As a travel writer, I sometimes feel like a real-life Walter Mitty. The highlight of my career, so far, has been sailing on the first cruise ship crossing of the fabled Northwest Passage. Highlights of that 32-day voyage include watching polar bears in the wild, soaring over the tundra in a helicopter, ice camping in Greenland, and last but not least, getting an Arc’teryx Atom Insulated Hoodie.
I’m not joking. I’ve had this jacket since 2016, and it’s still going strong some 30-plus countries later. The cruise company gifted it to me since I was working for them, which is important to note since I never thought I’d be able to afford Arc’teryx. It’s not a cheap brand, but based on my experience with this one piece alone, it might be one of the best insulated jackets out there and is worth every penny. However, right now, you can be lucky enough to grab it for as little as $196 at Amazon and $210 at REI, if you can find your size.
Arc’teryx Women’s Atom Insulated Hoodie
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REI
Coming in at just 10.9 ounces and compressing down to be smaller than my beloved Cabeau travel pillow, the Arc’teryx Atom Insulated Hoodie is one of the most packable jackets on the market. I don’t even feel it when I’m wearing it around my waist. Despite how lightweight it is, it’s also incredibly warm thanks to the brand’s “Coreloft” insulation. Not only did it keep me cozy while I tent camped on the world’s second-largest ice cap in Greenland seven years ago, but one January it was also my second skin on a 12-day trip to Antarctica.
Katie Jackson
The Arc’teryx Atom Insulated Hoodie has also kept me dry. The Atom Insulated Hoodie has the brand’s Tyono 20-denier nylon shell treated with a durable water repellent, and I’ve noticed that it sheds water much better than my other go-to puffer (albeit I got that one at Amazon for a fraction of the price, so I don’t expect it to perform as well.) For my fingers and my valuables, it has two hand pockets with hidden zippers and a generous internal zippered chest pocket. My favorite feature, however, is the hood. It’s spacious, adjustable, and has a handy brim, which keeps snowflakes out of my eyes.
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Meanwhile my friend Kean Christensen, an adventure photographer also based in Montana, is obsessed with the stretchy side panels. “The ability to have full range of motion while staying warm is the reason I chose the Atom Hoodie,” he recently told me. “Money well spent!” He’s had his jacket (it’s also available in Men’s) for years and wears it as a mid-layer, under a ski shell, and as a top layer.
Arc’teryx Men’s Atom Insulated Hoodie
REI
You can score my favorite packable puffer at Amazon in black or lavender for as little as $196; you can also get it at REI in four different colorways starting at $120. The jacket is offered in women’s sizes XXS to XXL (but sizes are limited at Amazon and REI). At Arc’teryx, where I prefer to shop because there are more size options, it’s priced at $300 and comes in versatile black — and all sizes from XXS to XXL are in stock.
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Katie Jackson
Of course, my Arc’teryx Atom Insulated Hoodie will always be the alpha since I’ve had it the longest, and it’s served me so well. But don’t just take my word for it. Online, it has more than 360 five-star reviews and nearly 90 percent of shoppers say they’d buy it again. “Both my wife and I are on our second Atom jackets,” wrote one shopper who left a five-star rating. “The first ones are still going after more than 10 years, but showing their age, so we decided it was time to get new ones. We wear them almost daily for 6 months of the year and in almost all scenarios outside of torrential downpours.”
Another satisfied shopper who promises it will be “your most worn jacket” wrote, “it’s sleek enough to dress up and go out to dinner in.” I can’t agree more. I pack light, so I don’t usually bring both a dress jacket and a warm jacket. Yesterday, I wore my Atom Hoodie while hiking in Montana’s Paradise Valley before sporting it a few hours later at Sky Shed, the trendy rooftop bar at The Kimpton Armory Hotel Bozeman.
Of course, many shoppers mention taking it on trips, too. One who said it works well in fall, winter, and spring has sported it in downtown Chicago, in the mountains of Colorado, and on a road trip across California. Another shopper who got theirs for a February trip to the Pacific Northwest wrote, “This jacket is light, breathable and amazingly warm. I am curvy and it contours nicely.” I also read a review left by someone who wears theirs in airports!
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I can’t tell you if your next flight will leave on time or if your luggage will make it to your final destination. But if you’re looking for an incredibly warm, lightweight jacket that will last for years (despite all the wear and tear of traveling), I can tell you not to sleep on the Arc’teryx Atom Insulated Hoodie. And if you like the idea of a packable puffer, but want something more affordable, see below for a few options, all under $60.
Shop More Packable Puffer Jackets at Amazon:
The North Face Flare Down Insulated Puffer Jacket II
Amazon
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Wantdo Hooded Packable Ultra Lightweight Down Jacket
The first Jesuit missionaries in Alaska sailed up the Yukon River in 1887. By the turn of the 20th century, the religious order of the Catholic Church had as many as 50 Jesuits in the state.
Now, only two remain. And by the end of June, there will be none.
The Jesuits’ nearly 140 years in the state was honored at an event at Bethel’s Immaculate Conception Church on June 16. A procession of priests wearing long white gowns with red hems walked down the aisle to open the event. The Bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks, Stephen Maekawa, thumped the ground with a shimmering silver staff known as a clozier as he approached the altar.
Bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks, Steven Maekawa, walks toward the altar at the Immaculate Conception Church in Bethel.
“My brothers and sisters, we gather together to celebrate this wonderful and blessed occasion to acknowledge the love of God and the work of God through the 139 year mission of the Society of Jesus of the Jesuit fathers,” Maekawa said to open the event.
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A traditional Catholic mass followed, with readings in both English and Yup’ik. During the sermon, Maekawa acknowledged the vastness of the Fairbanks diocese, and the tremendous amount of work done by the Jesuits to establish it.
“All of the 46 churches of the Diocese of Fairbanks that we currently have were established by either the Jesuit fathers or by direction of a Jesuit bishop,” Maekawa said. “We have a long history of the Society of Jesus’ presence and ministry here in all of Alaska.”
The Jesuits are an order within the Catholic Church, akin to the Dominicans or Franciscans. They have a reputation for taking on some of the Catholic Church’s most remote assignments.
That missionary spirit brought the Jesuits to the Yukon River in 1887, where they built churches, schools, and ministries. Without their work, Catholicism may not have taken root in huge swaths of Alaska, particularly among Alaska Native communities.
The Immaculate Conception Church in Bethel.
But the Jesuits leave a complicated legacy. Their methods of converting Native people to the religion, particularly in the first half of the 20th century, created generational traumas still felt to this day.
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Fr. Sean Carroll is the provincial of the Jesuits West Province, which oversees Alaska and nine other states.
Fr. Sean Carroll, provincial of the Jesuits West Province, speaks at an event recognizing nearly 140 years of Jesuit service in Alaska.
“Thank you for all that you have taught us about who Jesus is and how to love and serve Him wholeheartedly,” Carroll said. “I also thank you for your patience with us. For there have been times when we have sinned and when we have hurt you.”
Missionaries, including the Jesuits, forcefully converted and assimilated Alaska Native people into Western culture and religion. Students at Jesuit-run boarding schools were forced to abandon their Native languages and physically punished when caught speaking languages other than English. Native dancing and drumming were also banned.
The Jesuits West Province maintains a list of 150 Jesuits with credible claims of sexual abuse against minors or vulnerable adults. A quarter of the accused Jesuits served in Alaska at some point in time.
“I ask for your forgiveness for all that we have done that was not rooted in Christ and love for Him, and for when we did not value your culture nor recognize the presence of God in you,” Carroll said.
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Carroll gave the order to withdraw from the state last spring. A big issue was the recruitment of Jesuits willing to travel and serve in remote villages. He told the congregation that the Jesuits’ work would continue, just without a permanent presence.
Fr. Rich Magner, one of the two remaining Jesuit priests in Alaska, attends a ceremony in Bethel.
Fr. Rich Magner is one of the two remaining Jesuit priests in Alaska. His last day serving Chevak, Hooper Bay, and Scammon Bay is June 30.
“We all always knew coming in, or should have known, that we’re not going to be here forever. It’s going to be mission accomplished at some point,” Magner said. “And then we hand it off to the diocese that we’ve helped create, and so that’s a good feeling.”
Magner’s next stop is a Clinical Pastoral Education residency in Tacoma, Washington.
The other remaining priest, Fr. Tom Provinsal, first came to Alaska in 1968 to teach. A fond memory, he said, was meeting Elders that practiced traditional subsistence lifestyles.
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“Some of the grandmothers, their fingers were just all bent with arthritis and stuff like that, you know, their whole lives they’ve been working out in the cold and the wet, doing food, sewing, all that kind of stuff,” Provinsal said. “I’d say I just feel very privileged to have come when I did come and to see that.”
Provinsal returned in 1975 as a priest and has served in the region ever since. After moving away, he plans to take a five month sabbatical. What happens next, he said, is in God’s hands.
Two lines formed in the aisle for communion at the end of the mass. After taking communion, Bethel’s Parish Administrator Susan Murphy gave a final thank you.
“It’s difficult to say goodbye to people who have been a part of our lives for so long,” Murphy said. “We know that you have done what was yours to do, and have taught us to do what is ours to do. We are grateful.”
Jesuit priests form a row along the altar of Bethel’s Immaculate Conception Church as members of the congregation lift their arms and pray.
Dominic Hunt, a Yup’ik deacon that flew in from Emmonak for the event, led the congregation through a final prayer.
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“Bless them with your wisdom, that they may be a word of hope, a world in need. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen,” Hunt said.
About 70 people posed for a photo on the altar – priests, deacons, parishioners, Elders and children — many of them smiling, some standing quietly.
The photo doesn’t tell the whole story. But it’s a moment when gratitude, grief, and memory all shared the same room.
Bishop of the Diocese of Fairbanks, Steven Maekawa, stands in the middle of a crowd waiting to take a photo at Bethel’s Immaculate Conception Church.
JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – The Supreme Court of Alaska will be taking up the case of the State of Alaska, Division of Elections v. Daniel J. Sullivan, Jr.
The oral arguments will be held Monday at 10 a.m. via Zoom, according to an order and opening notice.
The document also specifies that a decision is expected to be made before noon on Tuesday.
According to documents from the Division of Elections, the state must start printing ballots at noon on the same day.
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This comes after an Anchorage Superior Court Judge ordered Dan J. Sullivan on to the ballot Friday.
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