Clouds above Mount Marathon
Photo: Maxwell Odland

In the 16 months since I left Seward, Alaska, hardly a week goes by when it doesn’t cross my mind. Partly for the views like this one, but mostly because the experience of being there is so different from any other place I’ve been.

Seward isn’t remote like much of Alaska. A highway and railroad stretch north to Anchorage, and a cruise ship dwarfs the harbor each summer Wednesday. But walking 10 minutes from the middle of town can leave you on the side of a mountain with wilderness stretching away from you for days. Its the feeling of being on the edge of civilization.