Alaska | “One Week There, One Month to Recover”

National-park nerd alert: Alaska = dopamine overdose. ✈️ Flight cancelled twice, suitcase teleported to Narnia – the moment I stepped onto permafrost none of that mattered anymore. Below is the visual caffeine I main-lined in 7 days; copy the pins, charge the batteries, prepare to hibernate when you get home. 📍 Kenai Fjords National Park / Seward 🚢🐋 Highlight reel: Aialik Glacier calving – house-sized ice bombs drop like summer thunder next to the boat = I forgot to breathe for 10 sec. Floating ice-cubes the size of hatchbacks + harbor seals using them as bean-bags = live Pixar scene. Wildlife bingo: orca super-pod, humpback bubble-net, Steller sea-lion bark-concert, sea-otter back-floating with clam on belly = instant serotonin. Puffins = airborne footballs – I cried inside because 70-200 mm was at home; rent 100-400 mm or regret life choices. Shoot: 09:30 departure = low sun side-lighting ice walls; polarizing filter kills glare, makes blue pop. 📍 Katmai National Park – Brooks Camp 🐻🐟 Logistics = Indiana Jones level: Prop-plane King Salmon ➜ float-plane lands on Naknek Lake = window seats left side for volcano view. Safety briefing: “Eat inside electric fence, lock every gate, do not run” = real-life Jurassic Park with fur. First sighting: mum + 2 cubs strolling lake-edge 40 m away – heart rate 180 bpm. Salmon leap at Brooks Falls – 30+ bears in 4 h, longest face I’ve ever seen (give me round teddy-black bear any day). Camera: 300 mm minimum; falls platform = 50 m distance, rangers strict. Back-button focus = salmon jumping non-stop. 📍 Valdez Glacier Lake – Private Canoe Tour 🛶💎 No paddling stress – 2 guides row, you float inside blue-ice cathedral. Enter 3 mini ice-caves – head-lamp beam = sapphire walls sparkle. Stop on house-sized berg – walk-around in crampons = “I’m in a gin & tonic” feeling. Coldest but best tour – hot chocolate never tasted this heroic. Lens: 24-70 mm f/2.8 for half-half split shots; GoPro on chest captures your scream inside cave. 📍 Matanuska Glacier 🧊 3-hour “soft-core” hike – crampons provided, walk like penguin = easy. Blue moulin pools = mirror selfies; ice arch = natural frame. Almost went snow-blind – suitcase with sunglasses still flying somewhere; buy UV 400 goggles at airport before tour! Pro-tip: 11 AM slot = sun hits ice face = bluest colour. 📍 Whittier – “One-Building Town” 🏢🎬 200 residents live in same condo (school, church, police in lobby) = architectural oddity. Rainy day walk = zero humans, only rusted cars & seagulls = silent-movie set. Anton Anderson Tunnel – single-lane for cars AND trains; 15 min wait each end = built-in coffee break. Photo: 50 mm f/1.8 – low-light, high-ISO grain adds to post-apocalypse mood. 📍 Denali + Wrangell-St. Elias National Parks 🌧️ Reality check: Denali day = horizontal rain, zero mountain views = grey soup. Bus only goes to Mile 43 (landslide) – tundra pretty, but feels like outside-Denali highway scenery. Friends swear it’s epic on clear days – book 2-day buffer if peak sighting = life goal. Moral: weather > all plans in Alaska; flex days > rigid itinerary. 🧳 UNIVERSAL PACKING (winter/spring) Layers like onion: merino → fleece → down → GORE-TEX shell UV 400 goggles – snow glare = sunburn on eyeballs Micro-spikes – foldable, TSA-legal, glacier & icy sidewalks Portable tripod – 400 g only, fits backpack side pocket Bear spray – not for glaciers, but for Denali bus hikes (rent $10/day) 💸 7-DAY DAMAGE (per person, duo share) Flights (LA-ANC return) .... $650 Car (8 d SUV + studs) ...... $520 Gas (1,200 mi) ............. $320 Hotels (6 n mix) ........... $780 Activities total ........... $1,100 Food & misc ............... $280 TOTAL ≈ $3,650 – not cheap, but lifetime bragging rights included. 🌈 TL;DR Alaska doesn’t just fill your camera – it rewrites your soul’s wallpaper. Expect cancelled flights, lost luggage, grey days – then BOOM = glacier thunder, bear stares, otter cuddles. Pack spikes, spare batteries, and a flexible heart – the Last Frontier will hand you memories money can’t buy. #US #Alaska #Seward