The Last Frontier Podcast

Alaska is big country and hiking it can provide memories that will last a life time. On today's episode, your professional sea kayak guiding podcast hosts trade in their paddles for some trekking poles and dish out their top tips for hiking in the Last Frontier. Learn about Leave No Trace (LNT) principles along the way and get a few recommendations of our favorite hikes. What is the origin of...

This is a tribute episode to an incredible dog that recently passed away. Danny said goodbye to his 14 year old Siberian Husky several months ago and so your favorite Alaskan Bald Eagles decided to dedicated a podcast episode on the famous dogs of Alaska to Zoe in her memory. We discuss some of the dog breeds that Alaska is known for and highlight a couple of iconic individual dogs who have been i...

Shark month continues here at The Last Frontier Podcast as we finish up our two part shark month mini-series with a deeper dive into the salmon shark. Expert sharkologist Emma Campbell rejoins the podcast to share her insights into yet another shark species that likes to call Alaska home. How are these sharks similar to mammals? How do these animals regulate their body temperature? And do salmon s...

While the rest of the world may be celebrating shark week later this month, we do things bigger and better in Alaska and so today kicks off our July two episode Shark Month mini-series! Yes, we do have sharks up here in the Last Frontier and we invite our favorite sharkologist Emma Campbell on the program today to discuss one of the more mysterious species we have swimming in our waters...the slee...

Today's episode continues our look into the cruise ship industry by focusing on the expedition style of cruising one can embark on in Alaskan waters. Friend of the pod Jared Fink joins us today as he works as part of the expedition crew for one of the companies that runs expedition style cruises in Alaska. He shares his insights on the more untraditional side of the cruise ship scene up here...

Over half of tourists that visit Alaska do so via the cruise ship industry. There are many types of ships that cruise the Alaskan waters including your traditional large style cruise ships and your untraditional smaller expedition style cruise ships. With today's episode, we embark on a two episode mini-series highlighting both styles of Alaskan cruises starting today by interviewing Kat Sore...

The road less traveled up to Alaska is umm well, the road. Most visitors to the Last Frontier State come by cruise ship or plane, but few make the journey through Canada via the ALCAN...or the Alaska Canada Highway. What started as an idea to discuss top travel on a budget tips to Alaska via the road systems essentially turned into an anecdotal story time of the road trips we've ventured on u...

Ladies and gentlemen...the moment you all have been waiting for! We traditionally kick off each episode with an Alaskan beer review, but we have often joked about reviewing an authentic Alaskan wine and well, today is that day! We have a jam packed program to celebrate recording our 75th podcast episode. We kick off the pod with a winter recap, jump into a beer review gifted to us by our friends o...

We bit off more than we could chew last episode which is great news for you the listener as you get a Part 2 of our Alaska terminology episode! Continue on with us as we further our deep dive into terms unique to the Last Frontier state of Alaska. What is the correct pronunciation of snow mobile? What is the best stuff to wipe with in the Alaskan wilderness? And how do you win an award named after...

Language evolves over time which is why you have different accents, dialects and definitions of the same words within the same body of language. With Alaska's remote location, the Last Frontier has developed its own unique terminologies over time and so Alaskan lingo is the them of today's episode. Your podcast hosts have compiled a list of terms and phrases used in Alaska that you might...

Colorado is informally known as the 14ers state which refers to the 14,000 foot elevation of many of its mountain tops. By Alaska standards, that's cute. In fact, the tallest peak in Colorado wouldn't crack the top 10 in the Last Frontier. Join us on today's episode as we outline the top 10 tallest peaks in Alaska including their elevation and the interesting history behind the name...

Life instantly changed in Alaska when oil was discovered on the north slope in 1968. Dollars were to be made if a plan could be developed to transport and distribute that oil from one of the most remote places on the planet. Join us on today's episode as we navigate through the political convergences that occurred which led to the building of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. Why was oil in g...

One hundred years before Covid-19 wreaked havoc on the world, the United States dealt with a different epidemic...diphtheria. And a small town in remote northwest Alaska was in its wake. On today's episode, we focus on the Iditarod in all its iterations including the historic trail that was used by heroic dog mushers in the winter of 1925 to save the town of Nome. Where is Mile 0 of the histo...

Black Americans literally paved the way to Alaska and were some of the first Americans to make it to the Alaskan shores. With February being Black History Month, we use this episode to share a few stories and achievements made by black Americans in the Last Frontier. From the days of Russian occupied territory to the defense of Alaska in WWII, join us as we celebrate the accomplishments of some in...

Shrouded in mystery, the Alaskan wolf is rarely seen. Ranging from the temperate rainforests of southeastern Alaska all the way up to the frozen tundra of the Arctic Circle, the wolf in Alaska enjoys a wide range of habitat that has allowed it to never be endangered or threatened. Join us as we do a deeper dive into what makes the wolf an iconic piece of the Alaskan wilderness. How many wolves are...

Hot, cold, rest, repeat. That is the order of operations when you visit a Nordic style spa. Hydrotherapy is not a new concept in today's world and Alaska is now home to its very first Nordic spa. One of your hosts recently took a visit to this spa for his wife's birthday and as a result, the inspiration for this episode was born. Join us as we delve into the human history of spas highlig...

(Side note: Sound quality is a little off on this and our previous episode. Our first attempt at remote recording. It's not horrible! But should be better for future episodes) When one thinks of natural disasters in Alaska, earthquakes and tsunamis may come to mind first, but Alaska is also a hot spot for another type of destruction...volcanoes! Alaska sits on the ring of fire and since 1900...

(Side note: Sound quality is a little off on this and our next episode. Our first attempt at remote recording. It's not horrible! But should be better for future episodes) When you have an episode that drops on Christmas Day, best get in the festive spirit. On today's episode, Andrew and Danny sing. Yes, you heard that correctly as your hosts do a makeover of the Christmas classic song T...

Nerd alert! If you were not aware, the introduction to our podcast is a riff off the Star Trek theme. With the nicknames of Alaska being the last frontier and space the final frontier, it was a no-brainer from the mind of a Trekkie to create a fun play on words from Star Trek for our introduction. And so this episode has been a long time coming as we invite friend of the pod and fellow Trekkie Jar...

It's Thanksgiving weekend and when we think Thanksgiving, we think football! In one of our more fun themed episodes, friend of the pod Jared joins the program as we go through and tweak all of the NFL mascots to make them more Alaska themed. Learn a little bit more about Alaskan history, people and wildlife as we put our Last Frontier State spin on some of your favorite iconic mascots. Where...

Gold is the state mineral of Alaska. Sea otters were considered soft gold due to their desired fur pelts. And your podcast hosts and have unofficially named beer as the liquid gold of the Last Frontier State. Beer has always been a large part of this podcast with our episodic beer reviews from local Alaskan breweries and so we decided to dedicate this entire episode to just beer...more specificall...

The Hoogacha is a local cryptic legend and the name of the flagship of Northern Latitude Adventures based here in Seward, Alaska. That boat spawned the idea of naming Northern Latitude's future fleet of tour boats after local Alaskan mythological creatures. On today's special Halloween themed episode, we invite Captain Nick Gray, co-owner of the company, on the pod to discuss the legenda...

From the origins of the Alaska Natives 15,000 years ago to the arrival of your favorite beautiful bald eagles, Alaskan history in rich in content that can challenge even the most creative imagination. On today's episode, we explore some of the more significant events that have occurred in the Last Frontier and set the stage for some deeper dives on future historical episodes. How did the firs...

Wanna race?! One of your bald eagle hosts is flying down to the lower 48 to run the Chicago Marathon which was the inspiration for today's episode. There are loads of races around the world to participate in, but Alaska is famous for some unique ones. On today's episode, we invite friends of the pod Kat and Jared on to explore some of our favorite Alaskan races we've either particip...

Living in a place like Alaska is great in that many of our friends and family will come visit. Andrew's father Steve, arguably our most loyal listener, was in town and so we invited him on the pod to share his experiences of visiting Alaska over the years. Andrew was first introduced to Alaska many years ago when his father took him on a fishing trip to Kodiak Island and Steve has made severa...