Besides BOB W and I, anyone else headed to AUS this weekend?

x3

Yay.

Sounds like something's happening this weekend ;)

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Mooses Tooth is amazing yet again ;) :-:

I don't know about amazing but it is pretty good. ^

You can't miss if you take your first-time ANC visitors to that place.

6:00pm tonight. Be there or be squarer than a Sicilian pizza (which, incidentally, we did not have last night). PM me or beckoa for the address. (I say "me or beckoa" because we are probably the only two who would get the PM and respond quickly. :p)

We talked about this last night: Moose's Tooth vs. DiFara's vs. anything in Italy.

They are different styles, but none of us around the table were able to dispute that, when you include the sum of all parts, Moose's Tooth reigns supreme.

Happened across this thread and will be in AK 8/30-9/3 thanks to a recent UA deal. Would love to meet up with anyone who is interested. My buddy and I would like to rent some Kayaks, go hiking/backpacking. We are both knowledgeable backpackers (he thru-hiked the AT, I've done a bit of mountaineering) and want to get out there as much as possible given our time.

Anyone who is interested or wouldn't mind sharing some tips, I'd love a PM. Thanks in advance, and I hope to meet some of you (even if only for a beer!)

Welcome to Alaska! I won't be able to meet up with you (I'll be there for part of the summer but will be leaving a few weeks before you get there), but hopefully some others in town will be able to meet up. It's a bit far out for most to confirm, so you might want to bump this thread closer to your date of arrival to remind them you're coming and to schedule something.

I'm personally not sure the best place to deal with kayak rentals would be. Are you more interested in kayaking on a lake (I've gone out on Eklutna Lake before, which is a beautiful hidden gem near Anchorage) or out on the ocean? If the latter, I don't think there's much in the way of kayaking near Anchorage due to the tidal mud flats and lack of easy ocean access. Most kayakers go out of Whittier, Seward, or Homer, and you might find more in the way of kayak rental outfits in one of those towns.

As a decent general all-around source for Alaska info, check out http://www.alaska.org. They may be able to point you towards some resources for that.

For other equipment, there are a few places in town to check. The biggest name is probably REI, but there are probably some local places that rent as well. I'm not up to speed on that, though.

I would recommend hiking in the Denali Park area. Check with them because I think you need a reservation for that. They segment the park into areas and limit the number of hikers in each one.

I used to backpack the park for a week every summer but have not done so in many years. Any area is good but the area that includes Sunrise & Sunset Creeks near Eielson Visitors Center was my favorite.

I can't say whether I will be around then. Check back closer to your trip.

I've done a few interesting backpacking trips as well. Johnson Pass Trail is also an interesting adventure ;)

Thank you for the tips - I will definitely be looking into this as it gets closer and will also drop a note here to see if anyone is around for a mini meet-up.

Cheers.

There's a sort of classic book for hikers in Southcentral Alaska titled, appropriately, 55 Ways to the Wilderness in Southcentral Alaska. Might be something you want to pick up.

This isn't too last minute but I'll be trying to fly up to the lower 48 it ain't this weekend... Shooting for an arrival time of 1230am Saturday and a departure time of 0120am Sunday for about 24 hours in Anchorage.

I'll be in town the evening of May 18th — arriving from DFW at 7:10 p.m.; departing May 19th at 8:25 p.m. Last time I was in town (several years ago) beckoa introduced me to the Moose's Tooth which I'd like to revisit (great beer!), but I'm up for trying something new, too. Anyone around that weekend and able to meet-up?

Might be up for something. I actually leave on the 19th on a redeye (can't recall- AS has a decent sized bank) to SEA, so might be able to do something when you arrive.