Alaska Trip Report

[brahmacharya]

[b]Day 3: Whittier & Glacier View (Mat-Su Valley)[/b]

Whittier is a very small but beautiful village I would say given that only 177 people & 46 families reside in this place created by U.S. govt during WWII for military base....Prince William Sound ane glacier & mountain area ki gateway lantidi and the only way to get in and out of this place is a single lane road/rail tunnel blasted through mountains....So ikkadiki vellali ante you have to check the schedule here [url="http://dot.alaska.gov/creg/whittiertunnel/index.shtml"]http://dot.alaska.go...nel/index.shtml[/url] and go....every 1 hr ki alternate side traffic vadulutaru.

Trip lo edaina waste anipinchindi ante adi Whittier lo malla cruise cheyyatam....ikkada kooda Seward type lo oka 5 hour cruise vuntadi but this is more or less the same as the previous one....inka Seward lone ekkuva wildlife kanipistadi...I would recommend skipping the cruise here and do the one in Seward....I do also recommend to get in to this place (if you have time) spend 1 hour before the tunnel opens for outgoing traffic and get out...just a little bit of military history and picturesque landscape....views chala beautiful vuntayi ikkada.

So ikkada oka half day aipoindi baitapadappudiki (after the 5 hr cruise) and we headed non-stop to the glacier view area (3 hr drive)....Glacier view ante adoka area name ante...Palmer & Wasilla ani two other small cities datukuntu you should head towards Glenallen....a route lo we criss-crossed through mountains and reached Matanushka Glacier area (Mile post 95)....ikkada cellphone signal chala rare ga vastadi so get your maps printed out and easy reference is mile post info (mile markers)....Spotted couple of Moose on the way.

Milepost 95 daggare oka accommodation book chesukunnam....e place too much vundi...akkada vunde couple ancestors akkadiki vachi illu kattukoni saw mill start chesaru ([url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homesteading"]Homesteading[/url] antaru) anta so the cabin we stayed and the rest were are all hand built by both of them with little help from outside...modern amenities emi taggakunda too much kattaru wodden logs tho.

we throughly loved this place

[dkchinnari]

[Sastrygaru]

good post bhayya..

[brahmacharya]

[b]Day 4: Glacier View (Mat-Su Valley)[/b]

The area around Milepost 95 is famous for Matanushka Glacier...This is the single largest accessible glacier in Alaska. Ikkada guided tours vuntayi for Ice Climbing/Glacier trekking and hiking. So we decided to spend a day in the glacier....we went for Ice Climbing and it takes approximately 7-8 hours time to get in to the glacier, do ice climbing, small treks and coming back....First two Ice Climbs were mildly streneous n were challenging for first time climbers inka ivi chesaka lite tisukunnam....inko american couple vacharu vallu pandulla tintu kotulla ekkesaru....climb 3 & 4 were terrifying to see.

Body fit ga lekapote picha lite tisukondi Ice climbing...pulusu karipoddi....go for Glacier trekking and you will be fine....They fit you with ice boots and crampons and make you walk on the glacier explaining things about it....pure glacier melt water tagochu (very cold and good). this will half of your day and you will be tired by end of it

[krisomania2043]

bhayya GP
Nuvvu cruises unnayi seward lo antunav kada - vati rates info kooda veyyi please

[littlemoon]

miku expenses rough ga entha padindi adi kdua info isthe will be good

[brahmacharya]

[quote name='Murthygaru' timestamp='1371569774' post='1303866467']
bhayya GP
Nuvvu cruises unnayi seward lo antunav kada - vati rates info kooda veyyi please
[/quote]

sure...these are two companies which are famous for cruises there [url="http://www.majormarine.com/"]http://www.majormarine.com/[/url] & [url="http://www.kenaifjords.com"]http://www.kenaifjords.com[/url] We went by Major Marine I think rates are around $170 or so per person + other charges ento vuntayi....food on the cruise kavali ante inko $19 extra otherwise you can take your own food.

Inko most important thing enti ante....unless you are going alone it is highly recommended to get coupon book for $70 or so from either Northern Lights [url="http://www.alaska-discounts.com/"]http://www.alaska-discounts.com/[/url] or TourSaver [url="http://www.toursaver.com/"]http://www.toursaver.com/[/url]

Tour saver koncham ekkuva ($100) and more or less same as that of Northern Lights coupon book so we went with the first one...

Though the book is $70 you get Buy 1 get 1 free for MajorMarine cruises in Seward & Whittier ($170 saving), food coupons (Anchorage lo desi restaurant vundi akkada take out tisukunte you save $15) and many more places and most importantly you save $310 on Mt.McKinley flight seeing tour (must see) with a buy 1 get 1 free coupon in this book

[brahmacharya]

[quote name='littlemoon' timestamp='1371570207' post='1303866501']
miku expenses rough ga entha padindi adi kdua info isthe will be good
[/quote]

it will be in the range of $2500-$3000 per person based on these assumptions:

1. 9-10 days trip
2. good accommodation during peak season (avg ga $135-$150 per night)
3. airfare cost of $700 per person (if flying from east coast)
4. Eating outside daily 2 times will cost $50 per person (it is better to cook ur own food near Mat-Su Valley as not so good restaurants near by)
5. Setting aside some money for souvenir shopping & etc.

Idi ekkuva anipinchochu but this is ok by Alaskan tourism standards....inka bear watching lantivi cheyyali ante you will have to spend $700 per person!

[littlemoon]

[quote name='brahmacharya' timestamp='1371571134' post='1303866557']
it will be in the range of $2500-$3000 per person based on these assumptions:

1. 9-10 days trip
2. good accommodation during peak season (avg ga $135-$150 per night)
3. airfare cost of $700 per person (if flying from east coast)
4. Eating outside daily 2 times will cost $50 per person (it is better to cook ur own food near Mat-Su Valley as not so good restaurants near by)
5. Setting aside some money for souvenir shopping & etc.

Idi ekkuva anipinchochu but this is ok by Alaskan tourism standards....inka bear watching lantivi cheyyali ante you will have to spend $700 per person!
[/quote] antha expensive ha

[size=4] Thanks thou[/size]

[brahmacharya]

[b]Day 5: Talkeetna [/b]

This cute little town is our favorite place in the entire trip! Wonderful mountain base camp town with excellent views of Mt.McKinley (highest mountain in North America). Summer lo people of different states in main land come and work here just to enjoy the place and get discounts on activities around...anta famous e area and it is also en route to Denali National Park...Highly recommend spending one full day in this place.

Mt.McKinley is only 20% round the year as it has its own weather pattern and always cloudy near the summit but the weather was too good all through out our trip and we were lucky to get a crystal clear view of the mountain peak.....we went for the Mt.McKinley flight seeing tour in the morning....1 and half hour flight tour taking you to 20,000+ feet altitude and is definitely one another highlight points of the trip....coupon lekapote it will $620 for 2...since we used the coupon it was $310 for us....Ninu cheppa ga Anchorage lo old man tisukelladu ani $40 for 2...hope you see the difference but the views are even more amazing here in Talkeetna.

Pilot explained a lot about the mountain, glaciers around and also told interesting things about mountain climbers there....Akkada 7000 ft lo oka base camp vuntundi near a glacier every summer.....almost oka 1000 climbers register there and get used to the thin air first.....they pack 3 weeks of food, fuel n other supplies and start climbing Mt.McKinley.

Almost every 1000 ft ki oka camp vuntadi...they make tents there and build snow walls to protect from powerful winds and even avalanches some times...it is a huge physical and mental challenge to get used to the place and climb anta....there are hidden dangers like invisible crevasses in glaciers which are almost a mile deep and they have to be careful while climbing up and watch out for handing glaciers which might fall on them....

We took lots of pictures and admired the amazing views around the mountain....you get to see the camps and people walking....descent avutunnappudu matram we got priceless views.....flowing glaciers with ice crystals and dark blue water melts tho patu mountain peak views.....tooooo much ante tooo much view asala enta chusina malli chudalanipinchindi

[brahmacharya]

[quote name='littlemoon' timestamp='1371571826' post='1303866598']
antha expensive ha

[size=4] Thanks thou[/size]
[/quote]

but the experience is priceless....if you plan well you can limit it to $2500 at the best (if flying from east coast)...Seattle and west coast aithe I think $2000 may be...but remember this cost is for spending 9 full days there...if you cut a couple of days then it might be even lower

[krisomania2043]

[quote name='brahmacharya' timestamp='1371571945' post='1303866603']
but the experience is priceless....if you plan well you can limit it to $2500 at the best (if flying from east coast)...Seattle and west coast aithe I think $2000 may be...but remember this cost is for spending 9 full days there...if you cut a couple of days then it might be even lower
[/quote]
overall ga Min enni days spend cheyali ?

[brahmacharya]

[quote name='Murthygaru' timestamp='1371572162' post='1303866612']
overall ga Min enni days spend cheyali ?
[/quote]

I recommend 7 full days...with travel 8 days anta...2 weekends kalisivacheyi kabatti 9 days pettukunnam....as you get towards interior denali side it will be tiring so rush lekunda manchiga chudali anukunta 9 full days anta ledu anukunte 7 full days....we spent extra day in Mat-Su valley may be akkda glacier walk chesi you can skip night stay there adi oka option & you can skip spending 1 full day in Anchorage just in case you are short of time...

I only recommend skipping Whittier cruise (if you do the seward cruise) and save half day...migathavi evi nenu skip cheyyatam recommend cheyyanu

[brahmacharya]

Alaskans just have 100 days of buzzing business & tourism season...taravata anta snow e....appudu only snow enthusiasts matrame vastaru so expensive e vuntadi....Sep1-Sep16 ala shoulder season appudu velthe accommodation almost 50% lower vuntadi but weather tho chances tisukunatte koncham

[dotnetrockz]

naku alaska ante gurthuku vocedhi the great governor lady from alaska [img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Sarah_Palin_by_Gage_Skidmore_2.jpg/464px-Sarah_Palin_by_Gage_Skidmore_2.jpg[/img]

plz watch this video


[url="http://youtu.be/JXL86v8NoGk"]http://youtu.be/JXL86v8NoGk[/url]