While talking to my friend in July I said I was headed to Alaska this summer and they asked if I turn into a bear or salmon every August and instinctually have to go north. The salmon and I must experience a similar pull to head in that direction where we eventually meet at various rivers (in the form of me catching them!). My pull to go to Alaska each year is undeniable. When I get the yearly urge in my heart to head north, I can’t refuse.
My favorite month to visit Alaska is in July for salmon season but August is a close second. It tends to be a bit cooler and rainier but is a great month to hike, fish, pick berries, see the beginning of fall colors and the northern lights. As a bonus, come mid-August the Alaska State Fair opens which is always a fun time!
I usually have a set itinerary when I arrive of places I want to visit and things I want to do. Going to Homer (one of my favorite places) almost always makes the list. This trip, I had a general idea of what I wanted to do but had nothing set in stone.
Hiking in Alaska
I started this trip doing what I do best- hiking! I have trail lists organized in AllTrails by state and my Alaska folder has over 100 trails earmarked “to hike”. Each time I visit, I try to check a couple new trails off as well as return to my favorite hiking areas (namely: Hatcher’s Pass). Other than fishing with my uncle and cousin, most of the time, I find myself running up, down and around the mountains.
Each year, when I first arrive, I feel a little nervous. The wilderness is different in Alaska. It’s more rugged, less disturbed and is home to more animals than I like to think about. Though I’m always a little scared to venture into the woods, Alaska’s wilderness exudes a certain unknowingness that pulls you in and beckons you to explore. So explore I do.
I landed in Anchorage around 3pm and I headed up to Hatcher’s Pass where I hiked up my favorite trail (April Bowl) in the Talkeetna Mountain Range to see if I could get a view of Denali. After reuniting with my bravery during the first hike back, I am ready for all the new experiences to come.
On my second day, I hiked up a peak before breakfast to sit and take in the views. I was the only person on the trail and was alone at the top of the mountain when I heard a voice behind me asking what the medium sized animal was off to the left. I turned and said I did not know and when I looked up, I realized the voice came from a friend I made in Alaska two years prior. We hiked together once before and I could not believe we were running into each other on the mountain again. I was so excited to see her and we planned a hike for two days later.
I had been wanting to hike South Fork Valley Trail (10.8 miles, 1,535 ft gain) which takes you to Eagle and Symphony Lake. It’s located in the Chugach Mountain Range which is home to quite a few grizzlies and black bear. I had been nervous to do this trail alone as it does not take you up and out of the bush for the entirety of the hike. The South Fork is a long, meandering trail through a valley, along a river, and eventually over boulder fields to get to two lakes. Practicing safety in numbers (and bringing bear spray), my hiking friend and I set out to do this trail on a Monday morning. We kept our head on a swivel and caught up on all things life until we got to the turquoise blue lakes. The trail was gorgeous. We were the only ones at the lakes when we arrived so we enjoyed the views and a snack before we headed back. These lakes are also a great place to fish for grayling if you pack your fishing pole and it is open fishing season. I recommend adding this to your list of trail to-dos if you have time in Alaska.
Berry Season
The end of August is wild berry season! Almost everywhere you go there are wild berries of some sort so I spent a lot of time picking and eating blueberries, salmonberries and watermelon berries while hiking. Blueberries turn sweet after the first frost but are quite bitter before that (even if they look ripe). I lucked out with cold, frosty temperatures at night so the blueberries were delicious. Berry season aligns perfectly with hunting season and my uncle always talks about sitting in blueberry patches, eating berries while waiting to spot animals. When I take breaks on trails during this season, I’ll sit in a berry patch and do the same thing. Be careful not to eat poisonous berries as there are a fair share of those. Do research beforehand so you know what you are picking!
Lake Louise, Alaska
I’ve talked about Lake Louise in a previous post and I spent more time there this trip. It’s an amazing place to see the northern lights given it is mostly off grid so there is very little to no light pollution. It offers great lake fishing as well but I went to pick berries, relax and read a book in a cabin my uncle and cousin have by the lake. If you are looking for a more remote area to explore, Lake Louise is perfect!
Shrimping in Alaska
Instead of fishing this trip, I went ocean shrimping. I had never been so my uncle, cousin and I set out to Whittier, Alaska to put my cousin’s new ocean boat in the water and pull up some shrimp traps. The shrimp live 400-500 ft. deep in the ocean at the base of glaciers. The glacial water runoff makes for extremely cold waters and as a result, the shrimp are big, fatty and sweet. I had so much fun pulling shrimp traps and almost getting tricked into eating a raw shrimp on the boat. We shrimped in Prince William Sound which is home to diverse marine life, mammals, fjords, islands, rugged mountains, and about 150 glaciers. If it is your first time to Alaska, I recommend chartering a halibut fishing trip as I’m not sure shrimp charters are available.
Three years ago, I took an Alaska ferry on the Alaska Marine Highway System from Valdez to Whittier. On a clear day, this journey is one of the most beautiful and is a great way to see the renowned Prince William Sound.
Personal Evolutions, Adult Relationships & Re-Getting-To-Know Each Other
As mentioned, my aunt, uncle and cousin live in Alaska. My uncle first moved there 40 years ago (this year- congrats, Uncle Dale!). Growing up, I did not see them very often so we did not have a close relationship. I visited them in Alaska with my dad for the first time in 2016 when I was 20. Five years later in 2021, Alaska was my first stop on my year and a half long chapter of traveling month to month. I stayed for a month with my aunt and uncle and that was the first time I spent a significant amount of time with them.
Data about the stages of friendship (below) shares approximate time thresholds for time spent with someone to take relationships from acquaintance to close friend. My aunt, uncle, cousin and I would have fallen in my made up category of “barely acquaintances”.
“According to a study by Jeffrey Hall, a communication studies professor at the University of Kansas, it takes roughly 50 hours to become a casual friend with someone, 90 hours to become a friend, and more than 200 hours to become a close friend.
Hall’s study also found that the quality of time spent together matters. For example, meaningful conversations and being vulnerable can help people form close bonds faster.” (Source)
Spending a significant amount of time with my family in Alaska in 2021 got me thinking about “re-meeting” people at various points throughout your life. Who I thought my uncle was and who he knew me to be from childhood was not an accurate view of who we are today. Throughout the past four summers while visiting Alaska, we’ve spent time re-getting-to-know each other.
I think as we grow and evolve, on some level, we have to re-get-to-know our friends, parents and siblings too. I’d like to think people continuously evolve throughout their lives due to life experiences and other influences (relationships, books, challenges, etc.). Someone’s evolution can change what they value, their goals & desires, and the way in which they live day to day.
When I think I know someone really well, what I know about them shapes my lens I see them through. Even in the deepest stages of relationships, individuals are evolving and changing. My mind starts to swirl when I think about how many versions of the same person I may meet during our lifetimes. I’ve been wondering how to support someone through their evolution by not putting them in an old box. Without going too much into this, part of the answer may be trying to keep an open mind and allowing people to evolve and show up in each stage of their life how they may.
I’ve gone through a lot of phases and changes in my life and have left parts of myself behind that I did not want to carry forward. Snakes shed their skin between 4 and 12 times a year to grow. We, as humans, must do the same. Taking time to re-get-to-know our loved ones can help us stay attune to what skin someone’s shed and grown over the years.
It’s been really fun re-getting-to-know my aunt, uncle and cousin over the past few years and moving from “barely acquaintances” to “friends” (or “close friends”- I’ll have to ask Uncle Dale what he thinks!). I love watching my close friends and family’s continuous evolution on this journey through life as well. I try to remember as I keep up relationships with people over the years, they may be in a different phase of evolution than I knew them to be in previously. And that’s kind of cool.
Until the next tale… Happy trails.
-Hannah
Tales of My Trails 