Women’s Rain Gear for Alaska
Had a wonderful trip to Alaska in late June, early July. My husband and I like to fish for and eat salmon. We must be oozing with omega 3’s because we ate it morning, noon, and night for almost 2 weeks.
Southeast Alaska was having a late summer, that is, cooler than normal temperatures and rain just about every day. Afterall, it is a rain forest, so what do you expect? If you are cruising to Alaska, you will most likely stop in Ketchikan. It’s a fun town for shopping but there is so much more, especially totem poles and native American arts. We stayed 3 nights in Ketchikan and then headed to Prince of Wales Island. While in Ketchikan, we took a charter fishing trip and came back with king salmon and silver salmon – yum!
From Ketchikan, we took the ferry to Prince of Wales. The third largest island in the United States and yet a very unpopulated area. We stayed in Klawock and Whale Pass. We were lucky that on our charter fishing day, the weather was nice. We caught silver salmon and halibut. We saw humpback whales and eagles. Spectacular.
On our off days, we did some hiking. We definitely needed rain gear and boots for these adventures. I am so glad I invested in the right rain gear. We have traveled to Alaska before but I never had the perfect outer clothes and regretted it. I found that Cabela’s really had the best deals on what I was looking for. The Catalina Jacket was great, it had a flannel lining with some warmth, attached hood, pockets and kept me dry! The reviews said that they run large so I picked up the women’s Large rather than XL. It fit perfect.
For pants, I picked up the Cabela’s Women’s Gore-Tex PacLite Rainy River Pants. They were a little pricey but they did the job. They were light weight and comfortable. I could easily wear my wool underwear and blue jeans underneath. They also tucked nicely into my boots. I picked up the XL but feel like I could have worn the Large. Since I was ordering at the last minute, with no time to exchange, I decided to be safe and go larger rather than smaller.
On Prince of Wales Island we did some stream fishing. My husband and I both picked up waders. We decided to go with the cheapest available because we just don’t wear them that often, once a year on trips to Alaska at most. We do fish in California, but it’s never fresh water, always in the ocean from our boat. Cabela’s had the best deal. Mine were especially inexpensive and I think it was because they have the felt sole. Alaska is outlawing the felt sole two years from now. So I can use them again next year and then probably not after that. I still felt it was worth it because they were only $55 on sale. These women’s waders have the attached boots and only come in whole sizes. I wear a half size and so rounded up. They were a little large but worked fine. I would not want to wear them for a long hike.
We also brought boots with us that we had purchased a few years ago. They were essential for hiking. Some of the trails started out looking fine but half way through there were areas of mud and flooded streams. They were beautiful and remote hikes, usually we were the only ones on the trail. I wear Muck boots and my husband likes the Bog boots. The exact models we have are not on Cabela’s because they are 5 years old but similar styles are available.
Besides the wonderful fishing and hiking, we did attend some social events. The Mud Bogg races in Naukati we really funny. It rained all day making for quite the mud scene. On the 4th of July we stopped by the Skunk Cabbage Festival, a small town pot luck with silent auction and ax throwing contest. In the evening we were invited to another spectacular pot luck at the Log Cabin Resort which featured a local Blue Grass Band. All fun!
Now I have the right clothes, and the companion pass on Alaska airlines. We’lll have to go back next year!
Find Women's Rain Gear at Cabelas. Great rain gear, boots, and more! They truly do have quality products and great prices.