The Last Frontier Podcast

We met several people this past summer who were podcast listeners and said our Alaska travel episode was instrumental in helping them plan their trip. It was such a great feeling to get that feedback and so we decided to put together a sequel to that episode. As Seward is our home base and a popular tourist destination with its access to Kenai Fjords National Park, we decided to do a Seward spotli...

It's wedding day in Alaska! One of your hosts is getting married the day this episode drops so that is the theme of today's episode. Before he moved to the Last Frontier state, friend of the pod Brian Wright came to Alaska for his destination wedding and honeymoon. We pick his brain on what that experience was like and give our feedback on where we would go on an Alaskan honeymoon. Why d...

Each state has a collection of symbols that help that state stand out in uniqueness amongst its peers. Alaska is no exception and one might argue that the difference in location, climate and history of the last frontier sets it even more apart than the rest. On today's episode, your hosts delve into the state symbols of Alaska, what they are and the historical context to why they were selecte...

Sea otters are a fan favorite of guests visiting Alaska and so we decided to use this beautiful furry creature for our 2nd ever wildlife spotlight episode. Known as the smallest marine mammal we have in Alaska along with being the only marine mammal that does not have blubber to keep itself warm, the sea otter is unique is so many fascinating ways. Join us as we take a deep dive into what makes th...

Alaska has a wide variety of wildlife you don't find many other places in the world. Animal encounters are something any smart adventurer considers when entering the Alaskan wilderness. But how frequent and deadly are animal attacks in the Last Frontier? For this episode, we were very excited to invite on Jeremy Carberry, host of The Teeth podcast in which he interviews survivors of wild anim...

There is no better way to experience the Alaska wilderness than from the seat of a sea kayak. Clearly, as professional sea kayak guides, we are biased in that opinion, but that doesn't make it untrue. On today's episode, we go in depth on the subject of sea kayaking, its origin and resources available to you the listener if you have any desire to jump in the cockpit of one yourself. We i...

A huge landslide occurred just south of Seward, Alaska on May 7, 2022 isolating the small town of Lowell Point which lies at the end of the road system. Unfortunately for your podcast hosts, we both live in that community and were cut off from the rest of Alaska via road access for roughly a month. With all that time in isolation, we thought it would be a good idea to do a deeper dive into the top...

Back to back milestone episodes provides the perfect opportunity to have our 3rd annual State of the Cove address as we bring back the owner of Sunny Cove Kayaking and main sponsor of our podcast Stephanie Millane. Always with a finger on the pulse of Alaska tourism, this is a great episode to hear about the impact the current epidemic has had on Alaska tourism and what is in store locally at Sunn...

Alaska entered the United States as its 49th state and so we are excited to hit this milestone as we release our 49th episode. For today's episode, your hosts go rapid fire and touch on 49 unique and interesting facts about the Last Frontier state while enjoying a beer from 49th State Brewing Company. Why was the purchase of Alaska so unpopular? What would Manhattan Island look like if it had...

There is something quite fascinating in thinking about the great extinct animals of yesteryear. Alaska is special in that it contains some of the most epic wildlife this world has to offer, but go back 20,000 years and what we have today dwarfs in comparison to the giant critters of the last ice age. In today's episode, your hosts delve into the height of the Pleistocene ice age, the critters...

Mount Rushmore was established as a way to commemorate four US presidents who represented the birth, growth, development and preservation of the United States. With Alaska being a late addition to the union and having its own very unique history, your hosts converse on who would be on their Mount Rushmore of Alaska. On today's episode, learn who stands out for Andrew and Danny in Alaskan hist...

The secret is out on Alaska and last year was the biggest summer tourism season on record and it doesn't look to be slowing down anytime soon. With the increase in the number of visitors, it can be harder to get away from the crowds in some of the more popular areas of the state to visit. However, Alaska is rich with remote lodges that can get you that rich wilderness experience away from the...

March Madness has arrived and we are filling out our bracket on today's episode! But curveball, we aren't choosing which basketball teams we think will win this year's tournament; instead, we've picked out 32 various Hawaiian activities, adventures and locations and pit them up against each other to determine what is the ultimate Hawaiian thing to do if you are planning a trip...

The humpback whale connects the two great states of Alaska and Hawaii, but outside of that magnificent creature, you can't get much different in regards to the wildlife in each respective state. So as a follow up to our fantasy Alaskan wildlife draft episode a few months ago, your hosts sit down with friend of the pod Cara to each draft a team of Hawaiian animals they think you would want to...

With well over 100 islands in the Hawaiian Island chain, eight of them were awarded the status of being named the main Hawaiian Islands. As we continue our Hawaii mini-series, your hosts delve into each of the eight main islands to share a few fun facts about each of the islands and what makes each of them such a unique place. Where is the best place in the world for stargazing? How much could you...

The Super Bowl is a week away and in preparation for the big game, your hosts decided for this episode to delve into some of the unique sports and sporting events that occur out on the Hawaiian Islands. As we continue with our Hawaii mini-series, enjoy your status as a spectator as you learn about the history of the two state sports of Hawaii (outrigger canoeing and surfing) as well as a few fun e...

Alaska and Hawaii are home to one of the most majestic animals the world has to offer...the humpback whale. Up in Alaska for their summer all-you-can-eat buffet to down in Hawaii to have and make babies, the humpback whale life cycle and migration is a fascinating ordeal to learn about. Today's episode focuses on these incredible creatures and their behaviors in each of their seasonal locatio...

Two very different states by most accounts, Alaska and Hawaii share a unique connection as the two states not connected by land to the rest of the Lower 48. In order to delve into this connection further, your hosts thought it would be prudent to spend some time on the Hawaiian Islands...for purely research purposes of course. As the start of a short miniseries highlighting aspects that make the H...

It is cold, dark and snowy in the Last Frontier state which means it's celebration time. Winter solstice and Christmas occured this past week so Andrew and Danny talk about some unique happenings relating to Alaska and the holiday season. Does Santa Claus have a zip code? Do lead sled dogs have a red nose? And what is the secret to celebrating Christmas twice? It's the episode postmarked...

Gather around the fire cuz it's story time! Guides love to tell stories of their unique experiences on trips so Jared and Russ are back again with Danny to share some of their more memorable times out on the water. What are the different types of fun? When is it okay to hope for a guest to capsize? And why is playing pinball on a boat not the safest thing to do? It's the episode you may...

Most people looking for a guided adventure in Alaska use websites like Tripadvisor to research various companies and activities of things to do. Review based websites can be a useful tool when planning a trip, but can also provide endless entertainment when reading through the comments and discovering what really triggers people out there. Friends of the pod Jared and Russ join Danny to discuss so...

Alaska is home to eight national parks, five of which are so remote you are not able to drive into them. In the first of our national park spotlight episodes, we highlight one such park and invite former Lake Clark NP Chief Ranger Lee Fink on the podcast to delve into what makes Lake Clark National Park such an incredible place. What are the main draws of Lake Clark NP? How does one access a park...

You've heard of Bigfoot, but what about Urayuli? The tales of the Loch Ness Monster run deep, but have you heard what lies beneath Lake Iliamna? Alaska is no stranger to cryptozoology and ghost stories. On this special Halloween episode, we take you on a haunted road trip through Alaska and examine the authenticity of a few of the mythical creatures of Alaskan lore. Would you go to prom with...

In a continuation of our outdoor education spotlight, if you thought a month long course in the wilderness was "in tents" from last week's episode, hold on to your butts! We invite Durango on the program today to discuss his semester long course through NOLS covering a wide array of skills including wilderness medicine, backcountry skiing, white water canoeing, backpacking and rock...

Outdoor education is a unique approach to teaching with a setting unrivaled. With Alaska's vast wilderness, both aquatic and terrestrial, there is no shortage of classroom space in which to engage students. On today's episode, we invite Alex Bell-Johnson who first came to Alaska as a student with NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) to discuss his experience engaging in scholarship...