I am planning a trip to Alaska next year, probably end of April or May. I will probably fly into Anchorage or Fairbanks and head for the wilderness. I'll probably rent a jeep and sleep in a tent. Probably doing some fishing in the streams. I'll be taking some overnight backpacking hikes too. I would like to take a rifle with me because I don't like the thought of being unarmed in big bear country. I was going to either take an M1 Garand or my FAL paratrooper carbine. A semi auto that I could shoulder quickly if I even got the chance to defend myself if I was attacked by a bear. I will probably need to stay out of National Parks but I think I can carry the rifle into BLM and National Forrest land. Please correct me if that is incorrect.
Does anyone from Alaska or someone with similar experience have some comments for me? I know I need to have the rifle unloaded while it is in the car. Is it typically OK to hike/camp while shouldering a rifle in Alaska?
I am a pretty experienced back country hiker/backpacker, having spent many summers living in my van in the mountains in Colorado and other western states. This is a little different level of wilderness up there though. I fully know the events (avalanches, mountains lions, sudden snow storm, broken leg, rock slide, fall, etc) in the mountains and wilderness can kill you very quickly and I have a lot of respect for the climate and other little disasters that can happen. You can never be too careful in the wilderness.
Does anyone from Alaska or someone with similar experience have some comments for me? I know I need to have the rifle unloaded while it is in the car. Is it typically OK to hike/camp while shouldering a rifle in Alaska?
I am a pretty experienced back country hiker/backpacker, having spent many summers living in my van in the mountains in Colorado and other western states. This is a little different level of wilderness up there though. I fully know the events (avalanches, mountains lions, sudden snow storm, broken leg, rock slide, fall, etc) in the mountains and wilderness can kill you very quickly and I have a lot of respect for the climate and other little disasters that can happen. You can never be too careful in the wilderness.