Gift Guide for Explorers by Dea
Meet Dea Koryczan Huff: an outdoors-loving woman who is always literally moving up in the world. Almost everything in this guide are things she herself brings on backpacking or backcountry ski trips. Here's her picks for explorers!
Q: What do you by day, what do you by night/weekend?
A: By day I work at the State of Alaska as an Air Quality Engineer. By night/weekend, currently: Skiing. And I also work out at the Rock Dump, climbing.
Q: What do you love about playing outdoors?
A: The mountains. Going up. I'm rarely not seen going up, in any chance, in any condition, I really like the view. Just getting up and away.
Q: What's your fave place to explore in this region?
A: In the winter, the backcountry outside of Eaglecrest. It can be easy access but awesome powder terrain that isn't skied out. In the summer: Juneau Ridge to Salmon Ridge over to Observation Peak, over to Lemon Glacier. Or Blackerby Ridge to Lemon Glacier area. I just like seeing the icefield. It's amazing to run in a pair of running shoes and get up and see that area.
Q: How do you feel at the view?
A: You just feel amazed that you live here. You're like, seriously? I just ran up here in two hours and these are things people dream about seeing in their lifetime, and I just got to do it on a Saturday.
"It's insulated, lightweight, and I have brought hot liquid in it and it's stayed hot for 24 hours. I took it in the Yukon where it's -18 and all your water can freeze, so it was nice to have this while camping."
S'well Insulated Water Bottle in Neptune, 17oz, $35
"I always grind coffee and bring it with me. I love sentinel, it's amazing."
Sentinel Coffee, 16 oz, $16
"I bring one of these to write on the trip. I have a different one that I write trip stats on, but when you're out on cabin trips it's great to take time to journal, especially in foul weather it's good to have something to do in the tent or cabin. I use this one to write about feelings or life or stories on the trip."
Moleskine journal, $13.95
"For avalanche country you need a pencil for your avalanche book in order to track snow stability and snow conditions. You need a pencil because your pen will freeze. I always have this one with me in my bag."
Delfonics Wood Mechanical Pencil in green, $10
"This is big for climbing. You need a fold out blade for cutting the rope in case something were to happen. For that you don't need a multi-tool, you need a knife with a big blade that can cut through the rope in a second. It's a safety knife that I keep right on myself when I'm climbing. I have this one!"
Opinel Folding Knife, $18-19
"Always bring good deserts. Especially if you're eating mountain houses and freeze dried meals (to save weight), I always bring good desserts, we all do. It's important to have luxury desserts."
Sitka Spruce Tip Salted Caramels, $9
"My face is really dry from cold temps and the wind chill, so I was looking for a heavy cream moisturizer - heavier than what you currently have at home. This is good for all the outdoorsy folks."
Whipped Moisturizing Cream in Juniper Berry + Lime
1 oz,, $7.60
4 oz, $20.80
"When you come home and you dry yourself out, everything is wet and stinks. So I light a candle to make everything smell good. This one - sweet grapefruit - isn't one of the earthy-smelling ones, this one is purely to make it smell good. Light and sweet, not any overpowering flowery stuff."
Sweet Grapefruit Soy Candle
3.5 oz, $12
7.5 oz, $20
"With the start of the ski season, I'm really sore from going up Eaglecrest and skiing all night, so a bath soak sounds really nice."
Coconut Bath Soak
8 oz, $19
16 oz, $33