Outdoor Explorer - Alaska Public Media

In early August, hiker Brad Bartels set down his pack, propped up his camera for a selfie, took a picture in front of a monument in Pioneer Park in Fairbanks, and became the first known person to ever complete the Alaska Long Trail thru-hike. Brad started his hike in Seward in late June and pieced together a route for the Long Trail, envisioned as a nearly 500-mile-long network of trails that is still very much under development. So how did he make his way from Seward to Fairbanks? And what did he see and learn along the way? In this episode of Outdoor Explorer, Brad joins host Amy Bushatz on her back porch in Palmer for a conversation about the trail, his route, and what he experienced.

Meg Inokuma is a quiet and determined woman who has set course records in ultra-distance events such as the Susitna 100 winter running race, the Resurrection Pass 100 and the White Mountain 100. She also won the Equinox Marathon in 2022 at the age of 42. Her story is one of a late bloomer becoming one of Alaska's best endurance athletes. She joins host Paul Twardock to discuss her path to Alaska, fighting and overcoming health issues and running some of the hardest, coldest races anywhere. They talk about her training, nutrition, balancing work and her running passion, her love of Alaska's mountains and what inspires her.

While mountain biking has been around for decades, its popularity in Alaska has taken off in recent years as more riders join the sport and more trails are added to the growing list of singletrack trails in the state. Host Steve Cleary speaks with trail advocates and cyclists from Alaska's three largest cities to find out about the growth and changes of mountain biking in Alaska.

What’s it like to ditch work for a year and bike pack more than 16,000 miles across two continents? And what challenges—physical, mental and animal—do you encounter along the way? On this episode of Outdoor Explorer we hear from Anchorage residents and endurance athletes Ryan Fox and Katie Seybert about their year off of work cycling from Edmonton, Canada to the southern tip of Argentina with a side quest down the East Coast of the Lower 48. Katie and Ryan share what it’s like to take on a big adventure, how to afford it, and the challenges of coming home.

The Alaska Fellows Program matches young people with professional positions in Alaska, helping attract and keep their energy and expertise in Alaska. Many of the fellows focus on outdoor related fields such as tourism, outdoor education, and conservation. On this Outdoor Explorer host Paul Twardock is joined by Alaska Fellows Executive Director Tina Buxbaum, fellow Amelia Lamotte and fellow Kamryn You Mak. Join us as we learn about the program and the adventures they experienced this past year.

Peter Christian and Bradley Bethel met in an online J.R.R. Tolkien class which led to them making a documentary film titled Ranger of the North about Peter's time as a National Park Service ranger in Alaska's arctic. The film features Pete as he and the film crew travel north to the Arctic Ocean. Along the way, Peter hikes and muses on his time as a ranger, what he learned, and how lessons from Tolkien's Lord of Rings apply to the many environmental challenges society faces today. Peter and Bradley, along with producer Stuart Muller, join host Paul Twardock to discuss the film, including its genesis, locations and challenges, their philosophies that guided the film, and more.

The Toolik Field Station is an Arctic research facility located 370 miles north of Fairbanks. In 2025, Toolik celebrated 50 years of inquiry to help better understand the Arctic and the role it plays in our society. What does it take to operate such a vast undertaking in the far north?

What's it like to commercial fish in Alaska? How does one get started in commercial fishing? What are the risks and rewards? Robert Atkinson commercial fished Cook Inlet and Bristol Bay for over 30 years starting with set netting and then working the hectic Bristol Bay Sockeye fishery. He and his crew, including his son, experienced seasons of abundance and summers where nothing went right. He started off pushing the limits of what his boat, the ocean, and the law allowed, then became more conservative with his operation as time went by. On this episode of Outdoor Explorer Robert joins host Paul Twardock to share his stories of 30 years of fishing in Alaska.

Alaska has a lot of trails and backcountry areas with many users utilizing them in different ways. How do horses fit into that picture? How do you take care of horses during the cold winter months? Where can you ride a horse in Alaska? On this episode of Outdoor Explorer, host Steve Cleary talks with with several riders about their experiences in Alaska and their work to help maintain trails and share them with other trail users.

The summer fun is heating up in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, where parks and trails spread across an area the size of West Virginia offer plenty of space for recreation. So what’s exciting in Mat-Su for 2026, what should you know before you head out, and what new trails and recreation spots should you try? On this episode of Outdoor Explorer, we’ll dive into the summer ahead on parks and trails in Mat-Su as we catch up with leaders at the Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation,, recreation officials with the Matanuska Susitna Borough and officials up at Skeetawk, an area usually known for its winter skiing but also home to some fun and growing summer options Host: Amy Bushatz Guests: Taylor Rafftery, Mat-Su Trails and Parks Foundation Allan McClain, Matanuska-Susitna Borough trails specialist Hugh Leslie, Matanuska-Susitna Borough outdoor recreation manager Menga Justus, Skeetawk General Manager

Mike and Kelly Bender operated Lazy Otter Charters in Whittier, Alaska, for over 30 years. Decades ago, a random trip Mike took to Whittier on the Alaska Railroad led to him buying a boat and getting into the water taxi business. He then met Kelly and they slowly grew the business as Whittier became more accessible after a road was added to the Whittier tunnel in 2000. They added boats, a coffee shop, and a fudge store in Whittier all while raising their family. Recently they sold the business to sisters Michelle, Jen, and Tammy Lang, passing their legacy to a younger generation. On this Outdoor Explorer Mike and Kelly share their stories of starting and running a family owned business in a small town, including the rewards and challenges they experienced and the changes they have seen in the sound. Jen and Michelle also talk about how they fell in love with Prince William Sound, started working for Mike and Kelly, came to purchase the business, and their vision for the future of Lazy Otter Charters.

On this episode of Outdoor Explorer, we're catching up with author and wildlife biologist Caroline Van Hemert — whose new book has grown from years of watching the natural world change and a conviction that nature still has surprising and hopeful possibilities to offer if we know where to look.

David Hart is one of many Alaskans with impressive mountaineering resumes that few people know about. Dave's early formative years were spent in his back yard of the Chugach Mountains. He left the state and discovered rock climbing, technical mountaineering and peak bagging in Colorado. Dave eventually moved back to Alaska for his professional career, and a full life in the mountains. He has climbed over 1550 peaks worldwide including over 550 in Alaska. This includes the 13 highest peaks in Alaska and the 13 highest in Canada. He joins host Paul Twardock to discuss his approach to mountaineering and related risks, what he looks for in a good climbing partner, the importance of groups such as the Alaska Mountaineering Club and his latest passion: peak bagging.

Search and rescue in Alaska is complex and difficult. Even close to Anchorage, a city of around 289,000 people, search operations are challenged by steep mountains, thick brush, bears, avalanches, bad weather and cold rivers. Search and rescue organizations, both volunteer and professional, work together under the coordination of the State Troopers to conduct numerous missions every year. In December of 2025 host Paul Twardock attended an event organized by the Anchorage Nordic Ski patrol featuring a panel discussion on search and rescue in Alaska. The panelists were Amanda Del Frate with Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs (ASARD), Amy Holman with Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol (ANSP), Jonathan Bryan with Alaska Mountain Rescue Group (AMRG) and Manch Garhart with Alaska Incident Management Team (AIMT). The event was moderated by Abby Elbow and Esther Kennedy, both with the Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol. Alaska Search and Rescue Dogs helps train and deploy dog teams to help search for missing and lost people. The Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol are volunteers that help with emergency care and rescue services in the backcountry and events like the Tour of Anchorage ski race. Alaska Mountain Rescue Group also consists of volunteers and their mission includes ground searches, wilderness first aid, incident management, and technical rescues. The Alaska Incident Management Team's volunteers coordinate complex search and rescue incidents statewide. The panel discussion was held at the BP Energy session in Anchorage with an audience.

Eagle River residents and military veterans Justin and Wella Jay know what it’s like to spend weeks on a trail hiking and exploring together after tackling a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, an adventure they shared on an episode of Outdoor Explorer in 2018. But late last year, Justin headed out solo to take on his own solo long hike, tackling the Continental Divide Trail and learning a host of lessons about life, kindness and what you find along the journey. In this episode, Justin and Wella join Outdoor Explorer again to share some of those insights in a moving conversation about the magic of the trail and supporting someone you love as they take on a big adventure.

Alaska shapes you in particular ways. It teaches you to read weather, to know your exits, to pay attention to what's underneath the surface. For Kelsey Kroon, it also taught her to pick up the trash, follow the salmon, and find a story worth telling. On this Outdoor Explorer, we hear from wildlife filmmaker and artist, Kelsey Kroon, a 3rd generation Alaskan whose work has taken her from the Kenai River to Antarctica, the Marshall Islands, and beyond. We talk about her film, "Silver Rush," and what it's like to show Alaskan salmon stories to audiences who've never heard of subsistence fishing, and how trash collected from the Aleutians can become fine art. It's a conversation about attention, where we direct it, and what happens when someone points a camera at the things we've stopped noticing.

Alaska isn't always the first place that comes to mind when you think of sailing, but sailing clubs have a long history in Alaska. On the this Outdoor explorer, guest host Steve Cleary asks his guests to give us the background on their clubs, the activities they have, and how you can learn to sail in the north.

Photographer Jeff Schultz has built a career in Alaska capturing stirring images of the state’s wildlife, outdoor spaces, and the people, drama and dogs of the Last Great Race, the Iditarod.How does a California transplant who started his time in Alaska slinging steaks at a now shuttered Sizzler restaurant shift into one of the state’s most recognized landscape and wildlife photographers? In this episode of Outdoor Explorer, Jeff talks about his career, what he’s learned photographing all things Iditarod -- including portraits of the dogs -- how he explores Alaska from behind the lens, and how you can, too. Host: Amy BushatzGuest: Jeff Schultz

What do Chickadees, Polar bears, Kudzu and Alaska have in common? On this Outdoor Explorer Paul Twardock is joined by author Marybeth Holeman, artist Kristen Link and writer Brad Meiklejohn to discuss their latest projects, including Marybeth's novel "Bloom Again" and Brad's writing about the Gray - headed Chickadee. On the first half of the show, Marybeth and Kristin discuss how art and literature, specifically Marybeth's novel "Bloom Again," and Kristin's artwork featuring a polar bear and kudzu, can help communicate science. On the second half, Brad talks about his article on the Gray-headed Chickadee, a rare bird in Alaska's arctic. He is one of the last people to see the bird in Alaska.

Join Outdoor Explorer for a conversation with Jerry Ross, one of Alaska’s most durable and well-known distance runners, about how to prepare for a marathon. We’ll discuss the methods and techniques for making your marathon a success, as well as the best winter training spots here in Anchorage. Also speaking with the show is Ian Marks, one of the organizers of the annual Mayor’s Marathon - the biggest marathon in Alaska each summer.