Above are some photos taken as I've flown in Alaska. Most of them were taken near the Knik Glacier which is northeast of Anchorage near Palmer, AK. The wife and I quite often land on a dried lake bottom between the Knik Glacier and Colony Glacier. This is the strip in the pic above called "Bush Strip".
Also near the Knik Glacier, in the valley below the Marcus Baker glacier is a strip called Grasshopper. The wife and I have been into this strip a couple of times with the 182. It's fairly short, narrow, rocky and somewhat rough and uneven. You have to be careful here with a nosewheel to prevent damaging the airplane. The wife took a few pics our last time there with the first being just after turning final. Although we look real high here the strip is only as wide as the main gear so we're lower than it seems. The next pic is a little closer in on final and the next one is on short final. The last pic was taken on the ground looking from the approach end down the strip.
One of the things that makes flying in Alaska so great is the oppurtunity to land almost anywhere. Since I have a nose-dragger and limited experience with off-airport landings I have to carefully pick and choose where I go. But even so, there are many places we can visit. About 25 miles west of Anchorage is the Theodore River. The wife and I landed on a road near there one day to take a walk. Another time we found a sandy area on an island in the mouth of the Yentna River and we decided to land. While on final we passed over "a really big bear", as the wife described it, which explains this picture. We took a nice little walk and then found this track. Let's see, claws making marks too so it must be a Grizzly/Brown bear. Well, that's enough walking for one day!! :)
Of course flying in Alaska wouldn't be complete without a lap around Mt. McKinley. The peak is at 20,320 MSL. On the day these pictures were taken the visibiliy was 80-100 miles as you can see in this view looking south over the Kahiltna Glacier. As we flew around the mountain we were constantly in awe of the size of the mountain. This last picture is overlooking the Ruth Glacier which is on the east side of the mountain.
