(Part 2) Best products from r/alaska

There are a bajillion good hikes in Skagway (Upper Dewey Lakes, A-B Mountain, and of course the legendary Chilkoot Trail). Good hiking and beautiful mountains around Haines too. I would recommend getting the book Hiking Alaska, which just came out with a new edition. Pretty much essential reading if you're into hiking at any level anywhere in AK.

Edit: Added link to book. Also, you might want to get a Milepost if you haven't already. It'll be a big help on the drive.

Evidence:

Here's a brief but great article about roads:
http://reason.com/archives/2010/08/05/private-enterprise-does-it-bet

Milton Friedman's video series "Free to Choose" is full of examples of how the market outperforms government:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3N2sNnGwa4

If you're a reader, here's a fantastic book by Jeffrey Tucker on the subject:
http://www.amazon.com/Its-Jetsons-World-Private-Miracles/dp/1610161947/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394447801&sr=8-1&keywords=it%27s+a+jetsons+world

The evidence is out there, and it's overwhelming if you're willing to take the time to find it.

They definitely need better traps. I once had a rodent issue where I was living and definitely considered this after watching an enthusiast gush about them. Luckily, I was able to get out of my lease and move somewhere nice.

Alaskan moving to NC here -- this is the field guide I would recommend. This is the travel guide that I usually recommend, but that's because it has the most pages devoted to my local area -- but as it also covers Denali, could be of interest.

I have one of these- it works pretty good
https://www.amazon.com/2018-Unlocked-IsatPhone-Satellite-Phone/dp/B079YY25NR/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=iridium+phone&qid=1551157462&s=gateway&sr=8-4

its inmarsat, which does work pretty well up here for the most part. if I was going into the brooks range, ive heard irridium work better. They are MUCH more expensive though :(

This: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1892154285/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1878425293&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1G7JNECABVV49A6B7854 The Milepost, mile by mile description of what's here and on AK highway through Canada. Worth every penny.

Consider going to Bellingham, WA and taking the Alaska State Ferry ( http://www.dot.state.ak.us/amhs/index.shtml) very much a great deal and excellent way to see some more of Alaska. You'll still have a drive from Haines or Skagway up to Whitehorse and then connect with the Alaska Highway.

Yeah it can be, you're not supposed to tilt them for ~24 hours, it can screw up the seal. Best to set them out and let them be. Watch them, if any of the seals aren't down, eat them immediately. If anything is suspicious throw it out.

As others have pointed out, go with a non-electric canner too. Presto canners work quite well, plus they come with a booklet for canning that is very helpful.

Moose is delicious; it's the best venison, with the possible exception of elk. It's similar to lean beef. If you get a jerky gun, you can make outstanding smoked sausage sticks out of ground moose. I'd render a whole moose into sausage sticks.

Bears are best left the fuck alone. Not only are they ornery, they taste terrible. If I had to eat bear for a winter, I don't know who I'd shoot, me or the bear.

Wool socks are great gifts. They're pricey if you need to buy a weeks worth all at once. I really like Darn Tough socks. They're better quality than Smartwool and guaranteed for life.

The real problem is that there is such a wide range of temperatures here in Fairbanks (80F in the summer down to -40 or -50 in the winter) that you really need two or three pairs of everything. Your -40F mittens are going to make you really uncomfortable when its +20 out. Same with your heavy down parka and your heavy boots. But I wear hiking weight wool socks and normal boots every day from September to May if I'm not going to be outside for the whole day and my feet stay warm.

Wow, I'm in the middle of reading this book. Your friend is in for quite the journey.

I recommend the Flexikold. You can order them on Amazon, and come from like letter size to literally the size of your back. They are very tough and not likely to leak. You can also get a reusable gel ice pack at pretty much any store with a first aid/recovery section. I got a decent one at Fred Meyer for about 10 bucks. They are awesome and re-"freeze" in like 30-45 minutes.

As an Eskimo living in Anchorage, with an apartment that has terrible cross-breeze, I need these to survive! In a pinch you can use a 2 liter bottle (make sure you don't fill it too full), but the gel packs are the way to go.

The risk assessment algorithms are deeply flawed. I am a programmer, I've studied genetic algorithms and learning programming and I can tell you beyond any doubt that they are super flawed, and with a data set like the historic and current state of our judicial and legal system's track record, there is virtually no way to make a fair algorithm with the data available.

EDIT: Here is an excellent book on the subject, which discusses where learning algorithms are appropriate and when they are not. Judicial sentencing is an example of not. Fair warning, it is written at the graduate level for computer science focused academics, so it will make no sense to anyone outside of the field.

Thanks!

1. I used an Arsat 90mm f/2.8 Tilt Shift lens. (http://www.amazon.com/Arsat-80mm-Shift-Canon-Camera/dp/B004URU9AA/). I like using a real lens because you don't get blurred lines that don't follow the depth of field like you can get with software, and because I just like doing things the more difficult way.
   
   
2. No, they're digital, but I process them to try and look more like film.
   
   
3. These were all taken around 2pm yesterday.

Wager with the Wind was a book I selected in school for a report and it was seriously awesome.

It's basically an early history of bush flying in Alaska with a lot of anecdotes. My parents knew or were friends-of-friends with some of the characters in the book so it was even more cool having met some of them.

There is another cool book about Army paratroopers in Alaska. Up here they perform civilian rescues so the book was a recollection of SAR adventures. I can't remember the title but I bought it in a Borders about 10 years ago.

Then of course there are the Alaskan Bear Tales books. I've never read them, but everyone I know who has started carrying guns when they let their dog out in the backyard.

Oh and another book I remember reading was called Jumping Fire about a smokejumper in Alaska.

Let's agree to jettison Into the Wild from this list.

Michener's Alaska would be a better choice. Or Lindstrand's Alaskan Sketchbook, if we can include a pictorial journal.