Spring Bird Festivals
It’s a sure sign of spring in coastal Alaska, the arrival of migrating shorebirds that flock so thickly they sometimes look like clouds. Several communities welcome the birds and visitors who want to see them and learn about them, and its a great chance to get out on the water early in the season and forget winter. On the next Outdoor Explorer, we’ll be talking about the spring migrations and the shorebird festivals coming up in the next week weeks.
KSKA: Thursday 4/18 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm 
Denali Climbing Season Begins
Nordic Combined: A Developing Alaskan Sport
At the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, the U.S. went from no medals ever in the sport of nordic combined to a gold and three silvers, more than any other country. Now there’s a push on to keep performing in this combination of jumping and distance skiing, and Anchorage is a key to the effort. On the next Outdoor Explorer, host Charles Wohlforth will be joined by a national team skier and coach, in town to build the athlete pipeline.
KSKA: Thursday 4/18 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Summer Camp Planning for Kids
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The fondest dream of many parents is for our children to love the outdoors as much as we do. Summer is the time for that to happen, but how do you get them off the couch and outside when you’re away at work? On this edition of Outdoor Explorer, the topic is outdoors summer camps. We’ll talk about camp options, and also how to make sure it’s a positive and inspiring experience, even for shy indoor kids.What do you look for in a camp for your kids?
KSKA: Thusday 5/2 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm 
Pack Rafting
A pack raft is a raft you can fit in a pack, and it opens up Alaska in a way that few other inventions ever have done. For skilled paddlers, the raft eliminates the barriers presented by rivers, lakes and even bays when crossing country. But there’s a lot to learn to be safe. We hear from a famous trekker and pack raft pioneer, and a business owner who teaches pack rafting.
KSKA: Thursday 5/9 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
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Fishing Forecast
Fishing season is approaching. We’ll find out what to expect in this year’s salmon runs. Last year was dreadful for kings, poor for silvers, and red hot for reds across Upper Cook Inlet. Do we know why? Will we see a repeat? And how do these predictions get made.
KSKA: 5/16 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
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Memorial Day Clamming
Memorial Day is upon us, and with it, huge minus tides in lower Cook Inlet. Excellent clam tides are hitting at the same time as the starting weekend of the summer season. But razor clams have been scarce of late. We’ll have a researcher trying to find out why, as well talking about how to pursue razors, and going after steamers and butters, too. Biology, food safety, digging, camping, cooking. You'll even hear some secret recipes on the next Outdoor Explorer.
KSKA: Thursday, 5/23 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
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Sea Kayaking
On the next Outdoor Explorer we’re talking about sea kayaking in Prince William Sound. It’s a short drive from Anchorage, and it’s one of the most famous places to paddle on Earth. Many of us have great memories of paddling trips in the Sound. Others would probably like to try it but aren’t sure how to go about it, to be safe, and to break away on your own. Join us to share the feeling of silence in a quiet cove in the sound, and the practicalities of how to get there.
KSKA: Thursday, 5/30, 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
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Weekend Pilots
Imagine getting up on Saturday morning, hopping in your plane, and going anywhere in Alaska. It’s the ultimate way of getting outdoors in a huge wilderness with unlimited opportunities. We’ll be talking with weekend pilots about their expensive and challenging hobby, and what makes it worthwhile. What would you like to know about learning to fly, or even owning your own plane? Where would you go if the sky was the limit?
KSKA: Thursday, 6/13, at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
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Glacier Trekking
A huge proportion of Alaska is covered with ice. A lot more than has towns and cities or anything man made on it. That’s a lot of country to explore, and its truly beautiful, like another world. On the next Outdoor Explorer the topic is glacier travel. We’ll be talking with a guide who takes newbies on glacier treks, a photographer who specializes in glacier journeys, and a glaciologist who goes to work on glaciers, and knows how they’re made.
KSKA: Thursday 6/20 at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
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Mount Marathon
During the 2012 Mount Marathon race, two runners were terribly injured and one disappeared, never to be found. Organizers hope this year’s race is safer, without losing its adventurous edge. On the next Outdoor Explorer, we’ll talk about the new rules, and about the joy of mountain running and competition with two of the best in Alaska, plus a race organizer. Also new for this week's show, host Charles Wohlforth is in Homer, at KBBI.
KSKA: Thursday 6/27 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
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Fireweed 400
Close to the middle of nowhere, on the Glenn Highway at Sheep Mountain Lodge, 750 cyclists will take off for a race to Valdez, 200 miles away, an amazing highway ride, largely downhill, across some of Alaska's most beautiful country. And then the most competitive among them will turn around and ride back up the mountains another 200 miles to the starting point. We're focusing on the Fireweed 400, a unique, inspiring and fun summer event for the best cyclists and for a bunch off ordinary mortals who just want to challenge themselves.
KSKA: Thursday 7/11 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
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Dip Netting
Mid-July is time for reds to rush into Cook Inlet and up the Kenai River. And at the river’s mouth, to navigate their way past a phalanx of nets held out in the current on long poles. We're talking about dipnetting the Kenai, the kind of fishing that makes you feel like a grizzly bear, snatching the salmon out of the river by skill and chance.
KSKA: Thursday, July 18, 2pm and 9pm
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Hiking the Chugach
This week's show puts together four guys who love hiking these trails and know them well, an author, two trail managers and your host. We'll talk about our favorite hikes while we put together a trail guide on the air.
KSKA: Thursday 7/25 2:00 pm and 9:00 pm
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Sailing
When you think of sailing, maybe you think of multi-million-dollar America’s cup yachts, or rich guys in blue blazers sipping cocktails. But Alaskans sail, too, and we do it the Alaskan way, out in beautiful places where getting around by the power of the wind is fun, interesting, and makes a lot of sense. Our topic is sailing, from ocean cruising to lake sailing, and even sailing with radio controlled model boats in local ponds.
KSKA: Thursday 8/1 at 2:00 pm and 9:00 pm
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Fish Camp
On the next Outdoor Explorer, our topic is fish camp. Native Alaskans all over the state go to riverside fish camps for the summer to harvest salmon, and as part of an ancient way of life. And a lot of commercial fishermen have fish camps at setnet sites, where they catch the fish going by, they make a little bit of money and to live and sustain themselves in wild places.
KSKA: Thursday 8/8 at 2:00 pm and 9:00 pm.
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Off The Grid Life
A cabin off the grid is a private place in the wilderness where the noisy world is far away and the soul of Alaska close at hand. On the next Outdoor Explorer, our host comes to you from his own off-the-grid cabin on Kachemak Bay. Guest Donna Massay will join us from the Trapper Creek area. And we’ll learn about the power, water and communication technology that makes off the grid life easier to do these days.
KSKA: Thursday 8/15, at 2:00 and 9:00 pm
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Berry Picking
Duck Hunting
Duck hunting season begins September 1, a day that kicks off an outdoor tradition like no other. We’ll have guests who are getting ready for opening day with all the trappings of the sport, talk about hunting memories and traditions, and touch on conservation issues and changes in the land and the sport.
KSKA: Thursday 8/29 at 2:00 pm and 9:00 pm
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Gold Mining
It’s a fair bet that the stampeders who flowed north during the Klondike Gold Rush never thought of mining as recreational, but the hunt for gold is something people do for fun, as well as profit. We’ll find out how and why modern recreational miners persist in sifting Alaska’s streams with pans and other obsolete equipment, going after glittering flakes of gold, and hoping for something much richer. It's a hobby that gets them outdoors, and it's a treasure hunt.
KSKA: Thursday 9/5 at 2:00 pm and 9:00 pm
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