Trails and travel

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, June 2013; written by Tammy Dinsmore

My goal for this summer is to hike a few of the trails around Ketchikan so I was really pleased to see that there is a new Ketchikan Area Trails Guide.

Put out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service, Alaska Region and several others, this guide has colorful, easy to read maps with descriptions of the many trails in our area.

The guide starts out by recommending some equipment and safety gear that should be taken with you even on short day hikes and warning you of the “wacky weather” that happens around Ketchikan. Also included is information on bear safety, Forest Service cabins and shelters, public campgrounds and where to find hunting and fishing regulations.

The maps are broken down into three areas, Trails accessed within Ketchikan, outside Ketchikan (North and South Tongass) and remote trails near Ketchikan (trails accessed only by plane or boat).

The trails are rated from easy to most difficult and included with each map is a description of the trail, its length, elevation gain and what you might see on the trail.

If you are planning on doing any hiking or mountain climbing, the Ketchikan Public Library has a video called “Stay Alive!: A Guide to Survival in Mountainous Areas”. This video deals with things that could go wrong while in the wilderness and what you can do to help yourself stay alive.

Digging a snow cave, how to signal for help, and wildlife encounters are all covered as well as how to build a shelter and what types of clothes are best suited for the cold temperatures you may encounter in the mountains. There is a long list of items that the host suggests you take with you if you are traveling by automobile, which I assume, would be a good list for boaters as well. Hypothermia is definitely a factor to consider here in our area and that is covered in the video too. Many of the topics covered in the video are survival skills that would be helpful in our area even if you are not in the mountains.

If hiking or mountaineering is not in your plans, maybe a road trip is? I am enjoying National Geographic’s “Guide to Scenic Highways & Byways: The 300 Best Drives in the U.S.”

I really like road trips and have been on just a few of these, but now I want to travel more of them!

The drives featured start out in New England and then work their way west. Mileage is given with an estimate of the amount of time it will take. Stops are not factored in though, so take that into consideration if you decide to get off the beaten path and make some of these drives. Included in the scenic highways for Alaska is the Alaska Marine Highway, the George Parks Highway (this one is on my “to-do” list of drives) and many others.