Anchorage Daily News

Bikin' 'n' berries

Plump, ripe blueberries peeked out from the bushes, keeping Anjanette Steer sidetracked. She'd walk a few feet, pause and pick one, popping it into her mouth to test for ripeness. At ground level the blueberries were surprisingly plentiful. So easy to miss when hiking along at a steady pace, the blueberries all of a sudden seemed as noticeable as cantaloupes.

FISHING DERBIES

Giant silver, small halibut win in Valdez

The biggest and littlest fish helped two Southcentral anglers pick up $15,000 first place prizes when the 2008 Valdez Fish Derbies ended Sunday.

CRAIG MEDRED

Outside reporter needs to do homework on bears

Let's not mince words here: Washington Post staff writer Karl Vick is an ursine illiterate.

Field notes

Outdoors highlights of the coming week

Outdoors hot line

Notices and listings of upcoming outdoors events

Valdez is the place to be for silvers

With silver salmon waning on the Deshka and Little Su rivers, anglers might consider a trip to Valdez for Labor Day weekend.

Southcentral fishing forecast

Forum: The Fishing Hole

Photos: Nice Catch

Scenic route

Despite a cold rain and low-hanging clouds that transformed Portage Valley into a gray canvas, we pulled our bikes from the car, piled on our rain gear and pedaled into the mist. We'd come this far to experience one of the newest riding trails to emerge in the past few years, and rain wasn't going to deter us.

Slideshow: Blue ice trail excursion

True Alaska spirit found in creative solutions

At a wilderness lodge across Cook Inlet from Anchorage works a woman who is part of a team that could improve the lives of millions of poor people in Ethiopia.

Area students get taste of fly-fish guiding

Wealthy anglers flying into Bristol Bay fishing lodges to sample its world- renowned trout and salmon fishing are often guided by men and women from the Lower 48 who venture north to work during the summer.

Pioneer Peak hike pays off with views

The gorgeous summit of Pioneer Peak stands about 6,400 feet high, and it's a tough hike. Only experienced hikers and climbers should attempt the summit -- and even they can expect falls along muddy trails and rashes from abundant cow parsnip.

Field notes

Outdoors highlights of the coming week

Outdoors hot line

Notices and listings of upcoming outdoors events

Grizzly hit by SUV on Gambell, shot by police

State wildlife officials say a 700-pound brown bear was seriously injured, then shot dead by Anchorage police, after it darted in front of a vehicle near the Chester Creek greenbelt early Friday morning.

Photos: Reader-submitted bear sightings

Photos: Urban bears

Runt of a halibut nets angler $10,000 in Homer derby

After a summer's worth of missed opportunities, someone finally got it right in the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby, turning $10 into $10,000.

Photos: Nice Catch

Beginner-friendly biking trails curve down Alyeska mountain

At first, it looked as if Warren Rowe and his crew of downhill mountain bike trail builders had accomplished very little. As hiking and biking trails director at Alyeska, Rowe has spent the past five years trying to help grow the sport of downhill mountain biking in his home town.

Video: The new Alyeska bike trail

Bird Creek another option for urban anglers

After a summer of combat fishing along the mud-caked banks of Ship Creek, with Anchorage high-rises as the backdrop, this stream 25 miles south of town offers something different for urban anglers.

Video: Fishing Dude on Bird Creek

Southcentral fishing forecast

Photos: Nice Catch

Grizzly mystery

The sow grizzly shot and killed on suspicion that it mauled at least one person and chased several others in Far North Bicentennial Park this summer was cleared of the most severe attack by genetic testing.

Photos: Urban bears

Photos: Reader-submitted bear sightings

Video: Orphan bear cub

Anchor Point fisherman wins Homer derby

Anchor Point angler John Girton boated an 18.2-pound silver salmon to share the top spot in the Homer Silver Salmon Spitacular with land-based angler Lou Krivitsky, who hauled in a 13-pound fish.

Injured hiker rescued from Mount Marathon

A hiker was rescued from Mount Marathon on Monday afternoon after she fell and injured herself, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Dying wish preserves cranes' pit stop

A dying wish of a Trapper Creek homesteader has preserved a rest stop for sandhill cranes migrating to and from Alaska.

Irish hometown holds service for climber who died in K2 disaster

More than a thousand people gathered in Ger McDonnell's hometown in Ireland for a memorial service for the Anchorage climber who died earlier this month on K2.