Fire and Ice

We always seek contrast in our travels, but we’ve never done it quite like we did this summer. The Arctic and the Tropics are worlds apart (sort of), but what a contrast that would be, right? So that’s exactly what we did, traveling back-to-back from Alaska to Hawai’i. Same vacation. Same colorful North Face luggage. Same quest for discovery. Very different gear lists.

With our Hawaiian shirts stashed deep in our bags, we flew first from Virginia to Fairbanks, Alaska. From there, we headed 250 miles north up the mostly gravel Dalton Highway to the airstrip in Coldfoot. We’ve been fortunate to have done a bunch of remote trips out of Coldfoot, so the logistics are dialed in for us–but it’s not a place that really caters to tourists. Gas costs $7.50 a gallon, flat tires are common, and a 6-pack of Alaskan Amber is $40 (worth it, though). Thank God for frequent flyer miles, hotel points, and good friends in far away places!

Our excellent pilot at Coyote Air, Dirk, told us to be ready to fly at 10am, but to stay flexible about timing and destinations. That’s how things go up there. Bush flying relies on weather, wind, weight, and a bunch of other factors. Our landing spot also depended on the lake ice going out in time (it didn’t). That’s part of what makes Arctic travel so rewarding. You make plans based on what you might reasonably expect–and then everything changes anyway. Coyote Air adjusts as well as anybody, though, and there’s always a cool adventure to be had. And if that kind of imprecision stresses you out, you probably should go straight to Hawai’i!

Summer in the Arctic means 24 hours of daylight, generally moderate temperatures, and endless vistas (although there are sometimes clouds of mosquitoes). Once we were airborne (right on schedule, as it turns out), Dirk flew us about an hour west and we landed at an open lake near the outlet of Arrigetch Creek. From there, Souzz and I spent the next week hopscotching down the Alatna River to our pickup at Takahula Lake, mixing in a few hikes along the way. It was just the two of us, feeling incredibly small against the millions of acres of the Brooks Range.

Our trip included some backpacking, some river-side camping, some day hiking, and some lazy floating via packraft. All told, we covered a little more than 30 miles, pretty short compared to past trips. But despite the minimal distance, we were again overwhelmed by the endless sky, the sights and sounds of the Arctic, and the long shadows from the low-angle sun. Every trip up there makes its mark—which is somewhat ironic, since we also didn’t see a single footprint until we got to our pickup at Takahula.

Arctic travel always comes with a few twists—whether it’s wildfires or snow or some other unexpected treat–and this trip was no exception. Ordinarily we’d spent a lot of time trying to stay warm, but we had blazing sun and 90 degree heat. Those temps dialed back our ambitions a bit. We moved during the cooler parts of the day and found shade where we could, sometimes making our own shade with boats propped up against the trees. We also celebrated a super-hot 4th of July…just like back home!

Three flights, two time zones, and countless frequent flyer miles later, we landed in Kona (our first Hawai’i trip, in contrast to many past Alaska trips). As we stepped off the plane and into the darkness and humidity, it was clear that we were in a new place. At that point, we traded our bug juice for coral-safe sunscreen and swapped our freeze-dried meals for colorful drinks, sushi, and fresh fruit.

We had expected that the temperatures would be the big contrast, but the scale was what we really noticed. The National Park we visited in Alaska, Gates of the Arctic, is three times the size of the big island alone, and the state of Alaska is 165 times larger. The maps are quite literally on a different scale.

With less territory to cover, we were able to cover a lot of territory–ranging from lava tubes to cascading waterfalls to beautiful beaches. The contrasts were phenomenal, and they were all stacked on top of each other. In a space of just twenty miles, there are green sand beaches, smoking volcanoes, blue ocean waters, rainforests, and beds of hardened black lava.

A big highlight was our night snorkel to see manta rays. Mantas can be 16 feet across, amazing! The two minute video below doesn’t do them justice, really.

We also met up with great friends along the way, one of the best gifts of travel. Anchorage friends Marc and Sara and Steve and the boys were full of cheer and hospitality, as always. We caught up briefly in Fairbanks with our friend Justin, who was super-helpful with Hawai’i tips (go figure). And we made a few new friends in Cheri, a talented artist in Fairbanks, and Mary, our lovely AirBnB host in Hawai’i. Mary’s property is phenomenal, as is she! Her friends Greta and Dave were gems, too. And Cheri’s art classes in Fairbanks were by far the best part of our city experience up north.

You certainly can’t get to know the culture and the people in a week, but subtle differences did begin to show up for us. For starters, Hawaiians seem to talk more about the world outside of Hawai’i, and they are a little more chill about the pace of things. Alaskans seem a little more assertive and independent, maybe because each trip around the sun in that climate is an accomplishment. Those differences make sense when you think about their respective geographies. Nineteen US states can fit into the footprint of Alaska, while nearly half of the big island’s land mass is within five miles of the ocean. Hawai’i is also kind of on the way to a lot of places, and Alaska is on the way to almost none. And when you add in the huge temperature swings up north versus the consistent weather in the Tropics, the contrast comes into even sharper focus.

On our last morning in Hawaiʻi, we sat on our porch overlooking coffee trees and sipping Kona coffee. We felt a world away from where we’d been sitting as we waited for our bush plane just a week before. But in both places, we felt the same wonder, the same appreciation for the natural world around us. Whether shaped by ice or volcanic ash, these landscapes–and their people–prompt both humility and curiosity. There’s so much more that we want to see and understand. We were reminded that there are still wild places to visit in the world, and amazing people to meet, if you’re willing to go.

As we got ready to head home, we chuckled to ourselves as we packed our snorkel gear next to our down sleeping bags…but we can’t wait to do a trip like this again. How often do you get to visit two places that far apart and that close together? There were so many contrasts along the way, and we loved the whole experience, every difference, every change, every nuance. It was a magical two weeks. Sharing the trip with Souzz–and with both old and new friends–was perhaps the only place where there wasn’t any contrast at all.