
- LL Bean parka (handcarryable)
- Filson shirts (warm but $$$ - and worth it)
- Mesh stuff sack packed with warm socks - makes a great pillow if needed
- Polyproplyene underwear - who says you can't see CPF's dirty laundry?
- Muskrat skin hat w/ fur earflaps - THE way to keep the head warm down to ~60 below weather (have been outside in -69F here previously)
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As-packed:
- To be wearing most of the winter gear while in transit
- Top-of-the-line Red Wing leather boots - fully broken in - the most comfortable boots I've ever worn.
- Personal pocket gear
- Backpack to handcarry & keep handy if needed - no lost-luggage inconveniences/emergencies here.
----------
Everyone knows what commercial jet flying looks like, but the last leg of the journey is done in a Piper Navaho - an excellent twin-engine plane very popular for commercial interior AK flying. Note the full winter gear - sometimes-spotty climate control in the cabin, plus in the case of an emergency landing things will get very cold - faster than you can put on any additional winter gear packed away in hard-to-get luggage. Also note that these aircraft interiors will measure 86-87 dB during cruising flight so the earplugs come in handy here are well.
----------
Outside view of the northern side of the Alaska Range:
----------
Sunset - or is it sunrise? :huh:
('Birch Creek' I'm thinking)
----------
The southern bank of the Yukon River:
(The 'Banana Belt' )
----------
The main channel:
(Bank-to-bank, the Yukon River is ~2+ miles wide in this area.)
----------
A leisurely afternoon hike on a frozen lake:
(AK is highly underrated as a winter destination. )
----------
And to finish with the commercial return flight, a nice view of an extinct volcano in the Alaskan Panhandle:
(Always get window seats when you can - you never know what unexpected things you'll get to see. )
----------
Just a quick Alaskan 'winter vacation' - packing adequate survival gear but remaining light & mobile at the same time.
I hope you enjoyed the tour.
Kestrel
Edit: And thanks to nbp for suggesting I bring back pics for a thread ...
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