Share your experiences, Alaska

[Lisa Starr]

In celebration of my 5 year clean cancer scan, we've booked a Cruise of the Inland Passage August 2023. Anyone that has done this, share your "Must Do" list or "Must Pack" item. This is a once in a lifetime trip for us and I want to make sure we maximize oour experience.

[Paul F Franklin]

Lisa, first, congrats on good health news! My wife and I did an Inland Passage cruise in 2000, so I'm not sure how up to date any info I can offer will be, but perhaps you could share which ports you'll visit. We went earlier in the year (may or june IIRC) and a lot of folks on the cruise were not well prepared for how cold and blustery it was out on deck. On the other hand, while doing some hiking/biking on the shore stops, shorts and light clothing was in order. If you have a camera with interchangeable lenses, you'll want the longest lens you have or can splurge on.... If you can post your route or ports, I'll try to offer more info.

[Prashun Patel]

Make sure you visit Denali and get to see it with your own eyes. There is nothing like it.

Have a meal prepared with fresh, real, wild salmon.

Besides that, just keep your eyes open. You think you know nature in all it’s magnificence and size and scale until you visit Alaska. It is to the outdoors as the ocean is to a pond.

[Scott Winners]

I have not ridden the inside passage. My mom came up from California on that route once. She till gushes about how pretty all the scenery is, how cold it was in June and how expensive everything was.

The only things we don't import from Seattle are cabbage and salmon. All that King Crab coming in to Dutch Harbor -> sold to wholesalers by the container load, shipped to Seattle, and then reshipped from distributors in Seattle. King Crab is less expensive in Redding, California and more expensive in Fairbanks.

Layers will be your friend. Many many layers. Socks with natural fibers, Smart Wool, Darn Tough, I actually have a couple pair made from Alpaca fiber that work well too. You are going to want socks that retain insulating value when wet, and good shoes.

[roger wiegand]

Get off the ship and get away from the crowds that are within a couple blocks of the landing points. Getting a just a mile away you'll have a much better feeling for the magnificence of Alaska. Find ways to get away from the tour boat crowds and walk, bike, or just sit and enjoy the wildness that is close at hand almost everywhere in Alaska. Try to book a couple days around your cruise where you can rent a car and go where the tour boats don't land.

[Jim Becker]

Congratulations on your milestone, Lisa!!! That's awesome news!

As to the Alaskan cruise...that's about the ONLY cruise I'd even consider going on and I'll be envious. I'm not a fan of cruises otherwise but it's honestly the best way to see so much of the beauty of Alaska (at least that coastal portion of it) in a reasonable amount of time. Some good advice here so far!

[Lisa Starr]

We'll depart from Juneau and have stops at: Colt Island, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Tongas National Forest, Hobart Bay, Kake and Sitka.

[Malcolm McLeod]

In celebration of my 5 year clean cancer scan, we've booked a Cruise of the Inland Passage August 2023. Anyone that has done this, share your "Must Do" list or "Must Pack" item. This is a once in a lifetime trip for us and I want to make sure we maximize oour experience.

Congrats on the scan - - and the trip! Enjoy. I regularly travelled to Alaska for biz and it is special; the people are undoubtedly the most self-sufficient I have ever met. In the Cook Inlet, mountains rise from sea-level to 9000-10,000ft - right out of the water - straight up (almost). There IS drama in the landscape.

I've not done the Inland Passage, but have done cruise of Resurrection Bay area. Take VERY warm clothes; the wind off a glacier is bone chilling even in summer. Take rain gear, a good camera & telephoto lens (or at least the 'extra-zoom' external lens for a cellphone camera) for wildlife shots. You will get bored taking pics of bald eagles! They're everywhere. Careful of bears while on foot (bear spray). Watch for moose if driving; if you hit one, it will be in the front seat with you.

To do: Sorry, this is well north of the panhandle, but if you get this far - Halibut fishing out of Homer, glacier cruise (+whales at right time of year) & Alaska Sealife Center in Seward, see the tidal bore come up the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet, fly fish the Kenai river (bears!).

I've forgotten the name/location, but visit one of the Iditerod race dog breeders/racers. They love to have the public help condition the pups to humans, and tow you around the yard in a wheeled sled. As they told us, "We love mutts." ...Be a kid for an hour!

[Ronald Blue]

Congratulations on the good news! We did the Inside Passage cruise in 2017. Rode Amtrak to Seattle (Empire Builder) and then boarded for the cruise. Loved it. We hit Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan and Victoria British Columbia. Do the whale watching tour at Juneau. Do the Skagway and White River railroad excursion at Skagway. If you don't have a decent digital SLR camera look into getting one. If you book the excursions through the ship if there is any glitches in getting you back they will wait for you. If you do it on your own you are on your own. We got to observe and capture the glacier "calving" and more. It was a great trip. When we returned to Seattle we rented a vehicle and went sight seeing. Mt Hood, Crater Lake, and Oregon Dunes and anything else that caught our eye. It's a great cruise. Next time we will go to Anchorage and go inland but I have cousins there too.

[Bruce Page]

Congratulations on your achievement! I’m going on 4 years.
I was never able to do much sight seeing but I worked at a launch site on Kodiak Island for weeks at a time. Mind boggling natural beauty, and sooo green in the summer.
Avoid winter! :)

[Bill Dufour]

Consider adding on more days by taking the train from Anchorage to Denali and spending a few days there. The hotel is right across the street from the station at the park. Or fly in on scare air.
Bill D

https://www.alaskarailroad.com/ride-a-train/fares?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI__W-iNeW9wIVJA_nCh25TwzoEAAYASAAEgLWEvD_BwE

[Michael Drew]

Hi Lisa. Congrats on the trip. I have very little experience with the part of the state you will be travelling. I moved to the state in the early 80's, and have still to this day, not travelled the inside passage. It is something I intend to do before I retire and move to the lower 48. I have a good friend in Wrangle and she keeps pestering me to visit her there.

I can't really help you out with the trip, as I have nothing to offer in way of advise. However, if you want to go interior, should you have time, I can offer some tips. I will however second the idea to take a train into Denali. If you can swing some extra time, do it. I would catch the train at Talkeetna, ride to Denali, stay a couple nights at the lodge then return. The trip between Anchorage and Talkeetna is pretty boring anyway, so you can save a few bucks if you can figure out how to get to Talkeetna. The town of Talkeetna is also fun to visit for a day. Cool hippy vibe in this town, and just so different, it deserves some time to just chill and walk about. Denali is very special. Too much to describe, you have to experience it. My dad had a hunting lodge there for many years, and I spent most of my teen years hiking all over the place.

Bears: your better off making noise than relying on spray or guns. If you do run into one, and startle it, it will generally take off and leave you be. But, there are some that do the opposite and charge you. (I know three people who have been mauled and lived to talk about it.) If it's within 50' of you, there's no way a human of any skill level and speed will get the spray out and dose a charging bear. I'm quite good with a handgun, and I know I will not take have time to get off a kill shot, or stop it with a round in the shoulder. When I mountain bike in areas where bears are about, I just make noise. I carry a pistol too, but it's for use after the bear has me and I can hopefully, pop a couple rounds up through its jaw into its brain. Either that I eat a bullet.

[Aaron Rosenthal]

If you stop in Victoria, try to get to Buchart Gardens. Site is a quarry that the owner's wife insisted it be turned into a garden. Spectacular!
If in Vancouver (my home), I would stay away from Gastown - I love it down there, but too many panhandlers and wackos.
Tour to Chinatown, see the open air markets.
If you have time, and can arrange it, the McMillan Conservatory and the crater at "Little Mountain" (actually Queen Elizabeth Park) is a most unusual sight that most ship-bound travellers never get to see.
I'm a past, full time taxi owner/operator and I used to do guided tours in my home town.
Congrats on the "clear" diagnosis.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Congrats on the health news Lisa!

Like Jim Becker, the cruise you are considering is the only one I'd want to go on!

[Lawrence Duckworth]

congratulations to you Ms Lisa and you too Bruce --two thumbs up!

[Jim Becker]

If you don't have a decent digital SLR camera look into getting one.

Oh, yea...and a long lens. The lens can easily be a rental if need be, too, as they can be quite expensive to buy, no matter what brand the camera body is. Long lens (and a monopod) will help with getting good shots of beautiful stuff that you may not be physically near to from the ship, for example.

[David Bassett]

Lisa,

congrats on the scan results!!!

As far as the trip, I'm mostly listening as we plan to do the same thing (with a family group, so all of our plans are a compromise.) In our planning we mostly stuck with tours and went with well reviewed packages because we didn't know what to see on our own. (Subsequent trips we can be more adventuresome.)



Oh, yea...and a long lens. The lens can easily be a rental if need be, too, as they can be quite expensive to buy, no matter what brand the camera body is. Long lens (and a monopod) will help with getting good shots of beautiful stuff that you may not be physically near to from the ship, for example.

Can you give a sense of what an adequate "long lens" would be? (Mostly I think in full-frame 35mm film still, neanderthal that I am. But I can find conversion factors. But, no, I'm not dropping $13K on a Canon 600/4L! ;) )

[Paul F Franklin]

Lisa,

congrats on the scan results!!!

As far as the trip, I'm mostly listening as we plan to do the same thing (with a family group, so all of our plans are a compromise.) In our planning we mostly stuck with tours and went with well reviewed packages because we didn't know what to see on our own. (Subsequent trips we can be more adventuresome.)




Can you give a sense of what an adequate "long lens" would be? (Mostly I think in full-frame 35mm film still, neanderthal that I am. But I can find conversion factors. But, no, I'm not dropping $13K on a Canon 600/4L! ;) )

On my trip, which was back when I still shot 35mm on a nikon, I had a 300 mm zoom and wished I had a longer lens with me many times. These days, with fast digital cameras, I'd be looking for something like the nikon z 400mm zoom with their 2x teleconverter. For travel, a zoom is more practical than a long fixed lens, and the teleconverter gives you options without a lot of extra space or weight.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I have never been. A big highlight for my mom and dad was visiting Dick Proenneke's cabin in 2013. Another highlight was getting back to Iowa in 1959 after trying to homestead in Alaska for a year. It looks awesome in Alaska! Have a great trip!

[David Bassett]

On my trip, which was back when I still shot 35mm on a nikon, I had a 300 mm zoom and wished I had a longer lens with me many times. These days, with fast digital cameras, I'd be looking for something like the nikon z 400mm zoom with their 2x teleconverter. For travel, a zoom is more practical than a long fixed lens, and the teleconverter gives you options without a lot of extra space or weight.

Thanks! That's in the ballpark of what I was thinking. (70-200 zoom * 2X converter * 1.6x sensor factor is ~640mm equivalent. Of course the guys with the 600's can go with 2X converter to get to 1200, which would be a step too far for me. At that point I'd take binoculars and make memories not pictures.)

(Lisa, I hope you don't see this as too much of a high-jack. I'll shut up now.)

[Lee Schierer]

Congrats on getting a clean bill of health.

We did the inside passage. Here are some things to take:
Camera
Binoculars,
Rain gear
Spare batteries
Insect repellent
Warm clothes if you are going into glacier bay.
A good jacket
Boots for hiking
Get a decent digital camera. You will appreciate a telephoto lens477670
Learn how to use it before you go.
Take the train ride at skagway.
Take the train to Denali and go on the long bus ride to see animals.

Be prepared for sticker shock if you eat in restaurants in Alaska.477670

[Lisa Starr]

Thank you everyone for both the congratulations and advice. We're going on a Road Scholar package (We've done several trips with them and like the programs), so much of our onshore time is covered with museums, train trip, etc. We do usually have 3-4 hours of "on your own time" many days when onshore so we'll try to take in some of the extras you folks suggest.

[Ole Anderson]

Been to Alaska three times, On none of them did Denali grace us with it's presence. My memories of the trip were the train trip out of Skagway, the glaciers calving, whale spotting and taking the cable lift to Mount Roberts in Juneau. We were also able to take the state owned train from Anchorage to Fairbanks, stopping at Denali. If you get to Fairbanks, be sure to get to the Pumphouse restaurant. Oh, the nature center in Stuart is very nice also. But the best memory is simply watching the Alaskan coast slowly slip by as you cruise, something an ocean cruise does not allow. Good photos require more than just a long lens, you need an eye for composition, and a good knowledge of your camera's settings. The video settings of most SLR's now allow you to get great action shots of the whales and other feats of nature.

At the time we took my Canon T2i and a Superzoom 28-200 lens.

[Ronald Blue]

Looks like a lot of the things that were suggested are included in the cruise. Looks like it takes you places a large ship can't navigate to or shouldn't at least. The trip should be enjoyable and memorable. I know it's a long way off until August 2023 but it will go quickly.

[Jim Becker]

Can you give a sense of what an adequate "long lens" would be? (Mostly I think in full-frame 35mm film still, neanderthal that I am. But I can find conversion factors. But, no, I'm not dropping $13K on a Canon 600/4L!

That's subjective, but the general parameters are not unlike what you know from 35mm film camera bodies. The only difference is that for DSLRs and mirrorless that do not have "full frame" sensors...the so-called crop-sensors that are at the heart of many more moderately priced DSLRs and mirrorless bodies...there is a "crop factor" of about 1.5x the listed focal length in the appearance on the shot. A 200 mm focal length is still a 200mm focal length regardless of the camera, but the smaller sensor "crops" to the center of the image because of its smaller size which makes the image look like it was shot from a 300mm lense on a full frame camera. For travel where there will be both situations that are more near as well as a need for longer distance shots, a 24-70 for the former and a 70-200 for the later are good combinations. These lenses used with a crop-sensor body boost the distance thing even more because of what I already mentioned. One can also get away with the longer lens for those needs and a simple 35mm or 50mm fixed focal length lens. The latter there is lightweight and generally well suited to street photography as well as indoor and lower light shots.

Personally, if I were taking this trip and to keep things simple, I'd bring my DSLR (which happens to be a full frame Nikon) with my 70-200 zoom plus a 50mm for good measure but would likely use my iPhone 13 Pro Max for most of the incidental and street photography because it's extremely capable. (and nothing is going to paper anyway)

[Peter Mich]

What a grand celebration plan. Congratulations on your healthy report.

[David Bassett]

... We're going on a Road Scholar package ....

Google'd them and realize I'd forgotten about them entirely. My folks did a number of their trips back when they were Elderhostel and raved about every one of them. The Alaska cruises, especially on the small ship, look incredible! You are in good hands! (And you've got me regretting our group compromise of a bigger ship. :) )

[Lee Schierer]

7
Lisa,

Can you give a sense of what an adequate "long lens" would be? (Mostly I think in full-frame 35mm film still, neanderthal that I am. But I can find conversion factors. But, no, I'm not dropping $13K on a Canon 600/4L! ;) )

I have two zoom lenses for my Canon T1i DSLR a 28 - 105 mm and a 75 - 300 mm. I've often wished for a 100 - 400 mm. Take extra memory cards. It is best to take several photos and sort through them when you get home. Don't forget rain protection for your camera. A plastic shopping bag works well and you can keep it in your pants pocket where it is readily accessible.

[Kyle Stiefel]

We'll depart from Juneau and have stops at: Colt Island, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Tongas National Forest, Hobart Bay, Kake and Sitka.


Congrats on the CA free! SE Alaska is a special place. I lived in Sitka for a number of years where I had my first wood shop and slowly putting together my second now. Ironically a buddy from Sitka just texted me. I don't have anything special to offer but enjoy, fjord country there, phenomenally beautiful. It is temperate, just has a lot of liquid sunshine. Have a great trip!

[roger wiegand]

I love the Nikon 18-200 VR as a travel lens. It allows me to get by in virtually every situation with only a single, relatively compact, not outrageously heavy, lens that takes great pictures.

If I won the lottery I'd supplement it with the 500mm f4 Nikkor.

[Bill Dufour]

Thirty years ago I was told 200mm was the longest lens you could use on a hand held camera. More then that and you got camera shake or you had to add a gun stock handle to the setup.
Similar to about 7-10x power with binoculars. 30mm lens for daylight 50mm for night. Any more then that is wasted unless you have a good mount. That is from my childhood neighbor, a freighter captain
Bill D

[George Yetka]

It wont be once in a lifetime I did it with my family when i was 23 or so. And had to do it again with my wife for our honeymoon. Now im waiting for my kids to be old enough to go again.

I recommend going out of vancouver and spending a few days there. Its a beautiful city. We did bike tour and had some great meals

Along the passage horseback riding, glacier tour(helicopter ride onto glacier), yukon trane, Air tour(Mine was canceled as the day befores group tragically crashed), Boat tours. Actually anything is amazing

Off the boat rent a car and head up to denali. get a bus tour into the park.(I think the one to go with is the second to longest.Ive done this part twice the short one the first time and didnt end up seeing anything. The second trip I saw a ton of grizzlys and moose.

Packing is easy. Your not really going to be roughing it so pack what makes you comfortable. Days are warm sometimes hot. Nights are cool.
I brought a 300mm lens with a magnifier it was great in denali. Aside from that a 70-200 covered the rest of the trip.

In between the boat and denali there are some cool spots. Gold mines/ a town that had a cat as a mayor(Talkeetna) was here for fourth of July

I would do 4-7 days on land after the cruise

[Paul F Franklin]

Thirty years ago I was told 200mm was the longest lens you could use on a hand held camera. More then that and you got camera shake or you had to add a gun stock handle to the setup.
Similar to about 7-10x power with binoculars. 30mm lens for daylight 50mm for night. Any more then that is wasted unless you have a good mount. That is from my childhood neighbor, a freighter captain
Bill D

That was true 30 years ago....but lenses with built in vibration reduction (VR lenses), and the high equivalent ISO of digital sensors, allowing very fast exposure speeds even with limited light, mean you can hand hold much longer lenses these days. leaning against something or using a unipod or tripod is still a good idea, but not as critical as it used to be in many cases. I'm sure you've seen the sharp photos the sports photogs get even though they are hand holding those huge lenses on the sidelines.

[Jim Becker]

Thirty years ago I was told 200mm was the longest lens you could use on a hand held camera. More then that and you got camera shake or you had to add a gun stock handle to the setup.


"Back in the day" that was probably good general advice. But with many long lenses containing image stabilization these days, it's less of an issue. But this is also the reason I suggested a monopod for those long shots...it provides additional assistance but takes up almost no space in luggage or while walking around.

[Scott Winners]

If you are going to ride into Denali on a park bus instead of a tour bus, you want to go as far as the Eielson visitor center. The cruise/tourists busses don't go that far. But Eielson is far enough. You will be able to see at least part of the mountain, a metric ton of wildlife, and you will have time to ride to Eielson, hike up a hill with a picnic, relax, hike back down, RTB, long day, but there is no good reason to ride in any further on a day trip.

If you take the park bus all the way to Wonder Lake, the bus stop is between the lake and the mountain; you will have zero chance to duplicate Ansel's shot and there isn't time to hike around the lake to take the shot and catch a bus back to the visitor center.

[Scott Winners]

If you make it as far as Fairbanks you are welcome to stop by to try out my leg vise, but compared to South East, Fairbanks has very little to offer. Denali's peak is usually shrouded in cloud. If the mountain is "out" take 16 million pictures while you can.

[Mike Henderson]

I did the inside passage cruise in Alaska many years ago. When thinking of a camera, look at 4/3rds cameras instead of 35mm cameras. The lens is effectively doubled compared to a 35mm camera. I have a 4/3rds Olympus with a 12-200mm zoom. That gives me the equivalent of a 24-400mm on a 35mm camera. And on my Olympus, I can do a 2X digital zoom, which makes the lens equivalent to a 48-800mm lens on a 35mm camera. The quality is quite good. The camera and the lenses are smaller than a 35mm camera and equivalent lenses.

I blog our trips. You can look at our recent trip to see the photo quality (https://www.mikeandjudytravel.com/2022-1Morocco-01.htm). Some of the pictures were taken with an iPhone 13.

A 35mm camera with a 400mm, or 600mm lens, is quite large and heavy, and you'll probably need shorter lenses for some of your shots. It makes a big, heavy kit.

An iPhone is quite good for shots on the ship, but the telephoto on the iPhone is not very good.

Mike

[Michael Drew]

I concur with Mike.....

I use Olympus gear. I have a now obsolete E30..... I can't give it up, because I can shoot it well and I have many lenses, filters, multipliers, etc. I tried Canon and Nikon and just didn't like how they felt in my hand. It's not a 4/3, but is a tad bit smaller and lighter than full frames. But even so, it's not fun to travel with, especially with accompanying lenses and tripod. So much so, I rarely use it anymore.

If I were to start from scratch today, I'd go the micro route. 20K of shooting gear does no good if it's at home. The smaller/lighter micro gear would definitely travel around with me more than what I have now. I think that little 'inconvenience' often gets overlooked.

[John K Jordan]

In celebration of my 5 year clean cancer scan, we've booked a Cruise of the Inland Passage August 2023. Anyone that has done this, share your "Must Do" list or "Must Pack" item. This is a once in a lifetime trip for us and I want to make sure we maximize oour experience.

I have a friend doing that this summer. Ask me later and I'll see if he has advice to share.

We don't do cruises but when we went to Alaska we flew into Anchorage, rented a jeep, and spent a couple of weeks driving the highways and backroads. What an experience. Grizzlies, Moose, so much wildlife.

[Rick Potter]

Congrats on the health. Mentioned before, but don't miss the train trip at Skagway. We also learned reindeer could 'see' grass under the snow.