Travel»Pacific Northwest»Alaska’s Softer Side

Alaska’s Softer Side

Avid adventure traveler David Hanson sets out to discover coastal Alaska’s less rugged, more indulgent attributes: hot-stone massages, gourmet food, leather-bound wine lists, and complimentary bathrobes.

I will not sleep in a tent, fish or hunt game, or wait out a snowstorm on a glacier.

Photographer Annie Schlechter

1 of 16

View all

Mission Relaxation

I come to Alaska on a strict mission: Find and partake in the comforts of our nation’s final rugged frontier. I will not sleep in a tent, fish or hunt game, or wait out a snowstorm on a glacier. If the bugs get bad, I will retreat to my lodge and sink into the nearest hot tub. I remind myself of these vows between bites of artisanal cheese and sips of white wine.