Hiker backpacking with hiking pole, Iceberg Lake to Bremner Mines route, Seven Pass route, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

One question I receive at least a few times every year concerns hiking poles, or trekking poles, so I thought it might be a good choice to write about here on the blog.

In short, I can’t recommend hiking poles enough for anyone interested in doing some backpacking here in Alaska. I use one, a Leki Makalu that I’ve had for more years than I care to think about. And I bring it every time I’m backpacking in Alaska; every time.

Most folks, of course, use 2, and I think that’s probably a sound way to go. I use one, and that’s what works for me. But 2 is probably a good call.

Hiking poles benefit you so much hiking off trail, which is what most Alaska backcountry travel is. Science Daily had a great article recently about this. — “trekking-poles help hikers maintain muscle function while significantly reducing soreness in the days following a hike”.

I definitely find this to be the case; so much that I can’t remember the last time I did not take a hiking pole when I headed off. It’s a fundamental part of my gear now. From the article:

“The results showed that there was significantly less muscle soreness in the group using trekking poles. This group demonstrated a reduced loss of strength and a faster recovery immediately after the trek compared to the control group. Self-rated soreness peaked at 24-hours in both groups but was significantly lower in the trekking-pole group, both at this point and at the 48-hour point. In addition, levels of the enzyme creatine kinase (which indicates muscle damage) were much higher at the 24-hour point in the non-pole group, while the trekking-pole group’s levels were close to the pre-trekking levels. This shows that the muscle damage they were experiencing was negligible.”

and it only gets better:

“ the combined benefits of using trekking poles in reducing load to the lower limbs, increasing stability and reducing muscle damage could also help avoid injury on subsequent days trekking. It is often the reduced reaction time and position sense, associated with damaged muscles that cause the falls and trips that can lead to further injury in mountainous or uneven terrain.”

What I see with people on trips is the vastly improved balance and confidence on uneven terrain. Hiking poles are inestimably useful on boulder fields, such as moraine and talus slopes, or crossing steep scree slopes. River crossings are much improved. Simply traversing a hillside, the ground covered in wet grass, where you can’t see the footing clearly, can be extremely dodgy with a 40-50 pound backpack on; those hiking poles give you an extra contact with the ground, and much greater stability. Your hike will be much more fun. So take the load off, and grab yourself some.

Don’t skimp; hiking poles DO break, so a good solid pole, like Leki’s Makalu or Black Diamond’s Trail trekking pole are great. I like the Black Diamond pole with their fliplock mechanism. I tend to NOT view the hiking pole as a place to look to save weight; so don’t skimp on a cheap pole, and I’d advise against one of the most ultralite poles you can find; as a general rule, ultralite = flimsy. Buy something sturdy.

I don’t find the ‘trail shock’ component to be too terribly beneficial, but they can be nice. That’s mostly a function of personal preference, in my opinion. Either way should be fine there.

So take this as not just my opinion, but scientifically backed recommendation; bring your hiking poles. You’ll be glad you did.

Cheers

Carl

PS: Added. Here’s another GREAT reason to carry a hiking pole. Air guitar.

Hey Folks,

One topic I thought I might write about here that readers might enjoy has to do with navigation; every backcountry traveler has  had issues with getting lost, even if only briefly, and being unsure of direction. So we learn how to read a compass and topographic map. And w learn how to pay attention to our terrain and landscape. We learn about geology and landform features to help us navigate. We learn how to pay attention to the sky, and the sun. Some of us even look skyward after dark and learn to read the constellations.

More recently, we’ve acquired and learned GPS technologies, for pinpoint accuracy, and for better navigation in adverse situations (clouds and fog, flat, featureless terrain, etc).  But even this amazing GPS stuff is years old now. So what’s the “new” navigation technology?

On a recent sojourn down around the Malaspina Glacier and along the coastal reaches of Wrangell – St. Elias National Park, I looked around at the available topo maps before setting out. They really aren’t so great. They’re old and the landscape in such a dynamic region, with a crashing coastline and an ever-changing glacier, is different year to year. The topos didn’t seem like the way to go.

But what DID seem to be a good call, and turned out to be a super-helpful tool, was google earth. Here’s the kind of thing we printed out:

Malaspina Glacier coastline, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska. Click on the image here for a much larger version of the photo.

So we printed out a handful of these “aerial photos” and that’s how we navigated and found our way around. It’s not perfect, and it’s not foolproof, but the imagery is a lot more current and useful than a topo map here. I carried both topo maps AND the satellite imagery, and the topo maps simply stayed in my pack the whole trip.

I hadn’t tried using imagery like this to navigate with before, but it worked out great. The satellite photos showed us a lot about the ground; the forest, the brush, etc, and were a great tool to have along. Where is water, what water is clear versus glacial silt, and so on were just a few of the things these images help with. Add a scale, and they’re a very helpful resource. I wouldn’t use them in all situations, at all, but nor are a GPS or compass/topos perfect in all situations either. Tools are contextual, and in this situation, there was no better tool for the job than these google earth photos.

Give it a try.

Cheers

Carl

Coffee and breakfast one frosty morning, after a cold, wet and snow evening. The Siltarp 2 is an awesome piece of gear. Click the image above to view a larger version of the photo.

Hey Folks,

One of the questions I received via email after I recently posted my backpacking gear list concerned the tarp I carry.

• 1 Integral Designs sylnylon  8?x10? tarp and MSR Groundhog stakes

Why, if I’m carrying a tent, do I also carry a tarp?  Good question.

Travels in bear country, and particularly grizzly bear country, means not eating inside a tent. Not ever. We cook, eat, do dishes and store all food quite a distance from where our tents are; the standard distance is 100 yards, but that can vary with the circumstances, IMO. Safe to say that’s a good distance to maintain. The further the better.

When the weather’s bad, the tarp feels like  a life saver. That tiny little shelter makes the world of difference when you get to camp. I can get changed out of any wet hiking gear, put on all my dry, warm layers (including some nice warm, dry socks!!! ), to go cook and eat comfortably, warm and dry rather than wet and cold and rained on. It’s particularly nice in the morning, knowing I can get up from my tent and go make coffee under the tarp. I wouldn’t go backpacking without a tarp (or similar).

I find 2 hiking poles, or sometimes 4, works well to build a nice shelter to eat under. This is one of the reasons I like the full-size hiking poles, those that max up to 140cm. Many of the more compact lighterweight poles aren’t really long enough to do effective double duty under the tarp – they’re too short. Headroom matters!

So, given that we just use trekking poles to hold the tarp up, what extra stuff do I have to carry for this setup? Not too much. Check it out:

Integral Designs Siltarp 2, and at 14oz, it’s not a heavy additional load. I carry a small stuff sack with some MSR Groundhog stakes (Note, on their website, Cascade Designs/MSR only list the “kit”, but most retailers will stock individual stakes). Weighing 0.71ounces each, 8 of them come in at under 6 ounces.

I also have lengths of cord tied to each corner of the tarp, 2 points in the middle on the sides, and at least 2 points on the ‘back‘ of the tarp for additional tiedown options. I use Kelty Triptease Lightline. 50′ of cord weighs just one ounce. Just to give myself some flexibility with setting the tarp up, I use 100′.

So for a total of about 24oz, I have a shelter that can comfortably seat 5 people to cook, eat and rest under in inclement weather. It’s one of those little things that really makes a huge difference to a trip. Setting up to cook, eat, cleanup and wait around in the rain or snow without a tarp is a drag.

I also own and carry a smaller 5′x8′ tarp for solo trips, or trips with just a couple of people. Every little bit of weight we can shed from the pack helps make backpacking easier, so it’s worth it to shave a few more ounces when I can.

I’ll write a more detailed writeup later of the Integral Designs tarp. Suffice it to say for this post, it’s a great piece of gear.

Stay dry – bring a tarp.

Cheers

Carl

Backpackers crossing a creek in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

One of the more challenging aspects of an Alaskan backcountry trek is river crossings. With the exception of the occasional Kenai Peninsula hike, all of these treks are off-trail, wilderness backpacking trips, and so there’s no easy way to get across the streams, creeks and rivers that meander through the mountains. A few tips that can be useful to heed:

1) For smaller streams, I prefer to cross one person at a time. If by chance someone in the group does stumble, it means we have one wet person to deal with. Everyone else in the group is safe and secure on shore. Things unravel quickly in the backcountry, and that happens most often when something small goes wrong. One person stumbles, takes a dip, someone else reaches to grab them, they go down, knock their partner off balance, and all of a sudden bedlam results. That’s how people get hurt. It can also mean everyone gets wet gear. A much simpler problem to deal with is getting one person out of a creek, drying them off, and loaning them some warm, dry gear that another person in the group has in their pack. One person falling is a hassle – a group falling can be a disaster.

2) For anything over knee-high, unbuckle your hip belt and sternum strap on the backpack. Often these creeks and streams are fast, and the power of rushing water can be hard to struggle against. Compound that with the silt and glacial silt that is typically in the rivers here, and your backpack can become a led weight before you know it. What seems like a manageable load on your back is not so manageable if you’re upside-down in a rushing stream, and the backpack getting heavier by the second. Worse still, lying facedown in a rushing stream is NOT the time to try to undo your hipbelt and and get your pack off your back. Undo those buckles BEFORE you get in the water (see the photo above).

Similarly, rain covers go on the backpack before crossing. If you lose your balance and tumble, that small procedure can keep a whole bunch of your gear dry. If the river looks a little more gnarly, dry bag your food, your sleeping bag and insulating gear as well — the old adage “a stitch in time” means something here.

3) Take some time to look around for a good crossing place. Often creeks and rivers that might be waist deep become braided and shallower right around the corner. I’ll spend 20 minutes at times walking upstream or downstream or both looking for a good crossing spot. It’s WAY too easy to feel rushed, and just say ‘well, this place is as good as any’. The chances are very high that this place is NOT as good as any. Slow down, take some time out, and look for the best place to cross. Walk along the shore, and check the lay of the land before you arrive at the creekbank; oftentimes you’ll see a good spot to cross from a distance, and change your approach to arrive at the better spot.

And a good spot to cross means more than shallow water. It means a good easy entry into the water, a nice easy exit, not a steep, wet rock, or wall of brush, or means ‘good water’ downstream in case someone swims. You don’t want any ‘strainers’ in the creek, submerged or partially submerged brush that can easily hold a swimmer under water.

4) Don’t be afraid to drop your pack off, and have the strongest hiker (and swimmer) in your group test the depth and feel of the water without a backpack on. These glacial melt waters can be absolutely impossible to gauge depth visually, so you’ll need to wade in. Use your hiking poles (you ARE carrying hiking poles, right?) and test the depth ahead of you as you go.

5) Watch carefully for holes – it’s easy to be caught, thinking ‘this isn’t too deep’ and have the ground suddenly drop away beneath your feet. Fast rivers and creeks can easily dislodge a boulder or similar and leave a big hole on the riverbed that you won’t see, but will disappear under when you step into it.

6) I prefer to cross in sandals, tennis shoes, crocs, or similar, and keep my hiking boots (and socks) dry. Don’t cross in bare feet. If you wear crocs, add some security by tying them on. In a fast creek they’ll easily wash off your feet when you raise your foot. But, with reasonable precautions, they do make great creek crossing footwear. Or try the Trailbreak – a more sturdy version of the croc. Do NOT carry your boots in your hand – that’s a disaster waiting to happen. Tie them securely on to your backpack, not over your shoulder, etc.

Safely crossing a creek in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Excellent form, shoes tied safely on to the pack, backpack buckles undone, small steps, good use of the trekking poles. 10/10!!!

7) For rushing deeper rivers, I find crossing in couples or trios works well. More people gets a little unwieldy and the group moves too slow. These rivers are C-O-L-D!!! Have 2 people together, the stronger on on the upstream side, using 2 trekking poles and locking elbows/wrists is a good idea. For 3 people, I prefer the ‘triangle’, with the stronger person again on the upstream side. Some folks like to form a circle, and cross with all hikers facing one another; whatever method you do, undo your backpack buckles, and practice the movements a bit before you enter the stream. Even a quick 30 second practice on land can make a big difference.

Wait til morning. Typically, these rivers and creeks subside over night, as they’re glacial fed, which means the water levels drop when temperatures cool down. Set up camp somewhere nearby, make an early start, and cross before the heat of day lifts the water to more dangerous levels.

9) Go back. River crossings can be dangerous. If you (or someone in the group) are uncomfortable with the crossing, go back. It’s simply not worth it. You’re in Alaska – your trip doesn’t hinge on being on the other side of some river. There’s plenty of cool stuff to see and visit on this side of the river.

10) Face slightly upstream. Don’t “force” the crossing, but move with the current, tread carefully, and feel for good footing. Be careful. Take small steps and keep your center of gravity close. You’ll see some bad form in the video below, with one hiker reaching with his poles and taking larger, unstable steps. That’s a good way to take a swim.

I prefer to have someone in the group on shore at all times. I don’t like everyone in the water at one time, on any crossing. If somebody stumbles and needs assistance, the people crossing are NOT the best choice to help, in most cases. 9 times out of 10 that kind of thing means more people falling and stumbling. Get yourself safe, and keep the ‘victim‘ number low. The person on shore can more easily maneuver into position to provide assistance to swimmers. The person on shore should have their pack off, means even if they fall and get wet, their gear is dry. Dry gear in Alaska can save your behind!

I also don’t like ropes. Ropes and water don’t mix well. Ropes and water and brush and rocks and inexperience hikers mix generally very badly.

Watch the video below; you’ll see the trekking poles used, and also how slowly to cross. You can see we found, in the first one, a nice wide braid of the river to cross; we hiked alongside this river for nearly 1/2 mile before we arrived at this spot. In the 2nd, take note of the location again. Downstream is a nice shallower braided section. Also note that by carefully choosing where we start crossing, we have an easy entry, shallow water, no brush, etc, then one deeper channel, followed by a nice shallow exit. You don’t want to be waist deep in a flowing stream and have a wall of brush meet you at your exit point.

You’ll also notice I cross ahead of the 2 backpackers here, without a pack, and run a guide line for them to follow – they see where I went, and know to follow my line. Once I set off, I cross and stand on shore. Hypothermia sets in fast in water that’s barely above freezing – this crossing is about 1/4 mile downstream from the glacier that feeds the river. I’m on shore safe, slightly downstream of the hikers, where I can be of use if one stumbles. You’ll also see, as the 2nd hiker exits, the easy exit point, as well as the lack of any real threatening spots downstream. If someone tumbles, there’s no immediate rapid or hole they might get caught in just below our crossing spot.

Be safe out there.

Cheers

Carl

River Crossings from Alaskan Alpine Treks on Vimeo.

Backcountry campsite in the Chugach mountains, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve. From the Iceberg Lake to Bremner Mines trip.

Hey Folks

Here’s a short post with some tips for you on picking a campsite in the backcountry.  Why a post about picking a campsite? I think it’s useful because many folks overlook this part of a trip, as most people are (typically) so used to backpacking and hiking on trails in the Lower 48 states that it doesn’t really occur to them until it’s time to set up a tent. And by then, it’s too late.

Your campsite is your home, albeit ever so temporarily, and it’s well worth taking a couple of steps toward setting up home for the evening in a setting that you enjoy. Backpacking all day with a heavy load through rugged but beautiful mountains is hard work, and an important part of the trip, to us, is enjoying a great campsite. What makes a great campsite?

Firstly, it needs to be “low impact.” Essentially, low impact campsites are those that don’t leave undue stress on the landscape, or on other visitors to the park, both while you’re camped there and after you’re gone. There are a number of elements that are important, and I’ll stress a few of them here (this is not a comprehensive list).

Resilience of the ground underfoot to your camp. Camping is not merely a tent footprint. Camping often means, particularly in bear country, many trips back and forth from tent site to kitchen. With a group of even 4 people, that can quickly lead to  trails and travel sign on the tundra. Even all the most careful planning in the world won’t counter forgetting a jacket, or your gloves, or a lighter, etc; it’s amazing how rarely dinner goes by without someone having to make a trip or 2 back to the tent/backpacks to grab something forgotten; or grab a camera for that exhilarating sunset that always seems to happen while you eat.

A backpacking campsite on the Bremner to Tebay Trip, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Fragile tundra can be damaged by heavy, stiff backpacking boots very easily. Even sitting enjoying your pasta fettaccini and scrunching around a little can damage the dryas (tundra); multiply that by 4 people and 2 meals, breakfast and dinner, and the kitchen can quickly become broken and torn underfoot. You might not notice it, but once you break camp and move on, the scars are left behind and clear for all to see.

Find hardy soil, rocky ground, etc. Move carefully back and forth to camp, don’t always use the exact same path, unless a social trail already exists. I believe it’s better to concentrate wear on existing trails than create new ones.

Secondly, try not set up right on a water source; this one, I think is more important in some circumstances than others. Smaller groups might be able to camp by a stream without leaving the same kind of impact as larger groups, and stressing careful camping practices around the area make a big difference. But the big issue is the volume of traffic the site may get. There are a couple of areas on some of our more popular routes that get more traffic during the summer backpacking season than others, and we’re always careful to avoid camping at those sites.

On the other hand, some sites might get used once or twice a season, and the area seems to bounce back well. If you DO choose to camp on a water source, take extra care to not pollute that source. The standard Leave No Trace practice for using the bathroom in the backcountry is 200′ from a water source, so we tend to set 300′ as a standard. Don’t cook and eat near the water source. Don’t wash dishes directly in the source. A swim and bath in a cool stream or tarn is an awesome experience in the mountains, and if you value it for yourself, value it for others – make the effort to not pollute and dirty the water.

Backpacking campsite on the Sanford Plateau, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Mt Drum towering behind.

The view: your camp is your home. Stop and spend the evening somewhere nice. One of things we pride ourselves on the most is killer campsites. Even on the exploratory trips, where we’re hiking the terrain unseen, we’ll typically hike an extra hour or 2 to find somewhere nice to camp. Getting up high is almost ALWAYS worth the effort. Nothing beats sitting on a high ridge with that great expansive view stretching down the valley beyond as you enjoy your cocoa.

If the weather is inclement, a suggestion is to save the climb for later, and hunker down low. Being exposed on a ridge isn’t a great option in a storm, and the view is typically not happening anyway. In such conditions, stay low, dry and warm. Save the hike up for a time when you’ll be able to see those distant peaks, and the sun lights up some high cloud from underneath.

On the issue of vista, do pay attention to your neighbors, i.e., both other hikers and wildlife. Don’t set up camp in an obvious wildlife corridor, or on a game trail, etc. Don’t set up camp next to an Arctic Ground Squirrel’s home, or close to nesting birds. Just as important, don’t set up camp on a trail or right alongside a route you expect other backpackers might be using while you’re there – unless you have to. But DO make the effort to camp out of the way, and not intrude your campsite on others’ experiences, both those who call the park/refuge home and those who are also visiting.

The last thing I’ll comment on here is campfires. I almost NEVER have a campfire in the backcountry any more. It’s rare indeed the times I have fire. When someone on a trip really desires a fire, and circumstances allow, or when a fire is good judgement, such as someone is cold and wet, we’ll have a campfire — BUUUUUTTT — we always make sure to use only dead and down wood, and remove as much sign of the fire as possible. Picking a spot for the campfire is a topic unto itself, so I’ll keep that topic short by saying be careful, take the time to know the regulations and suggestions from the relevant land management agency, and follow those.

Most often what causes problems is someone thinks ‘oh, I know the rules or protocols are x-y-z, but it’s just this once’. Well, that once follows someone else’s ‘just this once’, and precedes the next, and so on. Before you know it, there’s 4 or 5 fire rings within 100 yards of one another. Not to mention potential for starting wildfires. So if you’re out there on your own, do be careful, and respect the land you’re in. It’s good form.

One of the reasons I like the 1st photo in this post for this discussion is because it shows some of the things I’m talking about. You can see the water in the background, a good 100 yards from the tent ( a Mountain Hardwear PCT 1 – great tent!). The view is awesome, the terrain is solid and resilient, flat and comfortable for sleeping and you can see on the left hand side, a big, high ridge wall around the back end of the camp offers some shelter from inclement weather. One of my favorite campsites anywhere!

The other photos hopefully inspire you to spend some time finding a good campsite – it’s your home!

Remember: Great Campsites are Found, not Made.

Cheers

Carl

MSR Hubba tent, campsite in Chugach Mountains.

Sunset over a tarn, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Camping on the tundra, Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Sunset over Hanagita Peak, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Caribou herd migrate across the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

I hope this finds you all well and gearing up for a great summer. It seems like winter solstice has only just been and gone, and its already march. Spring’s right around the corner, and then summer will be underway! I’m enjoying the winter, but am ready for summer – warmer weather, sunshine, longer days, and flowers and green vegetation is always welcome! And, best of all, more backpacking!

One of the questions I receive most, especially this time of year, is how best to prepare for the coming backpacking season. The short answer is, it doesn’t matter – just do something – the fitter you are, the safer your trip is! However, I think a few specific things can help:

a) make it regular. Whatever your exercise regime, try hard to make it happen every day – not every second day, or 3 days a week – try to get something in each day – I suggest 30 minutes minimum, but whatever you can do – 10 minutes is better than nothing.

b) there’s no better exercise for backpacking than backpacking. Get a night out, if you can. Throw a pack on, and spend the night in the woods. It’ll help your fitness, and it’s good for the soul. Definitely do some good walking, with a backpack on .. start with, say, 20 pounds in it, and slowly add more over the months.

c) stretch, stretch, and stretch. Before and after exercise. Don’t stretch hard and hurt yourself, but stretch regularly.

d) weights are a great help, but you need to do a complete weight routine .. strengthening one set of muscles without working their complimentary muscles isn’t such a great idea. Get with a trainer if you’re not experienced in a gym, and have them help you get started. Explain what your goals and purpose are (eg, backpacking) and have them outline a routine that will work best for you.

e) hydrate. Drink plenty of water – getting into an exercise routine without hydrating adequately isn’t healthy, it’s dangerous. There’s no one set rule for ‘how much is enough’, but 2-3 litres/quarts a day is a good rough estimate.

Weights-wise, your quads will appreciate some work, but that means working your hamstrings too. And definitely work the abs – they’re the root of good health, in my opinion. Upper body strength is important, though you’ll be walking, you’ll be carrying upwards of 40 pounds on your back, so make your exercise well-rounded.

As the summer approaches, gradually increase the routine, and try to do some longer hikes, even day hikes, and carry some weight. Even if you run every day, 45 minutes or so, that’s vastly different to carrying a pack for 6 hours. And it helps a LOT to get used to having a pack on your back; dealing with off-trail terrain is hard enough, so the more comfortable you are with the pack on your back, the easier you’ll adjust.

Make certain your gear fits – blisters from ill-fitting boots will ruin a trip .. so take the time, during your exercise routines, to wear some of the gear you’ll be hiking in, and break it in. Trust me. More on this issue later.

See ya in the summer!

Cheers

Carl

PS – Oh, the image above is of the Porcupine Caribou Herd, migrating across the coastal plain, in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

A lot of people ask about bears and bear spray and guns and what we do for safety. We don’t carry guns on our trips, and nor would I be comfortable with someone on the trip carrying a firearms, unless there were some very extenuating circumstances. I do carry bear spray, and we usually take 2 or 3 cans per trip, depending on the size of the group.

A recent Canadian study showed bear spray to be quite a bit more effective than firearms might be. The study looked at data from the last 20 years, and concluded bear spray is generally a safer option than firearms. “Despite persistent doubts among hikers and campers venturing into bear country, you’re better off with an eight-ounce can of bear spray than a gun, according to an analysis of 20 years of data.

Canadian and U.S. researchers announced Wednesday that they found the spray stopped aggressive bear behaviour in 92 per cent of the cases, whether that behaviour was an attack or merely rummaging for food. Guns were effective about 67 per cent of the time.”

The news report in the Canadian Paper is here. From the actual report itself, ” Of all persons carrying sprays, 98% were uninjured by bears in close-range encounters. “ The study looked at incidents involving brown or grizzly bears, black bears and even 2 polar bear incidents. What’s also important is that in each incident where the person/s using bear spray suffered some injury, those injuries were relatively minor (i.e., no hospitalization).

Here’s an abstract from the actual report:

“We present a comprehensive look at a sample of bear spray incidents that occurred in Alaska, USA, from 1985 to 2006. We analyzed 83 bear spray incidents involving brown bears (Ursus arctos; 61 cases, 74%), black bears (Ursus americanus; 20 cases, 24%), and polar bears (Ursus maritimus; 2 cases, 2%). Of the 72 cases where persons sprayed bears to defend themselves, 50 (69%) involved brown bears, 20 (28%) black bears, and 2 (3%) polar bears. Red pepper spray stopped bears’ undesirable behavior 92% of the time when used on brown bears, 90% for black bears, and 100% for polar bears. Of all persons carrying sprays, 98% were uninjured by bears in close-range encounters. All bear-inflicted injuries (n = 3) associated with defensive spraying involved brown bears and were relatively minor (i.e., no hospitalization required). In 7% (5 of 71) of bear spray incidents, wind was reported to have interfered with spray accuracy, although it reached the bear in all cases. In 14% (10 of 71) of bear spray incidents, users reported the spray having had negative side effects upon themselves, ranging from minor irritation (11%, 8 of 71) to near incapacitation (3%, 2 of 71). Bear spray represents an effective alternative to lethal force and should be considered as an option for personal safety for those recreating and working in bear country.”

You report can be purchased if you subscribe to the Journal of Wildlife Management, published by the Wildlife Society.

It’s illegal to fly in the US, in most places, with bear spray, so if you are coming to Alaska, realize you won’t be allowed to bring bear spray with you, nor will you be allowed to return to the Lower 48 with it after your stay here. That’s the primary reason why we provide the spray for each trip. If you intend to do some other hikes after or before your trip with us, I definitely recommend you grab a can of bear spray in Anchorage, from either AMH or REI. Some flights in Alaska the airline will let you transport bear spray, as long as you hand it over at the counter at checkin . They seal it in a Ziplock bag, and stow it safely in the rear of the plane – You’ll be responsible for getting it back at the end of your flight though, so don’t forget about it and wander off to get your luggage – usually you pick it up as you get off the plane. Smaller planes, like bush planes and float planes, tend to either duct tape it onto the wing or stow it in the floats of the plane – the danger, of course, being if the can of bear spray does explode whilst you’re flying, you don’t want that stuff going all through the plane, particularly the cockpit. Nor will your pilot. So make sure you remember before getting on or off a bush plane to hand over your bear spray, and let the pilot put it outside the plane.

Bear spray is extremely powerful stuff, so treat it with caution. Make sure you understand how it works, how the can works, and follow basic safety procedures that you might for any dangerous weapon. Read the label warnings and directions before you venture out hiking, and then keep your bear spray handy, but safe, whilst you’re hiking. Leaving the can in the bottom of your backpack is NOT going to be of much use to you if a bear pops out of the woods and gets a little feisty. I carry mine in my pants pocket, or in a water bottle pocket on the outside of my backpack, where I’ll usually tie it on, so I don’t lose it if (when) it falls out).

Thanks folks – if you have any questions, shoot me an email or leave a comment here.

Travel safely.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Here’s a photo I took of the Kennicott Glacier, not far from the small town of McCarthy, in Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska. I was exploring the west side of the glacier, which is much less frequently hiked and travelled than the east side. But, with a little luck and some perseverance, I found a few places I managed to scrape out some decent photos. Hiking around glaciers require care, particularly if you’re hiking solo. I guess hikign anywhere, anytime, requires care, but particularly solo trips. That said, I do love being out exploring the backcountry on my own – it’s a particular way of connecting with the land that is immeasurably different to trips with other people. I tend to do most of my ‘better’ photography when I’m traveling solo, I tend to look a little closer, as well as spend more time on a given scene, composing and recomposing, shooting, recomposing and shooting some more.

Looking a little closer, I tend to see more, and often times I tend to see more clearly. It becomes clearer to me what it is exactly in the scene that’s grabbing my attention – sometimes that leaps out at me right away, sometimes it comes through me spending more time, and exploring a little more closely. Either way, it’s amazingly rewarding when it happens.

For glacial travel, sometimes I use crampons and sometimes I don’t. It really depends, most of the time, on the glacier itself, and the time of year. A lot of the time in later summer days, the glacial snow cover has melted, and any crevasses that might cause a problem are clearly visible. Sometimes crampons are still requisite, but not always. If you’re not sure, definitely bring them along. You can either strap them on the outside of your pack ‘as is’, or wrap them in something such as the Black Diamond Toolbox Crampon Bag, or anything durable and punctureproof, such as PVC tarpaulin material. If your pack has a ‘beaver tail’, with a daisy chain loop, on the outside, like the Dana alpine back, strap them on there, and the beaver tail will protect your backpack and gear.

When moving around the glaciers, and on any ice really, slow down, watch your step, and
give more of your attention to your feet. Sounds simple, but most folks would be surprised how little attention they give to their feet, where and how they place them whilst hiking. Crevasses are obviously the main concern, and for good reason – they can be remarkably deceptive and even more remarkably hard to get back out of. Often the most difficult part of glacial travel is getting on and off the ice, as the ice closer to the edge is broken up more, and the edges can be steep – lots of times, once you’re out on the ice, travel is faster and easier than hiking off the glaciers.

The blue in the ice here is a function of the thickness of the ice. As light penetrates down through the ice, the light waves are absorded. The red end of the spectrum, having less energy in it that the ‘colder’ blue waves, gets absorbed first, leaving only the blue waves, which is how we see the ice as blue. That’s why, as you look down into a crevasse, for example, the ice gets more blue the deeper down the crevasse .. more of the red light has been absorbed by times it’s amazing how blue glacial ice can be, particularly on cloudy days.

So strap on your crampons, and go explore, safely, a glacier. Just be careful, and watch your step. And try REAL hard not to stab yourself, or your friends, with those pointy crampons.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks

I’ll talk here briefly about one of the issues people seem to have backpacking in Alaska. Sure, trips can be strenuous and hard in terms of endurance and cardiovascular fitness, but a more common issue for people is hiking over uneven terrain. For those folks who are used to backpacking and hiking on trails, such as in the Lower 48, the trailess mountains of Alaska pose a new challenge. One of the things some people struggle with is hiking over a moraine, or a talus slope, like this one here. A moraine is a glacial formed pile of rocks. Sometimes, that pile might be huge, miles across. Sometimes it’s much smaller. A talus slope, such as this one overlooking the Bremner River near where it joins up with the Copper River in the Chuagach Mountains, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, is usually formed by a rock slide. Talus and scree are actually the same thing, but talus usually is used to refer to larger rocks, and scree smaller stones. They’re often unstable, because they’re on steep terrain, and that alone is problematic. It also is simply hard for people to walk over very uneven footing, such as rocks and boulders.

Usually, what happens is called ‘frost heaving’, where, during warmer times, water seeps into the ground, and into rock. Then as temperatures decrease, such as at nighttime, the water freezes, and the ice expands. This cracks the rock open, kind of like a wedge might. This cracking the rocks open leads to erosion, and the rocks becomes slides and scree or talus slopes are formed. Most scree and talus slopes are the product of this process.

All I can suggest is practice. The more you do it, the easier it gets. And be careful. It’s easy to hurt yourself on rocks – they can be REALLY unforgiving. Hiking poles are very helpful, some people use 2, but some people just use 1. I prefer one, but it’s something you need to try and feel for yourself what you’re most comfortable with. They really do make a big difference. Also, as is so often the case, go slowly, take small steps, and pay attention to your footing. Don’t lift your back foot until you know the front one is stable. And try to tread lightly (hard when you have 50 pounds on your back, obviously!).

Gradually, like any activity, your confidence increases, and you’ll find that’s 90% of the battle right there. Skiing or mountain biking is similar, I think. The technique is really somewhat rudimentary, but the confidence is the deciding factor for most people.

If it’s been raining, and the talus is wet be REALLY careful. Those rock edges can awfully slippery in a drizzle. I’d try to go around them when possible if they’re wet.

Packing your backpack correctly will also make a difference to your balance, and we’ll go through that conversation in another post. Learning good balance can take time, but it’s one of those things that will improve if you work on it. So get out there, get off the trail, and scramble around a little. Obviously don’t go crazy, and hurt yourself, and don’t go off-trail where it’s imortant you stay ON the trail, but with a little common sense, I’m sure you’ll understand what I mean.

I’m heading out in the morning to do some exploring, so maybe I’ll do some practice myself.

Cheers

Carl