Recommended Gear

Outdoor Clothing

Essential

• Shoes. The fewer pairs you bring, the lighter and smaller your luggage needs to be!! You’ll need a pair of hiking shoes, and if these can double as your daily boat life shoes, then all the better. We have rubber boots for you.
• Wool socks. The warmth, cushion, and absorbency of merino wool socks (or a wool/silk/polypropylene blend) is important. There is nothing worse than wet feet. Bring several pair.
• Underwear. Your regular underwear is fine. But consider an upgrade to merino wool or a synthetic blend. A merino t-shirt or two will add warmth to anything else you wear and last all week.
• Pants. Look for synthetic blends that are durable and quick drying. Cotton soaks up water and becomes cold and uncomfortable. You should be able to get by with three pairs of pants.
• Shirts. Look for synthetic blends that are durable and quick drying. Cotton soaks up water and becomes cold and uncomfortable. Athletic style pullovers work great.
• T-shirts. One or two short-sleeved or long-sleeved cotton shirts.
• Swimsuit. No kidding! You’ll want one for the natural hot springs.
• Merino wool sweater or fleece. This is your primary insulation layer. If you tend to be cold, you should bring additional layers.
• Mid-weight jacket. This is your primary outer layer. Look for water-repellant down, Prima Loft and Wind Stopper layers.
• Rain jacket or shell. A packable Gore-Tex rain jacket works best. Something that goes over your other jacket/fleece will give you all the layers and warmth you’ll need. Thin, coated-nylon rain gear does not work well in Alaska.
• Gloves. Lightweight gloves with rubber grippers work well for paddling or fishing.
• Warm hat. Should be merino wool or synthetic, and cover your ears (not a baseball cap).
• Smart phone. With the great cameras and video capture of newer phones, anyone can capture high-quality photos and video. Chargers will work off of our standard household outlets.
• Cellular phone service. We occasionally have cellphone coverage during our trip. AT&T works best. Unfortunately, Verizon/T-Mobile and other data services don’t work well in most areas outside of Juneau and Sitka. We have a mobile hotspot if you need data service when we’re within cell coverage.

Optional

• Ballcap. Essential for some. To help keep the sun out of your eyes.
• Long underwear: You are not likely to need any unless you get cold easily. If you do, then lightweight merino wool or synthetic will take care of that.
• Shorts. One pair for sunny days.
• Warmer pants. If you tend to get cold. 
• Heavy raincoat. We’ll provide a thick raincoat if your Gore-Tex isn’t enough.
• Rain pants. A good pair of packable Gore-Tex rain pants would be useful. We have heavy duty rain bibs if needed.
• Rubber boots. We’ll provide a pair of sturdy rubber boots for your use and wear. Let us know what sizes you wear.

Equipment

Other equipment… primarily for photographers.

The combination of equipment you bring is up to you. Just be sure to bring your favorite camera, plenty of spare batteries for your equipment, charging cables, and your phone.

• Binoculars. We have a few pair on the boat, but sometimes you’ll want your own. A great pair of binoculars allow you to experience nature closer than ever before. Look for binoculars that are 7x42 or 8x42, which is a good magnification and a wide field of view, that also offer excellent low-light capability.
• DSLR camera. Bring your Canon, Nikon or Sony DSLR camera, a telephoto lens, a wide-angle lens, lots of memory cards, and spare batteries. You can also rent everything you need (with full-coverage insurance) from LensRentals.com. We suggest adding a Canon 100-400mm Telephoto Zoom or a Nikon 80-400mm Telephoto Zoom to your camera bag.