Alaskan Alpine Treks Backpacking Trips Overview
Alaskan Alpine Treks offer guided Alaska backpacking trips for individuals and small groups (group sizes are limited to a maximum of 5 participants (or 6 under exceptional circumstances) in various wilderness regions in Alaska. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Katmai National Park and the Kenai peninsula are home to the majority of our Alaska backpacking trips. We also visit the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, and spend some time in the backcountry there. You'll find a lot of information on these pages about each particular trip, below is a simple overview of where we head to.
Visit our ANWR page for a great rafting trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, or browse the exploratory trip for the coming 2010 season, a traverse on the north side of the Wrangell Mountains by Mt. Jarvis; that page should be up shortly. Another trip that is a classic is the Icy Bay sea kayaking - hiking trip; also, look at Tebay/Bremner Trek is a formidable leg of the great Southern Traverse, and the Sanford to Dadina hike across the Sanford Plateau! We're also in the process of putting up a new page that has some of the hikes that we do less frequently, but are great backpacking trips nonetheless. Stay tuned for that page to be up soon.
Many of the backpacking trips in Alaska involve taking a bush plane flight into otherwise inaccessible wilderness, where we spend anywhere from 5-14 days hiking, exploring, backpacking, relaxing and enjoying the best which the backcountry of North America has to offer. We specialize in custom guided trips, catered singularly to the needs of each particular client. This means trip lengths can vary, as well as the degree of difficulty each trip involves, depending on the skills and experience of the participants. Those seeking a more arduous and rigorous hike can be accommodated, as can those adventurers who seek a more relaxing, less strenuous experience.
Remember, the earlier you book, the better the possibility of matching up dates with your schedule. Contact Alaskan Alpine Treks today.
This park is the largest in the nation, and truly one of the great wilderness areas of the world. Larger than Switzerland, and six times larger than Yellowstone, the mountain ranges here are second to none; no other region in the world hosts a convergence of 4 mighty ranges like this, the sheer audacity of these peaks is overwhelming. There still remain valleys in these incredible mountains where man has possibly never yet set foot. Located on the eastern border of Alaska, the park adjoins Kluane National Park in Canada.
- * Bremner Mines Hike: Backpack from Bremner Mines to Allie's Valley in the Chugach Mountains.
- * Chitina River: Moderate to strenuous backpacking trip.
- * Skolai trip: Basecamp or Backpack trip.
- * MacColl Ridge: Easier hiking country on this lonley ridge.
- * Iceberg Lake: Amazing backpack through the Chugach Mountains.
- * Wolverine: Backpack from Skolai Pass, or basecamp at Wolverine. Traverse the Goat Trail.
- * Steamboat Hills: Mild hike, great family backpacking trip.
- * Bremner - Tebay Trip: For the intermediate to experienced hiker.
- * Icy bay sea kayaking/hiking trip: Combination sea kayak and day hike trip.
- * Sanford Plateau: Traverse the high country of the Sanford Plateau.
- * Hidden Creek: A nice hike through the Wrangell Mountains near 16 000' Mt. Blackburn.
- * Nugget Creek to Kennicott: A hardy trek through the Wrangell Mountains, includes crossing the mighty Kennicott Glacier.
Most
of the park is so remote that trips require a bush plane flight to reach
the starting point. Hike down to the infamous 'goat trail' of Chitistone
valley, or backpack along McColl Ridge, a majestic escarpment in the middle
of the park that provides possibly the best all-round view of the region. Take a flight south from McCarthy and explore the area around Iceberg Lake, on the edge
of Bagley Icefield, the largest non-polar icecap in the world. Wrangell-St.
Elias offers incredible terrains, stunning vistas, plentiful wildlife
and some of the most fantastic wilderness backpacking adventures anywhere
in the world. I've written some more detailed notes on the blog about Wrangell - St. Elias National Park. Here are some of the trips we currently run in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve:
Alaskan Alpine Treks offer a SUPER-EXCITING float trip in ANWR, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a 12 day rafting and hiking trip down the Marsh Fork, the Canning and the Staines River, from the Continental Divide to the Arctic Ocean. This is an awesome trip, in a critical environment that may not remain in its relatively untouched state for much longer due to a strong sustained push by the oil industry to open Section 1002, the coastal plain to oil and gas development. Visit our Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Trip page for a look at the Canning River Raft Trip.
For the last few years I've been running a phototour to Skolai Pass, in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve.This year we've already added a Grizzly Bear phototour to Katmai National Park. I aim to add a few more in the near future that I'm also excited about, including a whitetail deer phototour in the Smoky Mountains, TN. Stay tuned!!!
Alaska's playground, and what a fantastic playground it is. Well-maintained trails make this region a favorite with lesser experienced hikers, and those seeking a slightly more 'civilized' backcountry adventure. It's even possible to book early and reserve forest service cabins for your trip. The Kenai is much more accessible than much of Alaska, yet has every bit as much to offer. The lush spruce forests, the rich green mountain sides and the open, high tundra make for fantastic vistas. No rocky moraines, dangerous scree slopes or raging glacial-fed rivers to deal with also make the kenai a relaxing adventure. Very popular, so book early on one of these 2 fun Kenai Peninsula hikes.