Guided Alaska backpacking trips
The experience of a backpacking trip into the backcountry of Alaska is an unforgettable adventure; the soaring, jagged peaks, the primordial feel of a true wilderness, its rolling tundra, teeming wildlife and majestic terrains. We guide small, customized backpacking trips into remote Alaska, where our knowledge and experience allow us to provide clients with an unparalleled adventure. We offer guided backpacking, hiking, camping and nature photography trips in Alaska, specifically Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Kenai Peninsula. Browse our website and find the trip that's right for you. We can also provide custom backpacking trips for you and your group, so feel free to contact us and discuss making arrangements.
We offer a diversity of adventures, from the perfect family basecamping vacation, to more adventurous rugged backpacking trips in the heart of Wrangell - St. Elias National Park. Regardless of your skill and experience, what kind of trip you seek, from basecamping and dayhiking, to more strenuous remote backpacking, to glacial traverses, to rafting, photography trips and more, we're absolutely positive that we can accommodate you. Here are a few reasons why:
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Flexibility 5 day to 2 weeks trip options, basecamping to backpacking. Trips for the novice to the experienced backpacker. -
Small Groups: Maximum number of participants on trips is 5. -
Complete Tours: Door to door service! We pick you up in Anchorage, drive to the Park, and provide 2 nights accomodations. No hassling with rental cars or shuttles, plus a great night's sleep before AND after your backpacking trip. -
Alaska wide: Though concentrating in the Wrangell - St. Elias National Park area, Alaskan Alpine Treks run trips throughout the state, from the Kenai Peninsula in the south to the arctic coastal plains in the north. -
Owner-Operated: Alaskan Alpine Treks is an owner-operated business. You won't be backpacking with an intern or other inexperienced guide who doesn't know the area. Experience counts in the backcountry, and owner Carl Donohue, Wilderness First Responder certified, has spent an inordinate number of years exploring, backpacking and photographing the backcountry of Alaska.
Campsite near Iceberg lake, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Selected Trips:
1) The Bremner Mines to Tebay Trip is a 14 day backpacking adventure for the hardy soul. We're the only operator to guide this trip, and the route rarely sees anyone else. This backpacking trip is great for intermediate to experienced hikers.
2) Another backcountry photo tour to Skolai Pass, in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park. 6 nights in the backcountry, basecamping and hiking in some of the most spectacular mountain country in North America. Photography is the primary aim of this trip, and we concentrate on catching the great light of the Alaskan summer, shooting incredible scenery at the peak of the wildflower bloom.
3) Upper Sanford to Dadina River Trip One of the few commercial trips available on the rarely visited north side of Wrangell St. Elias National Park, this one passes through some absolutely SPECTACULAR country in the heart of the Wrangell Mountains. Few people have hiked in this area, yet the views from the Sanford Plateau are absolutely the equal of any. It's also one of the very few places in Alaska that backpackers might see bison.
4) The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a classic trip. Rafting and hiking 3 different rivers, the Marsh Fork, the Canning and the Staines Rivers, to the Beaufort Sea and the arctic ocean! This is a fantastic trip that will book quickly, so plan ahead.
5) Steamboat Hills: A great trip for the family. Easier terrain, wide open spaces with enormous views and rarely visited.
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Photo Galleries:
Carl is an accomplished and professional nature photographer - you've probably seen his photos in backpacker magazine already, as well as other national and internatinal publicatioons. Be sure to browse the various stock photo galleries on this site for a look at selections of his work. He's currently working on a photograph book on Alaska's Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve. For a complete look at his wildlife and landscape photos visit the stock photography website, Skolai Images; an ever-growing portfolio of bears, bison, pronghorn, moose, foxes, coyotes, wolves and birds, along with landscapes from North America, including the Canadian Rockies, Glacier National Park in Montana and various parks and wild places in Alaska.

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