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 take a mellow 45-minute walk out to Moosehead Point and watch my first midnight sunset.

Photographer Annie Schlechter

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Rest Stop

Bedtime, sort of. In my cabin I change into the plaid pajama pants that have previously never left my house and I plop down in the sunroom’s armchair. Instead of opening my book, I gaze out the movie-screen window, through the tops of fir trees and over the bay.

The sun is still shining at 10 p.m., but the chunky log cabin walls make it feel dark, cozy, Alaskan in here. I doze off under a quilt and bolt upright to my alarm set at 11:30 p.m., the time I normally have to awake for alpine climbs. Tonight, however, I take a mellow 45-minute walk out to Moosehead Point and watch my first midnight sunset. As I wait, a sea otter floats belly-up in the kelp, looking as relaxed as I feel on my perch.