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 easily 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 experience in the outdoors reaches from the peaks of the North American Rockies to the desert outback of the Australian bush to the Andes mountains of Central Patagonia in Southern America. 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 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 trained and qualified Wilderness First Responder, certified through the Wilderness Medical Training Center. I carry a full First Aid and 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.

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, 2007.   

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