Welcome aboard - we can mislead you with the best of them!

Heather AK should be able to give you lots of good info about backpacking in Alaska (because, you know, Alaska isn't all that large, so if you've backpacked in one part it's probably pretty much like all the other parts...)

One of your earliest decisions will be the general type of gear you'll want to acquire (assuming you're starting from zero.) Generally, your choice will be "traditional (aka heavyweight)," "lightweight," or "ultralight." There is no objectively right answer to this question; in the end, it depends on your own preferences, including what kind of food you like; whether you hike in order to camp, or camp in order to hike; etc. The one thing it DOESN'T mean is taking the wrong gear for the conditions just to save weight.

Any time you go out, you'll want to take whatever gear is necessary to stay warm, dry, adequately fed, and hydrated under the worst conditions you reasonably might encounter on that trip. Once you figure that out, you can go for the light version of whatever items make sure that happens.

So, start asking away!