ALASKA GUIDED HIKING TRIPS & LODGES

Hiking is one of the best ways to discover what makes the Alaskan wilderness unique: fragrant forests, amazing wildlife, the sounds of nature, sublime mountain light, and a real sense of peace. And while you shouldn’t be afraid to go hiking on your own, going in a group with a guide can add a lot to the experience. Because they’re experts in their local areas, they know the best trails and the most scenic spots. And they’ll share fascinating insights about the trees, tundra, wildlife, native history, and natural history of the places you visit. You’ll come away with a much deeper understanding of how plants and animals have adapted to survive in our hostile climate.

Small Group Land Tours

Alaska Guided Hiking Trips (:48)

Go with a small-group escorted tour company like Alaska Wildlife Adventures and you’ll have plenty of opportunities to hike. AWA offers multi-day trips with seasoned naturalist guides, nice lodging, and great food. All-inclusive packages start at about $1000 per person and are an excellent value.

Alaska Wilderness Lodges

Alaska’s full-service lodges aren’t inexpensive, but their guided hikes, personalized tours, and great access to otherwise untouched wilderness are well worth the cost. The best lodges for guided hiking: Kenai Backcountry Lodge, where you'll hike through the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge; Kenai Riverside Lodge, which offers hikes in Chugach National Forest; Camp Denali / North Face Lodge in the heart of Denali. And Kennicott Glacier Lodge is great for self-guided hikes.

Thank you to Alaska.org for this post.

My Famous Caesar Salad Recipe

This Caesar Salad recipe is probably going to be the best you have ever tasted. In my experience, the Caesar salads I have tasted in restaurants are usually bland and not made correctly. This recipe is incredibly full of flavor and it definitely will make your taste buds come to life!

The recipe below will feed about six people and will be a hit at your next gathering:

½ Cup Olive Oil

¼ Cup FRESH Lemon Juice

1 Egg

2-3 Cloves Minced Garlic or (chop in a blender)

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard or Dry Mustard

½ teaspoon Pepper

Several Dashes of Worcestershire Sauce

1 Can Anchovies

In a blender or food processor put all the above ingredients together and mix well

1 Cup Grated Romano Cheese

2 Heads Romaine Lettuce

Croutons

Chop up the romaine lettuce, put in a large bowl and add the dressing, the croutons and the Romano cheese. Toss well and serve. Enjoy!

Loving the Ling: A Tribute to the Ugliest Fresh Water Fish

The ling or “eelpout” is without a doubt a disgusting, repulsive, annoying, slimy, smelly and unattractive fish in the sea. Despite these negative qualities, it has a delicious lobster-like taste and boasts its own annual festival near Walker, Minnesota. Why? The eelpout may be ugly, but its redeeming qualities far outweigh any appearance deficiencies.

Eelpout, also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, and eelpout, tend to reside mostly in the deeper waters of clean cold Northern lakes. Their appearance is part eel, part catfish, sporting one single chin whisker known as a barbel. Its physique is lean and mean with considerable strength, challenging anglers with an audacious game of hide-and-seek. Its primary draw for many anglers is the ease with which they are caught. During the winter months, eelpout relocate into water 25 to 50 feet deep for spawning. As a result, anglers can expect to catch large numbers of these homely swimmers, often weighing in the double digits.

Early evening and after dark are prime times for successful eelpouting. These ugly creatures of the deep are known carnivores; if it’s fishy and fits in their mouths, they will eat it. While this makes baiting them somewhat easier, it is this trait which also makes them an unwelcome guest to other anglers, as they tend to steal bait. Like other nocturnal creatures, eelpout prefer to sneak up on their victims while they rest.

The strength, depth and aggressiveness of this species require stronger equipment than most game fishing. Stronger lure combined with leaders of at least three feet and a swivel will keep the catch online and prevent lure from twisting with the fish. Glow hooks and rattle spoons with minnows top off the lure, which is then allowed to free-fall to the bottom. The lure mingles with the muck and is then snapped back to the surface, at which point an eelpout may already be on board. During the spawning period in late February, a catch of 100 or more is not uncommon, weighing on average between 3 and 8 pounds.

Those who love the ling are welcome to pay its tribute at the annual International Eelpout Festival on Leech Lake in Walker, Minnesota. Three full days commemorating the ugliest fish in the sea begins with an Opening Ceremony, complete with Torch Lighting. Entrants are encouraged to use their imagination when constructing their fishing shelter, as prizes are awarded for the most lavish structure built on the lake. Extra points may be earned if the shelter sports a logo from one of the sponsoring companies of the tournament. Prizes are also awarded for the single pout with the most weight, for the most combined pout tonnage by a single angler and for most combined pout tonnage by a team of anglers.

If actually catching these despicable creatures is not on your agenda, the Festival offers numerous activities to help celebrate the eelpout in style. The Eelpout Peelout is a 5K run which challenges its contestants to be the first to win the race and win the angling contest. The Snowmobile Radar Run, Eelpout Bowl Rugby Tournament, the Polar Plunge, a black-tie dinner on the ice and an “On-Ice” Auto Race ensure there is something fun for participants of all ages, whether an angler or spectator.

Few creatures are as unappealing, yet offer so much in the spirit of fishing. There is nothing refined or fancy about fishing for eelpout; it is simply fun. For those who like to fish, enjoy the outdoors, and catch a lot of fish without regard to species, the eelpout is a beautiful thing indeed.