Greetings from Trek Alaska!

The summer already seems like a distant memory as the first snows of winter begin to fall in Eagle River Alaska. So why not relive a few of those memories. This is the traditional summer recap issue of the newsletter where I reminisce about a few of the many memorable trips we did this past summer. We did too many treks to mention them all here, so these are just a few of the highlights. If you just want to see some great photos then click to see slideshows of selected treks from 2007.

Pyramid Peak

	2007 - Pyramid Photos

This was a great trip with a nice mix of people including Jim and Julieanne Helba (a father/daughter team) and a young man (Noam) who came all the way from Israel. Deidre and Kelly rounded out the team. The hump up that first ridge was a bit more than it looked like it would be from the stream below, but we just took our time with it. We enjoyed a nice lunch of humus and pita bread about 3/4 of the way to the top. Everyone agreed that the stunning views from the crest of the ridge made it well worth the effort and we enjoyed lingering for a bit.

After the ridge we had a much easier day and we all appreciated the way this trip alternates between moderate and more challenging days. On our way down a ridge near Pyramid Peak we spotted a bull moose and later in the trip we saw 2 bears in one day, which really made Noam's day! There were a few tough moments on the hike up the ridge off Andrus Peak, but everyone chugged away and we enjoyed another great viewpoint. Demanding at times, this was a great trip and and a great group.

Seven Passes

	2007 7-Pass Photos

This route is a perrenial favorite, and for good reason. This is a wonderful trek and every time I do it it's a little bit different. One of the trips I led was with two young men - Jason and Scott. They were certainly an adventurous pair and took every opportunity to jump into freezing cold lakes and stream, including one that was half covered in ice.

Another trek had a larger group of five including Peter (from Switzerland), Chris, Sandra, Jill and Andrew. On our second day out we did a hump up a steep ridge to a saddle. We stopped on top of the ridge for a nice lunch break. After lunch it was so sunny and warm that we just stretched out on the grass and snoozed for a bit of a siesta. Now that's living. The first few days of harder going were rewarded with a couple of more leasurly ones that we all enjoyed.

I spotted a couple of possible route variations along the way and can't wait to try out some new campsite ideas next summer. The Seven Pass trek is like an old friend that just gets better with age.

Skolai to Wolverine

	Skolai to Wolverine Photos

My favorite Skolai to Wolverine trip this year was a small group of just two - a mother/daughter team. This was a late season trip, early September, so the tundra was all aglow in fall colors. Photo opps abounded on this trek.

We started with a hike up from Skolai to Chitistone Pass. I think the slope was a bit steeper in spots than the ladies had hoped for, but they did just fine. And we were rewarded part way up with a sighting of a dozen or more sheep. We saw one all by himself and he didn't seem in a hurry to run off. We got some close-ups and then found out why he was so slow to leave as he limped away on a bad leg.

We set up camp in Chitistone in time to avoid some weather moving in and enjoyed a dinner of salmon fettuccine alfredo with salmon from the Copper River. Yum.

We had some good weather and enjoyed the pleasant hike through the Hasen Creek basin. We didn't see the sheep that usually hang out there, but caught up with them days later at Wolverine. We got a surpirse on our second to last night out in the form of several inches of snow! That added a bit of fun and drama to our hike the next day. All in all a great trip that generated not only some good memories but some nice photos too.

Iceberg Lake

	2007 Iceberg Lake

Wow, was this ever a popular trip this year! We had several groups do the trip over the course of the summer and each one was different. Guide Tyler Vaughn had an incredible time with a group of four friends who turned out to be from his own home state of Vermont. They all shared not only a home state but also the same take-no-prisoners sense of adventure!

After a hike across the valley glacier they scrambled their way to the top of a nearby summit for some sweeping vistas of the entire valley. The crew then took a look at the map and decided they wanted to whack their way down a steep gully to check out the next valley. And so it went for five days of fun in the Iceberg Lake valley.

The very last trip of the summer was with Paul who went out with me for a five day loop. Desipite a bit of rain we had a great time and found a fantastic spot to camp high up on the side of a steep ridge. Got some nice photos on that one. The slide show features photos of the just some of the trips we did into Iceberg Lake this summer.

And that's just a taste...

These are just a few highlights of what was a truly great summer in Wrangell-St. Elias. There was one trip that was a real standout - Mt. Wrangell to Nugget Creek Traverse. This was such an exceptional trip that I will do a feature story on it in the next newsletter. If you are interested in a truly adventurous trek then you won't want to miss the write-up on that trip. Till then you can at least enjoy the photos from the trek.

Also in the next issue I'll talk about next summer's lineup of scheduled group trips.

Till then.. happy trails!

Regards,

Greg Fensterman

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