Shane,
I don't know dick about hunting Alaska so I'll not comment there... I have owned both a Marlin 45/70 GG and a .358 BLR. Both were good guns.
For what you say you want to hunt, if you stick with the lever-gun idea, I'd instead go with a BLR in .325 WSM. 22" barrel, light and handy, get the pistol-grip version IMHO. Anyway I have one of those too. Load that bad boy with 200-gn TSX's and have a very versatile setup. Can't speak to it's durabilty/reliability in AK but my Marlins and BLR's have always been reliable guns in general.
Reading between the lines here are you wanting the lever for it's firepower as a defensive "camp gun"? I can dig that; not saying it makes sense ( the AK guys will know better) but when I bought my 45/70 GG I was hoping to do a canoe or raft float with my family in AK and the idea was that the 45/70 would be a great camp gun.
Reason being, a bolt gun makes more sense IMHO as a hunting gun, generally speaking. Perhaps even as a camp gun.
