Searching for wildness...and a pair of socks

Being in Alaska for a week has forced me to ponder some imponderables. Why do smart wool socks cost $17 a pair? Why does blue sky and glimmer of sunshine mean impending drizzle? What is muskeg? What will happen to me without a blow dryer at the edge of the Tongass National Rainforest? I'll be posting impressions of this great state for the next five weeks, so stay tuned for some answers...