Driving safety
Summer: Keep your headlights on all the time for safety on the highway. Drivers are required to pull over at the next pull-out whenever five or more cars are trailing them on a two-lane highway, regardless of how fast they’re going. This saves the lives of people who otherwise will try to pass. When passing a truck going the other way on a gravel highway, slow down or stop and pull as far as possible to the side of the road to avoid losing your windshield to a flying rock. Always think about the path of rocks you’re kicking up toward others’ vehicles. Make sure you’ve got a good, full-size spare tire and jack if you’re driving a gravel highway.
For remote driving, bring along a first-aid kit, emergency food, a towrope, and jumper cables, and keep your gas tank full.
Winter:Drivers on Alaska’s highways in winter should be prepared for cold-weather emergencies far from help. Take all the items listed for rural summer driving, plus a flashlight, matches and materials to light a fire, chains, a shovel, and an ice scraper.
A camp stove to make hot beverages is also a good idea. If you’re driving a remote highway (such as the Alaska Hwy.) between December and March, take along gear adequate to keep you safe from the cold even if you have to wait overnight with a dead car at –40°F/–40°C. Never drive a road marked “Closed” or “Unmaintained in Winter.” Even on maintained rural roads, other vehicles rarely come by. All Alaska roads are icy all winter. Studded tires are a necessity, nonstudded snow tires or so-called “all-weather” tires aren’t adequate.
Also, never leave your car’s engine stopped for more than 4 hours in temperatures of –10°F (–23°C) or colder.
Alaskans generally have electrical head-bolt heaters installed to keep the engine warm overnight; you’ll find electrical outlets everywhere in cold, Interior Alaska areas.
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Outdoors health and safety
Don’t go into the backcountry without a professional guide unless you have a good medical kit, basic knowledge about how to use it, and a book giving detailed advice for emergencies.
If you are unsure of your navigational skills, maps, or equipment, don’t go without a guide.
Beyond those basics, the most important safety precautions are to go with another person and to make sure someone knows where you are and when you will be back. Leave a trip plan with a person who will call rescuers if you don’t return on time. At the very least, leave a note in your car indicating where you are bound. Cell phones sometimes work near towns and some highways, but not reliably, and there is no coverage beyond populated areas.
Avalanche: No one should go into the snowy backcountry without training in avalanche avoidance and recovery equipment, including locator beacons, probes and shovels. Go with a guide if you are unsure.
Bears and other wildlife: The first rule of defense is simple: don’t attract bears.
All food and trash must be kept in airtight containers when you’re camping. When car camping, the trunk of the vehicle will do. When backpacking, you can protect your food by hanging it from a long tree branch or, above tree line, storing it in a bear-resistant canister.
Be careful not to spread food odors when you’re cooking and cleaning up. Never keep food, pungent items, or clothing that smells like fish in your tent. Clean fish away from your campsite.
When walking through brush or thick trees, make lots of noise to avoid surprising a bear or moose. Bells that
you can hang on your belt are for sale at sporting-goods shops, or you can sing or carry on loud conversation. You might not scare a bear away this way, but at least you won’t startle it.
At all costs, avoid coming between a bear and its cubs or a bear and food (if a bear wants the fish you just caught, that’s his food too).
If you see a bear, stop, wave your arms, make noise, and, if you’re with others, group together so you look larger to the bear. Don’t run, tempting the bear to chase; depart by slowly backing away, at an angle if possible. If the bear follows, stop. Once in a great while, the bear may bluff a charge; even less often, it may attack.
If you’re attacked, fall and play dead, rolling into a ball facedown with your hands behind your neck. The bear should lose interest. In extremely rare instances, a bear may not lose interest, because it’s planning to make a meal of you. If this happens, fight back for all you’re worth.
Many Alaskans carry a gun for protection in bear country, but that’s not practical for visitors. A good alternative is a bear-deterrent spray. These are canisters that you shoot to produce a burning fog of capsaicin pepper between you and a threatening bear. While less effective than a gun, especially in wind or rain, the sprays are legal in national parks and OK to carry across the Canadian border, two big advantages over firearms. Be sure to get a holster, too, as the spray is of no use buried in your backpack.
If you do take a gun, it had better be a big one, such as a .300-Magnum rifle or 12-gauge shotgun loaded with
rifled slugs. No handgun is big enough for a large bear.
Never approach, corner, or feed a moose. Moose, especially cows with calves, can be aggressive and need plenty of room. When in moose country, keep your dog in control. Pay attention to moose body language. Ears back, neck hair raised, and licking lips signal stress. Retreat quickly! If a moose charges you, hide behind a tree or something solid or run if you have a head start. If you're knocked down, curl up, protect you head, and lie still until the moose retreats.
Insect bites: Alaska has no snakes or poisonous spiders.
Boating safety: Because of the cool temperatures, unpredictable weather, and cold water, going out on the ocean or floating a fast river is more hazardous in Alaska than in most other places, and you should go only with an experienced, licensed operator unless you really know what you’re doing. There’s little margin for error if you fall into the water or capsize: you have only minutes to get out and get warm before hypothermia and death. A life jacket will keep you afloat, but it won’t keep you alive in 40°F (4°C) water.
If you’re sea kayaking or canoeing, stay close to shore and take plastic dry bags (also called float bags) with everything you need to quickly warm a person who gets wet.
River crossings: Hiking in Alaska’s backcountry often requires crossing rivers without bridges. Use great caution: It’s easy to get in trouble. Often, the water is glacial melt, barely above freezing and heavy with silt that makes it opaque. The silt can fill your pockets and drag you down. If in doubt, don’t do it. If you do decide to cross, unbuckle your pack, keep your shoes on, face upstream, use a heavy walking stick if possible, and rig a safety line. Children should go in the eddy behind a larger person, or be carried.
Swimming: Ask about lake water before swimming in it. In recent years, some lakes have been infested with a bug that causes an itchy rash.
Water: Unpurified river or lake water may not be safe to drink. The danger is a protozoan cyst called Giardia lamblia, which causes diarrhea. It may not show up until a couple of weeks after exposure and could become chronic.
Shellfish: Don’t eat mussels, clams, or scallops you pick or dig from the seashore unless you know they’re safe. The risk is paralytic shellfish poisoning, a potentially fatal malady caused by a naturally occurring toxin. It causes total paralysis that includes your respiratory system. A victim may be kept alive with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until medical help is obtained.
Wild berries:Until you can identify them yourself or you are with a botanical expert, you probably shouldn't eat any of them. Alaska's trail systems are full of many different kinds of berries. Some are edible, some are poisonous. Don't eat any of them unless you are absolutely positive they are edible.
 Alaska State Parks Staying Safe web page
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