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True’s Alaska Wish Points North

December 18, 2018

True and his family on their custom photography/hiking trip. It was True’s Wish to go to Alaska to take photographs.

High school didn’t unfold exactly the way True envisioned it would. In August of 2017, just before the start of his junioryear, True was diagnosed with Burkitt leukemia and started five months of aggressive treatments.

Hospital stays made True’s passion for photography hard to practice, but he still dreamed of being able to spend time outdoors with his camera someday. 

“Before cancer,” said True,” I was doing photography as a hobby. During treatment, I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my future. That’s when I realized that I love art and photography, and there’s a big industry out there. That’s when I realized I might like to pursue photography as a career.”

When True found out he would receive a wish, he decided to combine his passion for travel and photography and take a trip to Alaska to see the beautiful landscape and take pictures of it. 

While in Alaska, True and his family hiked, fished, met sled dogs, and explored Denali National Park. One day during his trip, True and his family enjoyed a custom, private guided photography and hiking excursion with Traverse Alaska. Professional photographer and Traverse Alaska guide, Mollie Foster, led the family on a full-day adventure, including a hike in the tundra specifically designed for True to be able to take photos. 

True captures a photo of a rainbow during their hike in the tundra.

“It was fun for me as a guide and photographer to have a family that was both interested in Alaska and capturing the outdoors through a photo lens,” said Mollie. 

On that day in Denali, True captured many of Denali’s wonders: moose, tundra, glaciers, stormy skies, and mountains. 

The weather forecast was stormy, but in the end they were able to capture beautiful landscape scenes including storm clouds and rainbows.

“We were living in the moment that day,” said Mollie. “We didn’t talk about True’s condition. We were so immersed in the present, in the hike, in the weather, and the photography, that there was no time to reflect on his health.”

That’s the impact of a wish. It was a chance for True and his family to focus on the future, not the hardships of the past, and to explore True’s dream to be a professional photographer. 

The wish didn’t end when True and his family traveled home from Alaska. 

“It was the best vacation we’d ever had as a family,” said True. “I’m very thankful I got to do it. Now I’m thinking about trying to work in Alaska after college. That’s how much I loved it.” 

With cancer behind him, and the final months of his senior year of high school in front of him, True is excited to study art and photography in college and work his way back to the Alaska tundra someday.

Wishes impact the whole community, not just the wish child. Mollie Foster said, “Taking True and his family out was definitely a highlight of the summer for me.” 

Enjoy some of the highlights of True’s wish as he continues his adventure to become a professional photographer. True’s photos here: http://akwa.wish.org/wishes/wish-stories/wish-to-go/true-alaska

Right now, we could fill seven school buses with the children who are waiting for wishes. That’s about 500 children! Why are these kids waiting? Because we don’t have enough volunteers and financial support to grant their wishes. Can you step up and donate your time or money to help make wishes come true for other kids like True?

Filed Under: Blog

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Traverse Alaska Philosophy

We are dedicated to providing experiences that build meaningful connections with Alaska. Our team works diligently to immerse clients in educational exploration. Each and every adventure is personalized to challenge clients while discovering the last frontier at their own unique pace.

Traverse Alaska

Human Powered Adventure

Phone
(907) 903-0979

Email
info@traversealaska.com

Mailing Address
PO Box 90875 | Anchorage, AK 99509

Testimonials

Andy & Anne – Golden, CO

"On our honeymoon this past July, my wife and I we staying at the Tonglen Lake Lodge (highly recommended) while visiting Denali National Park. After doing and seeing all that Learn More

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Look at all those happy dog faces! One thing is ce Look at all those happy dog faces! One thing is certain—these dogs love to run. Do you want to learn how to run a team of sled dogs with us this spring? Contact us to plan a private and custom trip—specifically designed for you—this spring in the Denali area.
🐕: @squidacreskennel 
📸: @molliefostermedia 
#traversealaska #findyourwildlife
Early summer. The landscape transforms overnight Early summer. 
The landscape transforms overnight to a vibrant green hue, colorful wildflowers emerge from the tundra, and the rays of sunlight shine all night long. 
Would you like to join us this year?
#traversealaska #FindYourWildLife
We’ve been lucky enough to view a lynx numerous We’ve been lucky enough to view a lynx numerous times this winter in the Denali area. Any guesses as to why we’re seeing the elusive lynx more often lately?
📸 @denalinps
“I think of two landscapes: one outside the self “I think of two landscapes: one outside the self, the other within. 
•
The external landscape is the one we see-not only the line and color of the land and its shading at different times of the day, but also its plants and animals in season, its weather, its geology… Perhaps a black-throated sparrow lands in a paloverde bush… the smell of the creosote bush….all elements of the land, and what I mean by “the landscape.”
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The second landscape I think of is an interior one, a kind of projection within a person of a part of the exterior landscape. Relationships in the exterior landscape include those that are named and discernible, such as the nitrogen cycle, or a vertical sequence of Ordovician limestone, and others that are uncodified or ineffable, such as winter light falling on a particular kind of granite, or the effect of humidity on the frequency of a blackpoll warbler’s burst of song….
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The shape and character of these relationships in a person’s thinking, I believe, are deeply influenced by where on this earth one goes, what one touches, the patterns one observes in nature- the intricate history of one’s life in the land, even a life in the city, where wind, the chirp of birds, the line of a falling leaf, are known. These thoughts are arranged, further, according to the thread of one’s moral, intellectual, and spiritual development. 
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The interior landscape responds to the character and subtlety of an exterior landscape; the shape of the individual mind is affected by land as it is by genes."
― Barry López, “Crossing Open Ground”
📸 @molliefostermedia
2020 Highlights: Getting outside safely with trave 2020 Highlights: Getting outside safely with travelers.
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This year was different in so many ways, however safety has always—and continues to be—a top priority for us. Whether exploring in the backcountry for multiple days, or front-country day hikes, or driving on a main highway, safety is always on our minds.
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In 2020 we did not guide as many people as a typical year of course, however we made adjustments such as people driving their own private group in a separate car, and keeping at least 6 feet distance when outside. We’ll see what the next year brings, but whatever it is, safety is always on our minds.
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This photo was captured pre-covid. Although in winter with buffs and face coverings to stay warm, we were following covid protocol before it was a thing! 
#2020highlights
We have so much fun hiking and learning with activ We have so much fun hiking and learning with active families! Photo from a Private, Custom Full-Day Adventure on the tundra in the Denali area. We spent the day hiking, learning about the flora and fauna, and even stumbled upon a caribou shed along our hike away from crowds and maintained trails. Contact us to customize a private trip for you and your loved ones next year!
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