Best Safety Tips When on an Alaska Outdoor Adventure

You are currently viewing Best Safety Tips When on an Alaska Outdoor Adventure

So, you are up for an Alaska outdoor adventure? A safe vacation starts with information on what you need to protect yourself from the unknown. These insider travel tips cover the most important things to increase your safety. When part of your plan is to travel by car or with a camper also read what to know when driving in Alaska.

Contents
  1. How to Travel from Europe for your Alaska Outdoor Adventure
  2. German Treats
  3. What not to Wear When Exporing Alaska
  4. Get Pepper Spray and Bear-safe Containers
  5. Wear a Swim Vest When Riding a Boat
  6. Break in Your Hiking Boots at Home
  7. What Else to Pack for Your Alaska Outdoor Adventure
  8. How to Prepare for Unexpected Heat and Cold
  9. Have Moisture Wicking Clothes
  10. Wear Sun Protective Clothing
  11. What to Wear to not Look Like a Tourist When Sightseeing
  12. Why You Should Get a Satellite Phone for Your Alaska Outdoor Adventure
  13. Alaskan Look of the Day
  14. References

 

How to Travel from Europe for Your Alaska Outdoor Adventure

Starting end of May until September, you can see a Condor in the sky over Fairbanks every Thursday. It is the Lufthansa daughter Condor coming in from Whitehorse after a flight over the Pole from Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It will fly back non-stop to Frankfurt that evening. The former flight is little more than 9 hours, the latter a bit more than 8 hours. This means that in summer, Fairbanksans can be faster in Europe than in D.C..

Did you know that Alaskans can be faster in Germany than Washington, D.C.? #Alaska #triva Click To Tweet

 

German Treats

The crew stays the night and flies to Anchorage to serve the guests of another Condor flight from Anchorage to Frankfurt on Saturday. Anchorage has flights from and to Germany on Tuesdays too.

The German speaking women of the Fairbanks community look forward to the stewardesses’ bringing German fashion magazines like Brigitte or InStyle, which is quite different from the InStyle you can buy in the US.

 

statement belt and necklace
Zoom-in to show details of the accessories

 

stylist showing what to wear for sightseeing in a city when on your Alaska outdoor adventure
Back view of outfit described below

 

Blogger Nicole donning Texas tuxedo style
Front view of LOD described below

 

style blogger showing an outfit for an Alaska outdoor adventure
Outfit details: Great Northwest denim shirt with Loft flare jeans, white Fossil denim jacket, Coach bag, Studio strappy multi-color sandals, hair barrette, Ray Ban purple mirrored sunglasses,and ethnic statement belt

 

 

What not to Wear Exploring Alaska

Most of the passengers are Germans who come for hiking and visiting the hot springs, wilderness areas, and Denali Park or for climbing Denali.

When they walk around town you immediately recognize them even without them saying a word. They wear clothing that is inappropriate for Interior Alaska at 50 to 60 F (10 to 15oC) and also when temperatures are in their 80s (higher than 25oC). Nobody of the locals wears long sleeves and long pants with Birkenstocks and socks, or with sneakers and socks when temperatures are above 50F on a partly cloudy day….

… and they also don’t use mosquito repellents. To be honest, most of us believe that mosquitoes take that as an appetizer. Full disclosure: I am one of them.

 

Get Pepper Spray and Bear-safe Containers

Of course, you need the gear for whatever you want to do. However, you may need some additional pieces for your own protection from wildlife, and other hazards. The biggest “hazard” is the great waste of the land. Whenever you leave the car, bus or house, you are at risk to enter the food chain.

If you plan on going out in the wild, buy bear-safe food containers. Once you arrive in Fairbanks, buy pepper spray.

Be aware it may help on bears when sprayed at the right height (and not against the wind 😉 ), but it does not work on moose.

… and never get between a moose cow and her baby.

 

Wear a Swim Vest When Riding a Boat

It is absolutely necessary to have a swim vest, when you plan on canoeing on Alaska rivers. Rivers that are glacier-fed have a lot of fine silt. When you go overboard, the silt gets caught in your clothes. It makes the clothes heavy and you may drown without a swim vest even when you are a good swimmer. There is a saying that the Yukon and Tanana never give somebody back who falls into them unprotected.

Full disclosure: I know one exception for each one them. However, they both were lucky that there was another person who helped them out of the river.

 

Break in Your Hiking Boots at Home

When you plan on hiking, make sure you have appropriate hiking shoes. Don’t go out there with hiking shoes that are not yet broken in. Once you are out there, you can’t go back even when the blisters on your blisters get blisters. Also have a full First Aid kit.

If you are on a guided tour, the tour company will probably give you tips what to pack. It is wise to follow them. They should know what you need where they will take you.

 

What Else to Pack for Your Alaska Outdoor Adventure

… depends on the time of the year you are travelling in Alaska. I already wrote a post on what to pack for aurora watching. Be aware that you can only watch the aurora when you have clear sky and dark nights. Thus, if seeing the aurora is your goal, you will have to plan for traveling after mid August to end of April. The best chances are in March, which on average is the driest month with the fewest cloudiness. However, March can still be pretty cold.

When you are visiting during the white nights, and have trouble sleeping when there is light, get some eye-covers.

 

How to Prepare for Unexpected Heat and Cold

In the Interior of Alaska, temperatures can reach the 90s (27.9oC) around local noon. This means you can get a heat stroke. In the early mornings, temperatures may be in their 50s (10oC). When you are hiking be aware that temperature typically decreases about 1.27F (0.65o) per 328 fts (100 m) increase in height. Therefore, you need to pack clothes that are suitable for layering. More on Alaska’s climates at the link.

 

Have Moisture Wicking Clothes

Make sure that your clothes are semi-permeable for moisture. This means the fabric should let moisture from sweating go outside. However, it shouldn’t let moisture from rain get inside. Wet clothes lead to evaporative cooling. This cooling effect may be nice when it is hot outside. Also don’t forget to carry a pair of quick-drying water shoes, you don’t want your feet staying wet in case you are wearing the wrong shoes.

Be aware that wet clothing can be the recipe for catching a cold, and getting hypothermia when the weather gets cold. More on moisture wicking textiles.

 

Wear Sun Protective Clothing

In summer, the Sun is up 24/7 (sort off). On glaciers or waters, the sunlight gets reflected. These surfaces act like the mirror air mattresses of the 1970s that served to tan from all sides. Read what are sun safe clothes.

 

What to Wear to not Look Like a Tourist When Sightseeing

When sightseeing in a town, skip the socks in sandals or sneakers. If you absolutely need socks, wear socks that end at the ankle. Wear short sleeves when temperatures are above 50F (10oC). Wear long pants only when it rains. Otherwise go for Bermudas, shorts or capris.

Believe it or not, but some Alaskans wear Bermudas year round. #Alaska #streetstyle Click To Tweet

Wear tank tops, spaghetti strap tops with the aforementioned pants or with a mini-skirt or a maxi halter or strapless dress on days with sunny sky and temperatures in the 70s (warmer than 21.1o). Oh, did I say that Fairbanksans love to run around town in flip-flops during their spare time?

Read further tips on what to wear to not look like a tourist in Alaska.

 

Get a Satellite Phone for Your Alaska Outdoor Adventure

If you go alone with your party, i.e. without scout, you should also have a satellite phone. The cellphone network in Alaska is sparse. Once you leave the three big cities (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau) or Prudhoe Bay, your cellphone will get no signal anymore after 30 miles or so (about 48 km) outside of town. You are basically somewhere in the middle of nowhere. ALONE.

 

Read the Fine-Print When Renting a Car

When you rent a car and plan on driving the Denali Highway, Taylor Highway, or Dalton Highway be aware that they are unpaved roads, even tough some paved stretches may exist. Therefore, make sure you rent a car that has 4-wheel drive. Also make sure your rental car contract permits you to drive unpaved roads. Go for the windshield insurance. On unpaved roads, it just happens that the car in front of you throws a stone in the windshield.

Don’t panic when you get a crack in the windshield. You can still continue driving. I have never seen so many cracked windshields than in Alaska. Read more about cracked wind shields.

When you liked these safety tips for your Alaska outdoor adventure, and the packing tips, I would highly appreciate your sharing them with your friends by tweeting them I just read some great tips on what to pack for travel in Alaska. #Alaska #travel Click To Tweet.

 

Alaskan Look of the Day

The Texas tux or Canadian tuxedo as it is called in the Interior is a typical Casual Friday outfit when worn on a sunny day. During the rain season (August), it would be a good outfit when temperatures are in the upper 40s.

Is Alaska on your travel bucket list? Have you already been in Alaska? If so, where have you been and did you love or hate it? Let me know, I am curious.

 

Get a subscription to High Latitude Style.

 

References

Mölders, Nicole, 2019. Outdoor Universal Thermal Comfort Index Climatology for Alaska, Atmosphere and Climate Sciences, DOI: 10.4236/acs.2019.94036

Shulski, M. and Wendler, G. 2007: The Climate of Alaska. University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks. 216 p.

 

Photos: G. Kramm

© 2013-2021 Nicole Mölders | All rights reserved