Alaska Outdoors

Jeff Lund photo 
The author heard what he thought was a squirrel. It was not a squirrel.

I Went into the Woods: A change of plans

It was only a 30-hour trip but it’s always better to bring more food than you count on eating.

 

Ned Rozell/Submitted 
A map showing some of Alaska’s more unique place names.

Alaska Science Forum: What’s in an Alaska name?

I once asked a snowmachiner heading out on a trail from Nome where he was going. “Boston,” he said before speeding off. Not knowing of… Continue reading

 

Cold water dipping is a centuries old stress reduction technique still practiced today. (Photo by Raven Hotch)

Recipes for stress reduction rooted in Indigenous knowledge

We must choose to live intentionally and learn to commit to our wellbeing.

 

Tone and Charles Deehr in Fairbanks, October 2021. (Photo courtesy Charles Deehr)

Alaska Science Forum: Red aurora rare enough to be special

Charles Deehr will never forget his first red aurora. On Feb. 11, 1958, Deehr was a student at Reed College in Portland, Ore. He asked… Continue reading

Tone and Charles Deehr in Fairbanks, October 2021. (Photo courtesy Charles Deehr)
Mari Kanagy/Juneau Empire
Local artist Johanna Griggs looks at “The Ocean Mirror,” her favorite piece from her exhibit “Landscapes of Southeast Alaska,” on display at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center.

Juneau painter explores local color and reflection

The exhibit display at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center through November.

Mari Kanagy/Juneau Empire
Local artist Johanna Griggs looks at “The Ocean Mirror,” her favorite piece from her exhibit “Landscapes of Southeast Alaska,” on display at the Juneau Arts and Culture Center.
“Hair ice” grows from the forest floor in Fairbanks, Alaska. Photo courtesy of Ned Rozell

‘Hair ice’ enlivens an extended fall in Interior Alaska

Just when you thought you’d seen everything in the boreal forest, a reader points out white whiskers sprouting from the ground. Chris Greenfield-Pastro of Fairbanks… Continue reading

“Hair ice” grows from the forest floor in Fairbanks, Alaska. Photo courtesy of Ned Rozell
Photo by Jeff Lund
Cold and damp are defining characteristics of this time of year so the warm couch is always tempting.

I Went to the Woods: The fear of fear

What’s the margin of error for being prepared?

Photo by Jeff Lund
Cold and damp are defining characteristics of this time of year so the warm couch is always tempting.
Close up view of an adult male mountain goat in late-winter, near Juneau Icefield, Alaska. In the background, steep avalanche prone slopes are visible. (Photo by Kevin White)

Avalanche lessons from mountain goats: A study of ‘Life on the Edge’

Wildlife biologist Kevin White shared the relationship between mountain goats and avalanches.

Close up view of an adult male mountain goat in late-winter, near Juneau Icefield, Alaska. In the background, steep avalanche prone slopes are visible. (Photo by Kevin White)
Photos by Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire
The Lemon Creek glacier is pictured on Sept. 29, 2025.

Weekly Wonder: Juneau’s ‘seasons’

Dozens of creatures are sensing a change of the season

Photos by Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire
The Lemon Creek glacier is pictured on Sept. 29, 2025.
Photo by Ned Rozell
Golds and greens of aspens and birches adorn a hillside above the Angel Creek drainage east of Fairbanks.

Alaska Science Forum: The season of senescence is upon us

Trees and other plants are simply shedding what no longer suits them

Photo by Ned Rozell
Golds and greens of aspens and birches adorn a hillside above the Angel Creek drainage east of Fairbanks.
Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire
A bald eagle is pictured near Eagle Beach on Sept. 16.

Weekly Wonder: Eagles, a symbol of hope and patriotism

Every time I see an eagle down south, I think of Rachel Carson

Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire
A bald eagle is pictured near Eagle Beach on Sept. 16.
Things you won’t find camping in Southeast Alaska. (Jeff Lund/Juneau Empire)

I Went to the Woods: Sodium and serenity

The terrain of interior Alaska is captivating in a way that Southeast isn’t

Things you won’t find camping in Southeast Alaska. (Jeff Lund/Juneau Empire)
A whale breaches near Point Retreat on July 19. (Chloe Anderson/Juneau Empire)

Weekly Wonder: The whys of whale breaching

Why whales do the things they do remain largely a mystery to us land-bound mammals

A whale breaches near Point Retreat on July 19. (Chloe Anderson/Juneau Empire)
An albacore tuna is hooked on a bait pole on Oct. 9, 2012, in waters off Oregon. Tuna are normally found along the U.S. West Coast but occasionally stray into Alaska waters if temperatures are high enough. Sport anglers catch them with gear similar to that used to hook salmon. (Photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/West Coast Fisheries Management and Marine Life Protection)

Brief tuna bounty in Southeast Alaska spurs excitement about new fishing opportunity

Waters off Sitka were warm enough to lure fish from the south, and local anglers took advantage of conditions to harvest species that make rare appearances in Alaska

An albacore tuna is hooked on a bait pole on Oct. 9, 2012, in waters off Oregon. Tuna are normally found along the U.S. West Coast but occasionally stray into Alaska waters if temperatures are high enough. Sport anglers catch them with gear similar to that used to hook salmon. (Photo provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/West Coast Fisheries Management and Marine Life Protection)
Photo by Martin Truffer
The 18,008-foot Mount St. Elias rises above Malaspina Glacier and Sitkagi Lagoon (water body center left) in 2021.

Alaska Science Forum: The long fade of Alaska’s largest glacier

SITKAGI BLUFFS — While paddling a glacial lake complete with icebergs and milky blue water, I dipped my left hand, then tasted my fingers. Salty.… Continue reading

Photo by Martin Truffer
The 18,008-foot Mount St. Elias rises above Malaspina Glacier and Sitkagi Lagoon (water body center left) in 2021.
The northern lights are pictured near the Mendenhall Glacier on Sept. 3, 2025. (Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire)

Weekly Wonder: Chasing the aurora

She’s hard to find, and even trickier to photograph

The northern lights are pictured near the Mendenhall Glacier on Sept. 3, 2025. (Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire)
Photo by Jeff Lund/Juneau Empire
The point of fishing is to catch fish, but there are other things to see and do while out on a trip.

I Went to the Woods: Fish of the summer

I was amped to be out on the polished ocean and was game for the necessary work of jigging

Photo by Jeff Lund/Juneau Empire
The point of fishing is to catch fish, but there are other things to see and do while out on a trip.
A female brown bear and her cub are pictured near Pack Creek on Admiralty Island on July 19, 2024. (Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire)

Bears: Beloved fuzzy Juneau residents — Part 2

Humor me for a moment and picture yourself next to a brown bear

A female brown bear and her cub are pictured near Pack Creek on Admiralty Island on July 19, 2024. (Chloe Anderson for the Juneau Empire)
A gray-headed chickadee feeds along the Canning River in northern Alaska in 2015. Photo by Aaron Lang.

Alaska Science Forum: Calling lost chickadees in far north poplars

If and when beavers do arrive, they could completely change habitats along North Slope river corridors

A gray-headed chickadee feeds along the Canning River in northern Alaska in 2015. Photo by Aaron Lang.
Photo by Don Miller
Don Miller took this photograph of a Lituya Bay hillside shortly after the giant wave in 1958.

Alaska Science Forum: The giant wave of Lituya Bay

In 1958, a magnitude 8.3 earthquake triggered a tremendous landslide into the ocean.

Photo by Don Miller
Don Miller took this photograph of a Lituya Bay hillside shortly after the giant wave in 1958.