On the right track: UAF freshmen experience Alaska by train

For some incoming University of Alaska Fairbanks freshmen, their first trip off campus was a ride through Alaska’s wilderness. For others, it was their first time on a train.

Emerging Scholars students, Misti Hopkins’ son Andrew Hopkins, his friend Eli Sapp and an Alaska Railroad employee pose for a photo in the open-air observation car on the way to Fairbanks.

Twenty-one students in UAF’s Emerging Scholars program traveled to Denali National Park on Aug. 14, where they hiked near the Savage River and watched a dog mushing demonstration before boarding the Alaska Railroad for a four-hour trip back to Fairbanks.

Lead Advisor for Student Support Services Misti Hopkins said the trip was an opportunity for students to experience Alaska and get to know one another. “Many students come to UAF and they don’t leave campus too much,” Hopkins said. “We want them to see all the beauty around them and try things they’ve never done before.”

The day began at 7:30 a.m., when a charter bus picked up the students at the Wood Center. After receiving lunches and snacks, some students slept during the roughly two-hour drive to Denali.

Once at the park, everyone boarded another bus for a 45-minute ride to the Savage River, where they spent about an hour hiking. They then had the option of exploring the park’s visitor center and gift shop or watching a dog mushing demonstration before heading to the train depot. The group boarded the Alaska Railroad’s GoldStar Service shortly after 4 p.m.

GoldStar passengers have access to an open-air observation car, where students could feel the wind and watch the landscape along the route to Fairbanks. Dinner and drinks were also provided during the four-hour journey.

A charter bus picks up Emerging Scholars students at the Wood Center Bus Stop before their trip to Denali National Park on Aug. 14.

For Shia Boggess, the trip offered something completely new: a first ride on a train.  “This is so fucking sick!” Boggess said. “This is my first time on a train, just feeling the wind.”

Laerah Barker said she enjoyed the wind in her hair, the sun on her face and the rocking motion in the observation car. 

Jazmin Frias said the train’s rocking motion made her feel dizzy and she found it difficult to walk. However, she still enjoyed the ride. 

The train wound through the Nenana River Gorge toward Healy, with the river visible below and the Parks Highway on the opposite side of the gorge. As the train left the mountains behind, the landscape flattened into stretches of tundra and trees. A tour guide pointed out an osprey nest, drawing students’ attention to the wildlife along the route.

Downstairs, the car featured glass murals and pots of plastic flowers.

Keira Wolff, who previously lived in Japan, compared the GoldStar Service with trains she had ridden in Japan and South Korea.

Students look out at the Nenana River Gorge near Healy from the Alaska Railroad’s observation car.

“I’ve been on the Japanese bullet train four times to and from Mt. Fuji, the Korean train a couple times and the Japanese everyday train countless,” Wolff said.  “This is the bougiest that I’ve been on.”

Dinner was served during the trip, with options including Alaska Smoked Salmon Alfredo and slow-braised pot roast with mashed potatoes.

Frias chose the pot roast.

“It was really filling. Mashed potatoes are the best,” Frias said.

Jerrick Edwardsen wasn’t as impressed with the meal, though he said the chicken was better than expected.
“The scenery is nice. At first, right outside of Denali, it was good, but now it’s just trees,” Edwardsen said.

Students feel the wind in the open-air observation car as the Alaska Railroad travels from Denali to Fairbanks on Aug. 14.

The trip was funded through a federal TRIO grant that supports UAF’s Emerging Scholars program. The program serves up to 30 incoming students each year who are first-generation college students, come from low-income backgrounds or have a documented disability, Hopkins said. 

Students in the program arrive early to campus to prepare for college and remain together as a cohort throughout the academic year. The program also provides academic courses and other opportunities designed to help students adjust to university life.

For Ast Evans, the trip offered a chance to settle into the Emerging Scholars cohort. 

“It helps me to have a smaller group to integrate with first,” Evans said. “I really wasn’t expecting this to be so much fun.”