For anyone either going to be in the states or interested in a special trip, i highly recommend Alaska. while the season here is relatively short (i suggest april - august at the latest), the payoffs are amazing!
incredible scenery, very nice people, festive parties, and tons of camping opportunities.
if anyone has any questions about coming up to 'the last frontier' for a short or extended stay, please feel free to post here or write me at cooldice23@travelpunk.com
every year we get many, many touristers up here, but the vast majority is the cruise & bus line or slow-ass winnebago driving, which are very, very unpopular ('if it's tourist season, then why can't we shoot them?').
but we can definitely tell the difference between backpackers / budget travelers and the above. many places are so isolated that simply meeting someone who is different and friendly can make a person's entire year!
another note: hitch-hiking up here is totally kosher, with the usual caveats (sorry, ladies!). and actually, drivers are required to pick you up in the wintertime (coz you'll die otherwise). i spent years hitch-hiking up here with no problems other than the occasional completely drunk-ass driver. in fact, 4 of 5 times the driver would share a beer and a bowl or a joint, just coz they're happy to have the company!!!
Yes, I was there last summer and it was fantastic. Went during salmon season in an area along the inland passage near a town called Ketchikan and the fishing was spectacular. You see pictures in magazines of streams so thick with salmon it turns the water black, but in real life it is so much cooler. They have these forest service cabins up there that you can rent for mere dollars a day off in these remote places. You haven't expirienced adrenaline until you've had to share a fishing spot, totally unarmed, with a Grizzly bear.
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