Melissa DeVaughn is a freelance writer for outdoor publications, including Backpacker and Alaska and other magazines. She also is on the outdoors staff at the state's largest daily newspaper, the Anchorage Daily News. When not writing about travel and outdoor recreation, DeVaughn can be found hiking, mountain biking, and mushing with her eight dogs in the Alaskan wilderness. She lives in Eagle River with her husband and two children.