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Mom in the Mtns

The adventures of a mom (and her wild child) in the mountains of Alaska

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Category: camping

A “Spring” Getaway in Denali State Park

April 11, 2021

One of my favorite places in Alaska is Denali State Park. It’s closer to Anchorage than Denali National Park, is free to enter, and is easier to access by car. Plus the views of Denali are still amazing! I’ve backpacked Kesugi Ridge and stayed in a public use cabin at Byers Lake, but my favorite … More A “Spring” Getaway in Denali State Park

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Happy Camper Review: Matanuska Glacier Cabin

March 29, 2021

One of my favorite things to do year round in Alaska is to stay at the state park and national forest public use cabins! They’re a great way to get out of the house for a quick trip when I have cabin fever in the winter, and in the summer they are a great place … More Happy Camper Review: Matanuska Glacier Cabin

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A Long Weekend in McCarthy

September 11, 2018

We had a 3 day weekend for Labor Day, so we took some time looking up the weather forecast for a few different places in Alaska to see where we could take a short trip.  For the past few years I’ve been looking at the forecast in McCarthy over Labor Day weekend and it has … More A Long Weekend in McCarthy

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Resurrection Pass: Days 1 & 2

June 10, 2018

I’ve always been a fan of books about thru-hiking (like Wild and Becoming Odyssa) and have fantasized about what it would be like to do a long distance backpacking trip.  But I’ve only ever done overnight backpacking trips so I have no idea what it feels like to hike for multiple days with only the … More Resurrection Pass: Days 1 & 2

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A Perfect Start to My Summer

May 29, 2018

In most places in the US, Memorial Day is a hot and sunny day off, filled with days at the beach or the pool and lots of tank tops and ice cream cones.  In Alaska, it’s still spring.  So a couple months ago I decided to rent a public use cabin for Memorial Day weekend … More A Perfect Start to My Summer

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The Weekend I Became an Outdoors Woman

March 18, 2018

I’ve always loved spending time in the outdoors and would consider myself a very outdoorsy person.  But loving the outdoors is only the first step – you’ve also got to know what you’re doing out there in order to really enjoy yourself outdoors.  So what’s a girl to do when she’s never been taught how … More The Weekend I Became an Outdoors Woman

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A Holiday Weekend Up North

December 25, 2017

This long weekend was filled with reasons to celebrate:  Saturday was my husband’s birthday, Sunday was Christmas Eve, and Monday was Christmas.  And the best way to celebrate in Alaska is to head outdoors!  For my husband’s birthday, we decided to rent a public use cabin for the night up at Nancy Lake and invited … More A Holiday Weekend Up North

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Welcome Back, Winter!

November 5, 2017

On Saturday afternoon we drove up to Bald Lake near Willow, AK for a chilly backpacking trip to the Bald Lake Cabin.  There was frost covering every tree in the forest as we backpacked out to the cabin.  It was absolutely gorgeous, and I was so excited to be staying out there in the public … More Welcome Back, Winter!

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Denali Road Lottery 2017

September 19, 2017

On Friday I had the super rare opportunity to drive my car into Denali National Park during the Denali Road Lottery!  To visit Denali National Park, people usually have to take a shuttle bus into the park instead of driving their own car.  It’s something they do to prevent humans from having too much impact … More Denali Road Lottery 2017

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My First Bikepacking Trip: Serenity Falls Cabin

August 7, 2017

I’ve been working on both my mountain biking and backpacking skills all summer long, and last week I finally got the chance to combine them!  One of my more hardcore outdoorsy friends works on weekends, so months ago we planned to take a backpacking trip during the week so that she could make it.  I … More My First Bikepacking Trip: Serenity Falls Cabin

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Mom in the Mtns

Mom in the Mtns

Welcome to my blog! I'm Kristen, an Alaskan mom who tries to spend as much time as possible in the mountains. Follow my blog for tips, gear reviews, and stories about raising a wild child in the last frontier!

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Happy Earth Day! Since becoming a Wild Keeper Ambassador for @keepnaturewild, I’ve been waiting for the snow to melt so I could get out and pick up trash. And earth week ended up being the perfect time to start because spring is finally here! I picked up approximately 40 pounds of trash this week with Elliott by my side. Everything from masks to coffee cups to waaaaay too many alcohol cans/bottles to count (and a lot of random car parts!). And today @alaskawildlings invited me and @brenda.h.ak out to help clean up Man Made Lake in Palmer. It was such a perfect day to pick up trash, and we ended up with more full trash bags than kids!
That feeling when your kid wakes you up at 6 am because the sun is already rising and there’s no curtains in your cabin but you end up snagging a picture like this 😍 Ellie, you can wake me up for views like this anytime.
@wild_and_free_hats is looking for brand reps! Elliott just got two of their hats and now that the sun is shining and it’s warm in Alaska he’s able to finally wear them outside! If you haven’t heard of them, definitely check them out for your outdoors loving kid!
The Seward boat harbor is such a cool place! We used to work right in the harbor selling boat tours into Kenai Fjords National Park and I never got sick of that view from my office window 😍
Ellie made a friend at the @alaskasealifecenter!
Our beach camping weekend was amazing! You don’t realize how bad your Seasonal Affective Disorder is until the first 50 degree day of the year, am I right? 😂 But seriously, getting to visit my favorite place and hang out with some amazing friends on/by the ocean is exactly what I needed. All 3 of us had a blast, and it’s so amazing to watch Ellie fall in love with a place that’s so important to me and Andrew!
Currently living my best life in Seward. And I know a lot of people say that, but I really mean it. Seward is my favorite place on earth, and being here has been the most amazing and relaxing way to kick off spring! So far I’ve watched the sun rise and set from our ridiculous cabin on the beach, read a book by the ocean, got a sunburn, walked miles along the coast (mostly because we were trying to get Ellie to nap), went out on our friends’ boat where we saw a mommy and baby humpback as well as a star fish, octopus, otters, and a bunch of eagles, and watched Ellie play with a sea lion at the Sea Life Center. I’m so excited to see what adventures we get up to tomorrow!
Another day, another #basicalaskamom walk with Ellie. Coffee (iced!), Xtratufs, and a hoodie will be my new uniform until the snow flies again!
Today I put my skis away and packed up the ski attachments for the Chariot. Winter is probably not over yet (🙄) but I’m ready to move on to using the Chariot for bike rides!
The first time I hiked the Butte I thought it was awful. I remember wondering why anyone would like that hike 😂 I mean why would you hike a mountain that had stairs on it?!

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