Outdoor Explorer - Alaska Public Media

Alaska's mountains and oceans provide some of the most dramatic landscapes on earth. Anchorage trails have connected the Chugach Mountains and Cook Inlet for decades, with a few gaps. Just recently newly created trails make it possible to bike, hike, run, or ski from Glen Alps to Knik Arm of Cook Inlet without crossing a single road. The Anchorage Park Foundation designated a route called "Mountains to Sea Trails," with a video, signage, and other information to help people navigate from Glen Alps trailhead in Chugach State Park to Westchester Lagoon and the Anchorage Small Boat Launch, around 24 miles. To help explain the route and its history Host Paul Twardock is joined by Anchorage Park Foundation's Diana Rhodes, cyclist Christina Grande, and filmmaker William Melton.

On this episode of Outdoor Explorer we're joined by Haley Johnston, the co-chair of the Chugach Park Fund’s Citizens Advisory Board. The Chugach Park Fund was established in 2016 under the umbrella of The Alaska Community Foundation and since that time has been a critical part of improving trails, signs and facilities in Chugach State Park. Haley fills us in on past, present and future projects.

HOST: Lisa Keller

GUEST: Haley Johnston

LINKS:

Chugach State Park - Citizens Advisory Board Facebook

The Alaska Community Foundation - Chugach Park Fund



Our guest on this episode of Outdoor Explorer is Kikkan Randall, executive director of the Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage. She last spoke with host Lisa Keller two years ago when Randall had first taken the helm of NSAA.

Randall had recently returned from living in British Columbia and she was active on Olympic committees, the non-profit Fast and Female, and ACTIV Against Cancer, a Norwegian organization dedicated to ensuring that physical activity becomes part of standard cancer treatment. Since then, she has steered NSAA through the pandemic and is dreaming big about the future of the organization that shaped not only her competitive career, but also Anchorage as a Nordic ski town.

In January, NSAA is celebrating 60 years. The conversation is wide-ranging, from the programs and events NSAA has planned for the upcoming ski season, to the impacts of climate change on snow, to volunteer and employment opportunities, and present and future projects.

HOST: Lisa Keller

GUEST: Kikkan Randall, Executive Director of the Nordic Ski Association of Anchorage

LINKS:

Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage website

NSAA 60th Anniversary events

NSAA Facebook

NSAA Instagram

In 2012 Michael Engelhard, an outdoor guide, writer, and anthropologist decided to hike and paddle from Canada to Kotzebue, acting on a lifelong goal. Though not the first to make the trip, and just the start of the "through hike" trend occurring in the far north, Engelhard brought his unique Alaskan background to the trip. This spring The Mountaineers published his memoir of the trip "Arctic Traverse." The book is a mix of travelogue, natural and cultural history and philosophy. Michael joins host Paul Twardock to discuss his motivations for the trip, how the book came about, doing a two month solo trip, the natural history of the Brooks Range and his musings on wild lands and development.

HOST: Paul Twardock

GUESTS:

Randy Dowd, Executive Director and founder of Onward and Upward

Onward and Upward Staff

LINKS:

Onward and Upward website

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BROADCAST: Thursday, March 16th, 2022. 10:00 am – 11:00 a.m. AKT

REPEAT BROADCAST: Thursday, March 16th, 2022. 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. AKT