Does anyone know of a place other than REI that rents gear out of anchorage. I am hoping to rent 4 lawn chairs, med. cooler, good axe, tarps for rain. I have spoken to REI and they don't rent this stuff. I would need it for 3 weeks. I really don't want to purchase these to have to leave them behind when we fly home. Thanks
Simply UPS Ground your stuff to your destination or a UPS Store in Anchorage and pick it up when you arrive. When you finished UPS it back home. We do this when we fly to California from Florida with our gear that doesent need to be "inspected" by the TSA on the way out or back. I understand that they dont like to see a hatchet or ax in baggage, and it wont fit in a 6 oz plastic bag anyway.
Lawn chairs: Buy some cheapies at Fred Meyer, WalMart, or Costco. If they survive your trip, drop them off at a thrift shop on your way out of town.
Cooler: Bring one from home, and pack you clothes etc. in it for the trip up. With all the fishing going on, hardside coolers and plastic totes are more common at Anchorage airport than hardside Samsonites!
Good axe: You might want to rethink this one. I'm presuming from your list that you'll be car camping. Campgrounds will be picked pretty clean of downed kindling, and they don't take kindly to people chopping down their trees. Remember, it doesn't get dark up here in the summer, so a campfire doesn't have the same dramatic effect you get further south where it actually provides light as well. Just plan on buying a few precut bundles of firewood instead. FWIW, to get descent firewood up here, most people use a chain saw and log splitter, and then dry it for several months before trying to burn it. You can check one in your luggage (if you're space constrained, consider bringing the axe blade up from home, and then buying a handle up here). Don't worry about TSA freaking out about it--they routinely see far weirder stuff (trophy animal heads, etc.), and lots of hunters check their firearms.
Tarps: We've got blue tarps EVERYWHERE up here--just look behind pretty much any house, and you'll see a woodpile or old vehicle covered in one! In other words, you can easily get them cheaply in just about any size you want.
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