I’ve always had a great desire to travel the world with a beautiful and intelligent woman, and my girlfriend has had a deep desire and dream to go to Alaska for years. So to kill two birds with one stone, the two of us are going on an Alaskan adventure.

The secret to enjoying any adventure is to prepare; physically and mentally prepare to enjoy it. This goes beyond packing and planning. Cultivating genuine, childish, excitement for an adventure is a key to enjoying the experience. Travel can be stressful if you choose to perceive it that way. There are hard parts and you might not end up where you intended, but the glory is the struggle. Things that are easy, rarely have value. I wrote down general tips and what we are doing to prepare and plan for our trip, so hopefully you find it helpful and entertaining.

I’ll be documenting every step of our trip along the way so be on the lookout for new articles about our trek.

Our Plan

I’m detail oriented, so it’s easy for me to go on in length and get lost but I try to  list the most important elements.
-Get from Sacramento to San Francisco, CA.
-Don’t forget to pack girlfriend.
-Note to girlfriend: Don’t forget to bring boyfriend.
-Fly from San Francisco to Anchorage, Alaska (preferably, not like the gremlin on the plane from the Twilight Zone Movie).
-Take train to Canoe/Hike Glaciers.
-Take the train from Anchorage to Denali.

-Hitch a ride or bus to 8 Mile Lake and the Stampede Trail head.
-Hike from 8 Mile Lake to Chris McCandless ‘ Bus, (“The Bus” from the movie Into the Wild) and pay homage to an interesting character/place.

-Get back in time to catch a train back to Anchorage. (50+ miles in 3 days) :O MG
-Fly back to San Francisco.
-Get  a ride back to Sacramento and sleep and recover for 3 days until camping trip in Bodega Bay.

Goals

-Take 8 Million photos along the way.
-Meet new people and make some friends.
-Learn new things and avoid teachings from Palin family.
-Take in deep breaths of life and enjoy every moment (hopefully without anything close to the ending of Grizzly Man).

The Challenges

Here is the short list of issues and resources.
1. Packing Light (Confronting  the habit of over packing)
2. Bringing the proper gear.
3. Learning everything I can about outdoor survival
4. Bears I’ve seen Grizzly Man, and while I thankfully don’t have a lisp, girlie voice or ridiculous urges to “be one with the bears,” It’s important that If we come across one or more that we are calm and respond appropriately. I’ve seen black bears but am curious about the size and attitude of the Grizzly. -Differences between brown, black, grizzly bears and Bear Grylls.
5. Communications- spotty wi-fi, cell phone coverage, etc.
6. Bugs- I’ve heard some bad stories. Thinking of buying a goofy bug net hat.
7. 19 hours of daylight during summer- This will be interesting. I don’t know if I’ll like it or loathe it. Sunscreen is a must.
8. Physical Conditioning and Back packing 52 miles in 3 days- I am in decent shape but began stepping up my workouts a couple of notches. You can read more about how I did that on this post.
9. Unofficial/Unsupported trip to the bus from Into the Wild. We are likely going to have to bribe and finagle with the locals to accomplish this goal.  This is the adventure part. A lot of people get over stressed when they can’t pre-plan the means of getting from A-B but there is a lot to be said for the person who can get dropped into an unplanned situation and make it work.

Outdoor Survival
We attended a survival course with instructor Doug Huffman, who runs the Sierra Survival School
I’ll post a link to my notes from the course soon but be sure to visit his website.

REI Outdoor School-A great way to learn how to do anything from camp cuisine, to rock climbing and map navigation.

Christopher Mcandless & The Magic Bus 142
Getting to the bus will be an interesting challenge because it is outside of Denali park and there are no official tours to get to it. We’ve made some calls, talked to the locals and posted a few ads on craigslist. It’s not the safest way to go about it, nor do I recommend it but it is an option.

The Best Links for the Magic Bus:
The best video that covers the aspects of the trip can be found here.

-Communications, coverage maps, park info, rail lines, topographic maps,etc. I looked up AT&T’s coverage in Alaska  and noted that they don’t bother placing cities on the map for the state which is very helpful… Anyway, it looks like it will be spotty but luckily, wi-fi is a different story entirely.

We tried to save money on our travel and got the funkiest red eye schedule that will make the trip a little more challenging. Air travel is rarely fun. PriceLine was the tool of choice this trip. We’ve tried other services for other trips but we’ve had the least hassle and confusion with PriceLine. Besides, I’m a huge Bill Shatner/Denny Crane fan/sucker.

Here are some things I put together to prep for this trip:

How to avoid Common Outdoor Douchebaggery Sarcastic but true adventuretips your mother wish you’d read.

My Pre-Adventure Video Playlist- A good list of movies and shows to get psyched for any outdoor adventure.

Black Bears, Grizzlies and Bear Grylls- How to tell the difference between between brown and black bears…and Bear Grylls.

How to Make a Paracord Survival Straps- One of the coolest things I’ve done to prepare for Alaska.

Get Heroik! BYOB Bring Your Own Bravery! - The importance embracing challenges, confronting fears and reaping the rewards.

Video Roundup: Learn How to Tie Essential Knots

12 Mile Backpacking Training Course:  Lake Natoma- The route we used to build up stamina and check our gear before hiking in Denali.

Fitness Training: The Difference of 30 Miles- I added a 30 mile goal to my workout routine where in I could do any combination of running, walking, swimming, stepping, and anything else  I could to improve my fitness. You can read my journal and my results.