Alaskan Alpine Treks
Alaskan Alpine Treks is a backpacking guide service, offering backpacking and hiking trips into the remote wilderness of Alaska. Our adventure travel trips take us to some of the most spectacular regions in North America; in Alaska, we visit Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Gates of the Arctic National Park, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Katmai National Park and Preserve and the Kenai Peninsula.
Our trips are backcountry backpacking and hiking excursions, with no 'technical climbing' involved. Years of experience guiding means we provide a fantastic service to backpackers and hikers of all levels. Beginners are definitely welcome, and our backpacking trips are typically tailored to suit clients needs. From a lazy couple of days basecamping and hiking and exploring the surrounding region to more strenuous hikes backpacking over rugged and remote terrain, we cover just about everything you could want to experience. Most of our trips involve bush plane flights into areas otherwise inaccessible. We make every effort to keep group numbers small, and provide trip participants with the best possible adventure. For your security and peace of mind, Alaskan Alpine Treks is a licensed business with the Alaska Department of Community and Business Development. This site is also a secure site, so rest assured that any and all information you provide here is strictly confidential and all details are secure.
Alaska:
The name alone conjurs images of the wild frontier, of adventure, excitement,
majestic mountain ranges, diverse and abundant wildlife and incredible
wilderness. The beauty of the state is its wide open landscapes, the
alpine terrains that are found high above treeline, surrounded by
snow-capped mountains, flowing streams and deep, glacial
valleys. Without question it is that simple wilderness, so extraordinarily
rare in our modern world, which lures the bulk of Alaska's visitors.
A backcountry excursion is simply the best way to see Alaska, to experience
it's unique wilderness, the expansive treeless tundra , the glorious mountains
and ancient glaciers. Backpacking in this wilderness is a singularly
Alaskan experience: take a bush plane flight deep into the remote
backcountry, and spend a week hiking, watching for wildlife, discovering
glaciers and exploring.
Your Guide:
As
the guide of these expeditions, my goal is to provide a service that
offers a safe, enjoyable and rewarding experience. My extensive experience guiding in
the outdoors reaches from the peaks of the North American Rockies
to the desert outback of the Australian bush; the Andes mountains and rivers of Central Patagonia in Southern America to the arctic coast in the north. I've done solo
treks through some of the most remote wilderness in
North America, photographing and exploring along the way, and have the skills and experience to safely lead even
novice hikers.
Having explored these regions extensively, my knowledge of the terrain, the ecology, history, geography and biology of the area promises clients a fascinating adventure. As both a guide and a photographer, I work hard to ensure your trip is as rewarding as it is memorable. My knowledge of the possible hazards that may be encountered and how to appropriately deal with them is paramount to a successful adventure. Similarily, knowing how to fully realize the splendors of the area is necessary for participants to get the very best out of their trip. The small group maximum of 5 people helps maintain an intimate yet social feel to the trip, and allows for increased logisitcal flexibility. This allows us to better accommodate the personal attentions of each client.
Safety is, of course, paramount. I am a fully trained and qualified Wilderness First Responder, certified through the Wilderness Medical Training Center. I carry a full First Aid and a Basic Life Support kit and also a satellite phone for emergencies. I also carry 2-way radios on the trip so we can keep in touch if hikers choose to do their own thing along the way. I choose routes for guided backpacking trips that don't involve anything too technical or dangerous, and I work hard to ensure our route is the safest possible. Having an evacuation plan is an essential element of trip safety, and I always go through a full safety talk at the beginning of each trip with the guests - prevention is the best First Aid tool we have. I'm not afraid to say 'no', and to turn back if need be. My experience as a wildlife photographer gives me helpful knowledge about animal behavior, which is important traveling through bear habitat.
I'm a passionate lover of the outdoors and the wild and spend a good deal of time every year in the backcountry, spring, summer, fall and winter. A reverance for what is wild, for the primordial, is embedded in the way I see the world; probably, I suppose, from my early years growing up in the bush in Australia. I came to the US after college where I spent years hiking the Southern Appalachian mountains while pursing my other life as a professional musician in Atlanta, GA. After my first trip to Alaska in the mid-90s I was hooked, and I've spent months here each year ever since - I finally made the move and have been living in Alaska full-time now for several years. It's awesome.
My love of the natural world is what brings me offer this guiding service; I draw inspiration as a photographer and artist from the wilderness, and find a wealth of wisdom available to those who look for it in the natural world. My photography has been bought and published by magazines and textbooks across the US and abroad, from Backpacker magazine to National Geographic Maps, sold for commercial and political advertising campaigns, as well as fine art prints. Years photographing nature has taught me a deeper patience and observation attention that I used to engage, and I enjoy sharing what that brings to each trip.
Working as a backcountry in Alaska is one of the most positive experiences I've had and I enjoy it immensely. That being the case, I assure you I will do everything possible to ensure your trip is a fantastic one. The high number of folks who've returned for 2nd and 3rd (even 6th) trips is illustrates how well-received those efforts generally are.
Providing trip participants with a safe, enjoyable and exciting backpacking trip is important to me. What I strive for is to be as fluid as possible with the trip, and allow folks to make the decisions whenever possible - determing our pace, where we camp, and so on. I'll provide input and advice where possible, and when necessary, but on the whole, I think it's important that you and your group get the trip and the backpacking adventure that you would like - it's your experience, after all.
As
ardent lovers of the outdoors, we make every effort to be good and caring stewards of the
wilderness through which we trek. Leave No Trace guidelines are closely
adhered, ensuring that those who follow are also able to witness the
region's pristine beauty. We also donate 5% of all profits towards
one of the following ecological conservation agencies: The
Nature Conservancy, the Dogwood
Alliance, GreenPeace,
Friends of the Earth
or the Alaska Conservation
Foundation. Our singular goal is to present an experience that
will, above all else, provide you with a sense of the majesty and
beauty that is only found deep within North America's greatest resource,
its wilderness.
-- Carl Donohue.