While showing California's Yosemite
Valley to some eager visitors, John Muir once said, “I fluttered
around here for 10 years, but you expect to see and do everything in
4 days.”
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| Caribou Lodge Alaska. 15 air miles SE of Talkeetna. |
His words ring true for visitors to
Alaska as well. It is impossible to see everything Alaska has to
offer during one visit. Alaska is breathtakingly beautiful, and there
is no wonder why it is on so many people's bucket list- a land
crowded only by mountains and wilderness. Glaciers still cover many
of our mountains. As a matter of fact, more than half of the glaciers
on earth are found in Alaska. Out of America's 20 tallest mountains
17 are found in Alaska. Denali, the tallest mountain in North
America, dominates the landscape of the interior region and always
seems to nudge something inside of you for one more look. Salmon can
migrate up to 2,000 miles in our rivers and streams, and on their way
to their spawning grounds many lose their lives to feed millions of
birds, bears, wolves and humans.
Alaska is also a bird watchers paradise
with 246 resident species and well over 400 documented species
including those that migrate.
One of my first memories in Alaska
before becoming a resident was during a drive between Anchorage and
Seward. We saw dall sheep in the hills of the Chugach mountains on
our left, while watching beluga whales in the frigid salt water of
Turnagain Arm on our right. We had to pull the car off the road just
to take it all in. The thought entered my mind 'where the
mountains meet the ocean', and that was the day Alaska truly
became a part of me, or at least who I wanted to be.
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| Guiding a hiking trip with a family visiting from Ca. |
I have lived here now for over 12 years
and have had many great experiences. Some have been with family, some
with friends, and others with complete strangers, but the common
theme in all of these experiences for me was the fact that no matter
who I was with or what we were doing, I became passionate about
showing the beauty of Alaska to whoever wanted to explore it with me.
With that said, I understand that
planning a trip to Alaska can be overwhelming. There is so much to
see and so little time to do it all. If you are looking to escape
from crowds of tourists, connect with nature, and have a wilderness
experience for hiking with chances to see Denali, wildlife, and maybe
even northern lights (if you visit in late August or September) then
Caribou Lodge Alaska is a great place for you to spend two, three, or
even four of those hard-earned vacation days.
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| Watching moose in the valley below us while out hiking from the lodge |
You won't experience all the incredible
things that I have in just a few days, but you will see more of the
real Alaska than many other visitors to my great state.
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| Remote Alaska wilderness camping in the Talkeetna Mountains |
-Zac Bramante
www.cariboulodgealaska.com
