archives
This is everything. Every guide, every story, every piece of advice we’ve put together from years of working and traveling across Alaska.
If you’re the type who likes to dig around and find things on your own, this is your page. If you’d rather start with the most important stuff, head over to our Essential Guides or Plan Your Trip section.
Either way, there’s a lot here—take your time.
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Best Restaurants in Alaska: A TV Crew’s Curated Picks, After a Decade of Filming Across the State
Years of filming across Alaska means eating wherever the crew happened to land, from a James Beard nominated kitchen in Sitka to a food truck…
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Best Luggage & Duffel Bags for Alaska: A Field-Tested Guide by a NatGeo TV Crew
Your regular suitcase isn’t built for Alaska. From bush plane weight limits to wet boat decks, here’s a field-tested breakdown of the best luggage and…
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Best Camera Gear for Alaska: A NatGeo Cameraperson’s Guide
What actually survives Alaska’s cold, boats, and aurora — camera gear tested on real network shoots by working filmmakers.
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Best Bug Spray for Alaska: What Actually Works (No Magic Bullet)
There’s no spray that makes Alaska mosquitoes disappear — anyone telling you otherwise is selling something. Here’s the unpopular truth about what actually works, backed…
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Shipping Fish Home from Alaska: What Cooler You Actually Need (Not a Yeti)
Everyone’s instinct is to buy the toughest cooler they own. That’s actually the wrong move for flying fish home from Alaska — here’s what actually…
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Alaska Deckhand Jobs: What It Actually Takes
Ten years on Alaska’s boats — Deadliest Catch, Port Protection, Bering Sea Gold, and more. Here’s how deckhand hiring, pay, and crew share actually work,…
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Best Backpacks for Alaska: A NatGeo TV Crew’s Field-Tested Picks
The real backpacks worth bringing to Alaska — tested on boats, trails, and a backcountry goat hunt in Sitka — from a working TV crew.
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Homer Alaska Restaurants: Best Spots to Eat & Drink
We spent years eating our way through Homer filming for the Discovery Channel. Here’s the honest guide to where a tired film crew actually eats…
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Bush Planes in Alaska: What Years of Flying For TV Taught Us
We’ve made a career out of flying into the Alaskan bush — McCarthy glaciers, Cordova islands, ANWR, Port Protection. Here’s what flying bush planes in…
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Port Protection Alaska: The Real Place Behind the Show
Port Protection, Alaska is where Paul Taggart and I met. We shot every episode of the show for National Geographic. Here’s what the place, the…
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Tide Pooling in Alaska: Where to Go, Creatures, & What to Harvest
Gary Muehlberger wanted to make octopus fritters. That’s how my Alaska tide pooling obsession started. Here’s where to go, what you’ll find, and what you…
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Is Alaska Safe to Visit Right Now? An Honest 2026 Answer
A couple of years ago, an article asking “is Alaska safe to visit” would have been about bear spray and life jackets. In 2026 it’s…