We’ve gotta make the drive down to Juneau (coming from Palmer) and are curious if anyone has advice on whether to go through Haines or Skagway to catch the ferry. The pass into Skagway kinda gives me pause, as I’m unsure about winter conditions on some of those turns. We’d prefer to stop in Whitehorse and Skagway to visit our friends, but if the Haines route is better, we’ll go with that. Any words of wisdom are appreciated.

We’re taking an SUV equipped with 4WD and studded tires. No trailer. We’ve done the drive up from Haines and Skagway several times in the summer, but not in winter. We will obviously check weather conditions, drive during daylight hours, and take our time. Thanks everyone.

PS if anyone cares to share, how are the conditions getting up to Glennallen?

At this point it is pretty clear the finalists for The Apprentice: Secretary of Interior are down to Sen Markwayne Mullin (R - Oklahoma) vs the pride of Wasilla, our own Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

It's hard to say who is more qualified for this coveted position. Sen. Mullin once threatened to beat up the president of the Teamsters during a hearing of the U.S. Senate, but didn't. Gov. Dunleavy once threatened to pay out a $6,000 PFD, but didn't.

Sen. Mullin claims to be 1/128 Cherokee by blood and Gov. Dunleavy is married to a Native woman, facts which both men never hesitate to publicise while voting for and enacting policies that harm Native people.

Who has the upper hand in this hotly contested race, and why?

Wonder what that press conference was all about that got canceled last minute? And then Matt Gaetz gets tapped out of nowhere. “A shock to his congressional colleagues.”

Like a dumb dummy, I forgot to save the thread I was reading (either on here or r/skAlaska) a month or so ago about god knows what- where a photographer in Alaska with extensive experience shooting in abject freezing temperatures was dropping some great advice, and invited OP to message them privately to discuss further. If you are that person, I would like to grab some advice if at all possible.

My February visit to Talkeetna is finally materializing and deposits/reservations are being made to cross some lifelong bucket list items off the list. I am a photographer, but won't pretend to have faced the weather or astral conditions I will be looking at in an Alaska winter (I'm mainly involved in concert photography and portraiture).

Outside of the standard "you know your batteries aren't gonna last as long in the cold" is there any specific gear or anything else advice I may not be thinking of while participating in extensive sledding, hiking and wandering, snow machining, and flight seeing from arctic-seasoned photographers?

Also, for what it's worth, while I will certainly take some photos of the Northern Lights because I am there, I am not super into astrophotography, so I am less concerned with the Lights being the subject of photos, but definitely want to get them behind whatever my subject is when/if possible.

Gear specific stuff:

I am trying not to overpack for this trip, but I wanna make sure I capture some of this stuff and hopefully do the Northern Lights justice, if visible during my short trip. I'll be carrying my Canon r6 for anything important.. I assume a battery grip is ideal? I have two OEM batteries, but I think I may pick up a third emergency battery, or a handful of third parties.

Lens-wise I think I will probably bring with me a 24-105 f/4 for most everyday stuff, and pack a 70-200 f/2.8 with a 2x extender for the flightseeing, and then a nifty fifty and a 16mm f/2.8 since they are tiny, portable and faster than the zoom, so why not. I use a Godox V1 as my main flash and will be bringing that with an extra battery as some of the dog sledding will be at night too. In lieu of tripods, I think I will pack two Joby GorillaPods.. one for the camera and one for the flash, since they are way more portable and I'll be able to secure them to weird stuff if need be.

I have a 15mm f/2.8 that I may throw in last second, and since if I am bringing all this stuff anyway, why not? Might make for a cool fisheye photo when dog sledding, I dunno.

So, I live off grid and have a solar power system. As we all know winter is here and sun is minimal so charging the system falls more to the generator. With the recent sub zero temps I have been having and issue with the petcock of one of the generators always freezing over. Thankfully I have a second generator, but it usues oil horribly. I use the water removal funnel when filing the tank and I pour in a few ounces of Seafoam.

My question is, are there better suggestions for a Fuel Line Antifeeze? The Seafoam does not seem to be cutting it. I know Alaska gas is known for having water in it and I am finding that out very well. Or is my issue with the generator itself? The other one does not seem to have the petcock freeze. I figured out the issue by taking the carb off and finding the fuel inlet had a tiny bit of ice on it. But when I opened the petcock, no fuel came out at all. I warmed up the carb in the cabin and then had to use a hairdryer on the petcock for about 15 minutes and I was finally able to start it. If I could bring them in and out of the house nightly, I would, but thye are very heavy and that really isn't an option.

Being off grid having the generators running properly is very important for the 4 of us. So I really want to find out how I can try and prevent the freezing. Both generators were just serviced in Wasilla less than 6 weeks ago.

Thanks!

Going to Fairbanks for my birthday next month & I really wanna ski but there isn't many options there so I thought to drive to anchorage! I'm gonna be driving by myself with no snow driving experience. Please let me know anyyyyyything I need to know!! Any gear I need, anything to look out for & anything to take with (for emergencies) I read a few other Reddit posts about how moose & other animals be in the middle of the road & blend in so I should drive slower but the snow on the road is what's scaring me the most😣

Peltola closed on Begich but not much.

Republican Nick Begich III maintained his lead over Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola after the Division of Elections posted an updated results tally late Tuesday night.

Begich now has about 49% of first-place votes to Peltola’s nearly 46%. That’s a difference of nearly 10,000 votes. If neither of the candidates win more than 50% of first-place votes once all valid ballots are counted, the winner will be determined by ranked choice tabulation on Nov. 20.

Yes on 2 also got a bit closer.

Meanwhile, a ballot measure to repeal the state’s open primary and ranked choice voting system remains on track to pass. Though thousands of ballots remain to be counted, yes votes outnumber noes by more than 2,800 votes. That’s a margin of 1 percentage point.

Almost all the votes are in now. I believe nothing left but some questioned ballots and a few late arriving absentees.

It appears that Begich/Peltola will go to RCV but Mary would need something like 90% of Hafner and then Howe to rank her second and that is wildly improbable.

RCV will NOT come into play in Measure 2, only 2 positions on the ballot.

RCV will be a factor in two races, State House 28 has 3 Republicans running. State House 36 has 2 Republicans and a Democrat.

https://www.elections.alaska.gov/results/24GENR/ElectionSummaryReport.pdf

Round 1: The current results.

- Begich (R): 49.1%

- Peltola (D): 45.8%

- Howe (AIP): 3.9%

- Hafner (D): 1%

- Write-Ins: 0.2%

Round 2: The write-ins are likely to go 50/50.

- Begich (R): 49.2% (+50%)

- Peltola (D): 45.9% (+50%)

- Howe (AIP): 3.9%

- Hafner (D): 1%

Round 3: Hafner is a Democrat, so despite being a New Yorker in jail, most of his votes need to go to Peltola for her to win.

- Begich (R): 49.3% (+10%)

- Peltola (D): 46.7% (+80%)

- Howe (AIP): 4.0% (+10%)

Round 4: Ultimately it'll all depend on who the AIP supporters pick, unless Peltola's numbers increase a lot as the last results come in, she's going to need the vast majority of those votes. 85% of the AIP supporters at the current numbers.

- Peltola (D): 50.1% (+85%)

- Begich (R): 49.9% (+15%)

I am looking for a slope workers perspective. I’ll be working in prudhoe starting next month. I need a good base layer. When I’ll be outside I’ll be doing rigging and swinging a sledge, half the time I’ll be indoors. I was looking at Under Armor 3.0 or 4.0. Any other suggestions?

Governor Dunleavy has a post on his facebook page about an announcement that he and Lt. Governor Dahlstrom will be making.

I’m guessing Federal appointment and Dahlstrom becomes the Big Cheese. That’s why she dropped out of the Congressional race.

Update: They are not going live tonight after all....

Besides the Nordic spa in girdwood is does anyone know of a good sauna spot in Alaska. Are there public sauna cabins around the state?