The Alaska Problem

In 2018, I took a cruise to Alaska. This, as it turns out, is a problem. The cruise was great, but it opened a very dangerous door. You see, Alaska is a different scale. Bigger adventure, bigger wonder, bigger possibilities. While I loved the cruise, it was nothing short of a tease for someone with perpetual and incurable restless soul syndrome. Now why is that a problem?

Alaska is a bear. Yes, I made a bear pun, but hopefully it makes a point. It is over 4,000 miles from where I sit writing this in the Mid-Atlantic. It is bigger than most countries. It is filled with unpredictable weather, huge mountain ranges, difficult terrain, the world’s largest land predators, and once again is an intense distance from our starting point. It is an glacier sized problem, that doesn’t get any smaller as you look at it. Even bigger than that though? The overwhelming pull that it has tugging on my sense of adventure. The cruise was a taste. I want to take a bite. In fact, there is a nagging voice that tells me I have to… but again… Alaska is a bear.

Markus Sakey once wrote that “No one accidentally ends up in Alaska.” And ain’t that the truth. As I sit here, I am at the very beginning of planning a return trip to Alaska. The goal: Denali National Park and Gates of the Arctic National Park. But it is a big commitment. It will take years of training, saving, planning, and preparing to make that happen. Knowing I am a teacher, I am sure you all assumed I was independently wealthy. Turns out if you want to teach, there isn’t a lot of rich in the material sense in the profession. This means that getting to Alaska is not going to be easy. The logistics, however, I am willing to handle, but there is another Alaska problem that no one will tell you about. Except me. Apparently I have no filter today, so lets get into it.

Getting to Alaska is hard. Training for Alaska is hard. Paying for Alaska is hard. But something harder than all of that- how many people will tell you that you can’t. How many people will immediately give you a thousand things that could go wrong. I was a boy scout. I have been to Alaska. Believe me, I know that things could go wrong. In fact, anyone who has ever been on a trip with me knows that things WILL go wrong at some point. I have been rained on, snowed on, slept in places where -28 was the temperature inside. I have had to scare away black bears, summit mountains, deal with chapped legs, perform first aid on me and friends. I have had to drive with no alternator down the PA turnpike unable to hit the break without losing power. Things go wrong. And as much preparation as we do, the best we can do is respond the right way when they do go downhill. Some advice for those planning a trip to Alaska. #1: Commit. You can’t get there by accident. #2: Find people who support you. Believe me I am scared enough without listening to people tell me all the reasons I shouldn’t go. Or worse try to tell your friends why they shouldn’t go with you.

Realistically. Am I saying that you should abandon all your responsibilities to make Alaska happen? No. But I am also not dumb enough to believe that anyone has a chance at doing big things without trying. I believe that I am done with reasons not to do something, especially this. So If I am going to have a problem, here it is. The perfect problem to have: The Alaska Problem. I have my first meeting about Alaska with the potential team on December 17th. I will let you know how we deal with it. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk Bear Country.