CWF
I hate DEET. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />You can't be covered with the stuff on a long trip. You have to keep the bugs at bay without chemicals. Bicycling to Alaska is gonna be a LONG trip. I've seen people abandon trips because of mosquitoes. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

As far as getting wet - I have used a particular tent in extreme weather, been buried in a snow drift with another person, and everything in the tent was bone dry. I've loaned the same tent to 2 buddies and pitched my other tent next to them. I was completely dry - they were both VERY wet. Go figure? Its not just the equipment. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Jim likes to be warm and dry and well fed when he camps. Its easy to underestimate how wet Alaska can be. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />
Jim <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
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These are my own opinions based on wisdom earned through many wrong decisions. Your mileage may vary.