Trek Alaska – Hiking and Backpacking Adventures in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Trek Alaska Blog

Welcome to the Trek Alaska Blog. Posts will be fairly random and cover the gamut from trip reports and gear reviews to videos and photos. Feel free to comment on the posts and to click the Facebook share button to share with your friends.

First Trip of the Summer: Donoho Glacier Trek!

June 14th, 2010

Hey everybody. I just got back yesterday from the first trek of the season – a five day Donoho Lakes glacier trek. It was a great group to kick off the summer with: Ed, Ann, Brian and Morgan. It was a diverse bunch but it turned out that they all worked in health and medical professions so there were lots of interesting conversations.

We had good weather for the most part and except for the last day what rain we got was at night. The first night we camped along the moraine edge of the Root glacier which offered great views of the day’s hike. We could see Kennicott across the ice.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments

Summer’s Coming… eventually

April 26th, 2010

No doubt where you are it’s time to get the garden in and you’ve already had your first backyard barbeque. Well summer comes a bit slower to the north and up here folks are getting in some spring skiing before the big melt.

Here’s short clip I took just last week off the north slope of a ridge above Eagle River. A young couple was taking advantage of the great snow conditions for an easy ski down.

One of the things I love about Alaska is that you can get to a place like this in less than an hour from town. The trail head is a 10 minutes drive and then to get to where this is shot takes about an hour of hiking depending on conditions.

Yeah life is grand.

And just when you think it can’t possible snow again this season… it does. Just a few days ago we got a big snow fall. Went up into the hills for my evening hike and found that there was 4 inches of fresh white stuff on the ground. Whoa.

There were places where the snow was only a few inches deep, but there were also spots where someone (sans snowshoes) had postholed thigh deep!

But don’t worry, if you’re heading to Alaska for a summer trip it will all be gone by the time you get here. No really, it will

Posted in winter | Comments

April Newsletter – Summer’s Coming!

April 15th, 2010

Spectacular views of the Stairway Icefall and more – Donoho Glacier Trek.

Treks are Filling Up!

Just a quick update on trips scheduled for this summer.

If you take a look at our calendar page you’ll see that there are several trips that are sold out.

If you’re interested in a trek this summer book now to avoid disappointment.

Featured Trip – Donoho Glacier Trek

Currently scheduled trips include: June 9-13, 16-20, 23-27

Check the calendar page for availability.

The Donoho trek is one of our most popular for many reasons.

For many folks this trek hits the sweet spot in terms of cost and duration. It’s a 5 day trek that won’t bust your vacation budget.

The reason it costs less than our other treks is that there is no bush flight to access the wilderness. Most of our treks require fly-in access and pickup. But for the Donoho trek we just start hiking out of the historic Kennicott site and just keep going over glaciers and land to some of the most amazing terrain and spectacular views to be found in the park.

Glacier Exploration

The big focus on this trip is exploring the fascinating and varied world of glaciers. Most people are surprised to discover that glaciers are not just flat sheets of ice but a richly varied environment with a terrain all their own. We spend time hiking across the Root, Gates and Kennicott glaciers and exploring features such as melt pools, crevasses, fins and more. Your guide will teach you about how glaciers are formed, advance and ultimately recede.

Overland Travel

But it’s not all ice travel. We cross the Donoho landmass and visit the Donoho Lakes as we pass directly under Donoho Peak. These lakes are filled by melting glacier water from the Kennicott and Gates glaciers.

Bears, Bears, Bears!

Everyone wants to see a bear in Alaska and Wrangell-St. Elias has plenty of them. But the Donoho region has always been on of the best areas for spotting bears in the park. Black bears and grizzlies are frequently seen on this trek. But not to worry – we’ve never had a problem and one of the first things your guide does is teach the crew about bear safety and bear encounters.

Duration – Difficulty

This trip falls right in the range that many people are looking for – a 5 day trek of moderate difficulty. There may be some occasions where you will be challenged but overall the difficulty is moderate.

Early Season

Another advantage of this route is that it becomes free of snow much earlier than some of the more remote, higher elevation areas in the backcountry. Because of that we are able to offer this trek in June and have even occasionally done late May treks for private groups.

Featured Trip – Iceberg Lake

Ridge line campsites in the Iceberg Lake valley.

This is another 5 day trip that is packed with amazing views and adventure.

Iceberg Lake is in the more southern part of the park, and that means glaciers. The Iceberg Lake valley is close to the Bagley ice field which is one of the largest non-polar ice fields on the planet.

This trek is done as a combo type trip – part base camp and part backpacking. We get the best of both worlds on these loop trips. We get to see more terrain than we would if we base camped in the same spot the whole trip, but we don’t have to carry full packs every day.

We begin by heading down the valley towards a glacier. The edge of the ice is always a nice spot to stop for lunch and get some instruction
from the guide on how to put on crampons and travel safely over the glacier. We take our time with the crossing and explore.

Once across we clamber over a bit of rocky moraine and part way up a ridge to find a campsite with great views of the entire valley. We usually spend most of the next three days exploring different parts of this ridge – and it’s not enough to do more than scratch the surface of what this area has to offer.

There are lots of options up on the ridge so we settle on an itinerary that suits the group. Possibilities include heading up a nearby scramble peak, exploring some nearby lakes, hiking along the ridge or if we’re ambitious we could drop down over the other side of the ridge for a look at the next valley.

Bears are frequently seen in the valley and occasionally even wolverine.

Currently scheduled trips include: July 7 – 11, July 16 – 20, Aug 22 – 26

Check the calendar page for availability.

If you want a moderate trek with jaw dropping views this is a good one!

———————————-

Trek Comparison Matrix

Easier to

Moderate

Moderate to

Strenuous

Extremely

Challenging

For more on any of these trips click on the links to see the detail page or give us a call. 907.350.3710

Well that’s it for now. See you next month.

Till then.. happy trails!

Greg Fensterman

info@trekalaska.com -
www.TrekAlaska.com – 907.350.3710

Trek Alaska

PO Box 771862

Eagle River, AK 99577

Posted in News, Newsletter | Comments

Iditarod 2010

April 1st, 2010

Okay it’s a bit late as the Iditarod is long over, but I wanted to post a few shots of our Iditarod tailgate party.

The ceremonial start of the race takes place in downtown anchorage. This used to be the start of the actual race but having the race begin in Anchorage was problematic so the official start point was shifted to Willow. The ceremonial start is now just for the TV cameras.

The next day all the teams reassemble at the start near Willow and things get under way for real.

There are lots of places near the start where the race route is accessible as it crosses several frozen lakes and makes its way into the more remote bush.

Lots of folks set up along the first mile or so and make a party of it. Setups range from elaborate digs with big sponsor tents and BBQ grills to small knots of people huddled around tiny fires.

A lot of people set up in the middle of the lakes but it’s cold and windy out there so our group found a nice spot nestled in some trees and well out of the wind.

A stack of old pallets formed the base for a pretty huge bonfire. Some one brought along a deep fryer and we cooked up not one but two turkeys. Great eatin out in the cold let me tell ya. Finger licken good!

But of course the reason we were there was to cheer on and encourage the mushers as they headed out on the trail to Nome. We had a list of the mushers so we were able to identify the teams as they approached. Calling out the mushers by name was a nice personal touch.

It took a few hours for all the teams to go by… including a Jamaican musher. Wonder if he knew the guys from the Jamaican bobsled team. I just hope they weren’t Jamaican dogs.

We all had a great time cheering them on, eating hot turkey and drinking cold beer. It was just about getting dark when we finally packed it all up and made our way back to the cabin. My friend and I got a little bit lost errr… turned around on the way back. Too many trails and all those lakes look alike. But finally we made it back to the cabin.

I’ll definitely be back out there next year.

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments

Nutzotin Highlands – A Great Early Season Route

March 17th, 2010

Pyramid Peak trek

Amazing views from the ridge leading into Solo Lake in the Nutzotin Highlands.

Summer’s Coming!

Trek Alaska on Facebook!

Our Facebook page now has over 530 fans and growing every day.

www.facebook.com/TrekAlaska

Just a quick update on trips scheduled for this summer.

The end of July is getting very busy and many trips are already sold out. There are Seven Pass, Pyramid Peak and Skyscraper treks that are all completely full. There are some space left on a late July Skolai Pass trek but otherwise that time slot is all but closed.

There are still trips at other times during the summer with spaces remaining however. Take a look at the calendar page to check availability. But this is the time of year where things can change quickly however, and a trek with 2-3 open spots can be sold out a week later. The end of March and early April is usually a very busy time for bookings.

If you have a group of friends and are wanting to schedule a private trip then you should definitely call us soon so we can work your group into the schedule.

If you’re planning a June trip you should make your plans very soon.

Featured Trip – Nutzotin Highlands (aka, Horsfeld Highlands)

It’s been a while since I spotlighted this route and it deserves a special mention.


	Lovely walk on a ridgetop

This is a terrific route for an early season trek. A lot of folks don’t realize how late summer arrives here in Alaska and especially in the mountains. In the backcountry of Wrangell-St. Elias for example we don’t usually start doing deep backcountry routes till the first of July when the snow is melting out of the passes. There may still be a bit of snow in the high passes but it’s not a problem.

But I often get folks wanting to do a trip in June and the choices are more limited then. But the Nutzotin route is perfect for that time of year. It’s in the northern region of the park so you might assume that it gets more snow and melts out later but it’s just the opposite – the routes there are clear before most others in the southern part of the park.

This is also a great choice for someone who wants an extended backcountry adventure but within the moderate range of difficulty. We spend 8 days on our hike from Horsfeld to Solo Creek but we don’t carry packs every day. We usually layover once or twice along the way so that we can do some local exploring with lighter loads.

Moose, bear, Dall sheep and caribou have all been spotted on the route so it’s a good one for wildlife. I even spotted a wolf along the way once, just before he scooted over the ridge and out of sight.

The trek covers a nice variety of terrain and ranges from wide open tundra to some sweet ridge walks. My favorite is the walk down the last ridge just before solo creek. We get some amazing views of Mt. Sulzor, Bona and their ice and snow capped neighbors. And the last time I was up there in late June that ridge was covered in buttercups in bloom.

The route begins in the tundra near Beaver Creek and then we head up into the higher country. There is a spot around day two that I am thinking of staying an extra day this time to allow for a bit of exploring.

We travel up and over a couple of ridges along the way so we will get our exercise, but none are super steep. Always great views waiting on top too. There is an interesting canyon that we cross about midway that is a neat little spot and a great lunch stop.

So if you’re looking for an early season trek that’s adventurous but not extreme and has good wildlife potential then this is definitely the one.

We are offering this trip just once this summer – June 27 to July 4, so if you’re interested you should call soon. The fourth is always sold out at the hotel in McCarthy.