Category Archives: Explorers

Ordering Books

Posted on September 14, 2023 by Helen Hegener

Books by Alaskan author Helen Hegener, including The History of Sled Dogs in North America, The Alaska Railroad, Alaskan Roadhouses, The First Iditarod, The Matanuska Colony Project and many more. Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Alaska Railroad, Book Reviews, Books, Colony Barns, Explorers, Gold Rush History, Iditarod, Matanuska Colony, Matanuska Valley, Roadhouses, Sled Dog History, Sled Dog Races, Yukon Quest | Tagged Alaska, Alaska History, Alaska Railroad, All Alaska Sweepstakes, barns, gold rush, Helen Hegener, Iditarod, Iditarod Trail, Klondike gold rush, Matanuska Colony, mushing history, Nome, Northern Light Media, Revenue Cutter Service, Roadhouses, sled dogs, Yukon Quest | Leave a comment

Alaska & The Klondike

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Helen Hegener

Alaska & the Klondike, Early Writings and Historic Photographs, compiled and edited by Helen Hegener, is an anthology of selected writings by early explorers and travelers in Alaska and the Yukon Territory of Canada. Wonderful photographs accompany the often colorful writings of Frederick Schwatka, Hudson Stuck, Robert Service, Josiah Edward Spurr, and many others as they tell of adventure, explorations, fortunes won and lost, and the magnificent promise of our great northern lands. Read the words of those early travelers who accepted the chalenge of the North and left an indelible mark in their writing of it. Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Books, Explorers, Gold Rush History, Kindle eBooks, News & Information, photographs | Tagged Alaska, Dawson City, Klondike gold rush, Yukon | Leave a comment

Northern Journey

Posted on January 11, 2023 by Helen Hegener

In his newest book. Northern Journey, Lew Freedman tells the stories behind the adventures which became his award-winning books and articles. Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Book Reviews, Books, Explorers, Iditarod, News & Information, Sled Dog History, Sled Dog Races | Tagged Alaska, authors, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Iditarod, Lew Freedman, Northern Light Media, sled dogs | Leave a comment

Jan-Feb Alaskan History

Posted on December 27, 2020 by Helen Hegener

Inside this issue: • CR&NWRR Steamboats on the Copper River – Between 1907 and 1911 the Copper River and Northwestern Railway operated a fleet of steamboats on the Copper and Chitina Rivers in support of railroad construction and mining operations at … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Explorers, Geology, Gold Rush History, missionaries, News & Information, Transportation | Tagged 1901 Yukon River Ethnographic Questionnaire, Alfred A. Selden, Anvik, Bethel, Captain William R. Abercrombie, Christ Church, Copper River, Copper River and Northwestern Railroad, CR&NWRR Steamboats, Dall River, Dr. James Taylor White, Dr. Joseph Romig, Eagle, Eagle-Valdez Trail, Edward J. Knapp, Glacial Lake Ahtna, Holy Cross, Ikogmiut, Issac Jones, John Wesley Powell, John Wight Chapman, Joseph Jules Jetté, Joseph Raphael Crimont, Juneau, Koserefsky, Lt. John C. Cantwell, Nulato, Oscar Fish, Patsy Ann the Bull Terrier, Rampart, Russian Mission, St. Andrews, St. James, St. Michael, St. Peter Claver, steamboats, Tanana, The Dog Team Doctor, trails, U. S. Army, USS Nunivak, Valdez | Leave a comment

The Ascent of Denali

Posted on March 24, 2019 by Helen Hegener

Hudson Stuck (1865–1920), known as the Archdeacon of the Yukon and the Arctic, was an Episcopal priest, social reformer, and mountain climber in the territory of Alaska who co-led the first expedition to successfully climb Denali (Mount McKinley) in June, 1913. He wrote a book based on the climb, The Ascent of Denali (Mount McKinley): A Narrative of the First Complete Ascent of the Highest Peak in North America, which was published in February, 1914 by Charles Scribers Sons, New York. Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Book Reviews, Books, Explorers, Kindle eBooks, News & Information, Sled Dog History | Tagged Alaska and the Klondike, Denali, Esaias George, Frances Welles, Harry Karstens, Hudson Stuck, Johnny Fredson, Kantishna, Mount McKinley, Mt. McKinley, Nenana, Peter Trimble Rowe, Robert Tatum, SS Princess Sophia, Ten Thousand Miles with a Dogsled, The Ascent of Denali, Voyages on the Yukon, Walter Harper | Leave a comment

Across Alaska in 1907-08

Posted on March 22, 2019 by Helen Hegener

In October 1907, his work for the 1906-1908 Anglo-American Polar Expedition completed, Ejnar Mikkelsen set out on a formidable journey home, which would take him west along the Arctic coast from Flaxman Island, where he left Leffingwell to continue doing scientific research and mapping. Mikkelsen’s trail led to Barrow, Nome, Fort Gibbon, Manley Hot Springs, Fairbanks, and then down the Fairbanks-Valdez Trail to Valdez, where he boarded a ship for home. The first part of his journey was made by dogsled, the second half riding in the horse-drawn sledges which travelled the winter trails. Continue reading →