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October, 2009 |
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Amazing views of Mt. Blackburn on the Steamboat Hills trek.
Greetings from Trek Alaska!
You might think that once the summer trekking season ends things get pretty laid back in McCarthy. Well, they do... but the attention just shifts to other areas. This year it was scrambling to finish up some work on the new property on the Kennicott River.
We completed a lot of work on the crew house that was started at the end of last summer. It's in pretty good shape now and provides a place for gear storage, staging treks as well as cooking facilities for guides. We hope to break ground on a larger cabin next summer...we'll keep you posted.
It's only October but already I miss being out in the Wrangell-St. Elais backcountry. So as usual this is the looking-back-at-last-season edition.
The following are just a few highlights from the many great treks we did this past summer. then click to see slideshows of selected treks from 2009. There are also slideshows that are a compilation of prior seasons.
Steamboat Hills
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It had been several years since we had visited this region so I was thrilled to have the chance to go back not once, but twice this August.
The great thing about this area is that you can plan treks that range from easy base camps to moderate backpacking routes. There is just so much to explore, especially all the alpine lakes.
The first trip was a family outing of father (Laurent) and son (Shane, 11). What a great time we had. Our trip was a point to point backpacking trek from the airstrip on the east end to one on the west. We set down in pretty foggy conditions and I had to break out the map and compass to make sure we were headed off in the right direction.
Our first camp was near the edge of the plateau where we had a great view down to the Chitina river far below. Our trek was a matter of hiking from one beautiful lake to another. We moved camp every day but they were mostly short days which we filled in with side hikes after lunch. I find this a great approach to take with younger hikers.
We did have one rather long day when Shane was happy to hit camp but he was a real trooper and proclaimed the hike well worth the effort. We had a gorgeous day at that lake and the weather cleared to give us amazing views of the Wrangells including Mt. Blackburn.
The second trek was another family group, this time with seven year old Seth, his dad and grandparents for a three generation trip - a Trek Alaska first.
We took a slightly different approach since Seth was only 7, planning a loop trip rather than a point to point. This included a layover day at an especially nice lake with great views, especialy from Chuck's penthouse tent site.
On the layover day some folks took it easy in camp while the rest of us went on a lake-hopping hike around the neighboorhood.
Seth had fun counting every single Hare Bell flower he laid eyes on, which was a lot.
On the last day, as we waited for the plane, I was introduced to binocular tag, which is pretty hilarious to watch.
One of the things I like about family trips like these is that we do our backpacking in the morning and then the group can go off on their own for some family time on an afternoon side hike.
We had a great time in the Steamboat Hills area this summer and are lookig forward to getting back in there next summer. We currently have two group trips scheduled for Steamboat Hills in 2010. These will be point to point trips in the moderate range.
Pyramid Peak Route
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The treks in Wrangell-St. Elais are like your children - it's really hard to pick a favorite as they are all close to your heart.
But the Pyramid Peak route has always been one that I look forward to and when I introduced Matt, one of the guides, to the route he quickly voted it his favorite to date.
I took Chris and Andrew on the trek this past summer and we had a wonderful time. The flight in crosses some fantastic terrain and they both had a great flight into Canyon Creek, our starting point.
The airstrip is small so it takes a while to get everyone on the ground when you do it one at a time in a super cub. We had lunch and then hiked for a few hours along Canyon Creek before making our first camp at the base of the next day's ridge climb. We decided to cross and camp on the other side to avoid having to get our feet wet first thing in the morning. It was a chilly crossing but a good decision.
We had a great seven days on the route and some pretty good weather. The layover day near Pyramid Peak is always a nice interlude in the middle of the route. Sometimes we do a group hike on the layover day and sometimes I just let everyone make their own decisions on how to spend the day. This time one guy opted to chill in camp while the other to a mellow side trip.
One of the features of the route that I really like is that the terrain works out in such a way that we alternate between more challenging and easier or shorter days. So we never really have two tough days in a row. But it's the dramatic terrain of the area that really gets the juices flowing, especialy when the University range is out!
Currently there are two Pyramid trips on the calendar for next summer: one in July and one in August. Check the web site for more info on the Pyramid Peak trek.
Lots more where those came from
There isn't space to talk about all the great trips we ran this summer but next time I'll talk about just a few others including the wonderful group of scouts that we took on the Donoho trek. Oh, and I'll have to talk about the aussies too and... well I'll leave that till next month.
In the next issue I'll also talk about next summer's lineup of scheduled group trips as well as our plans for the riverside property this summer. Another topic will be how to select the trek that's best for you.
Till then.. happy trails!
Trip Matrix
Easier to
Moderate |
Moderate to Strenuous |
Strenuous |
Extremely Challenging |
Steamboat Hills |
Seven Pass Pyramid Peak |
Wrangell/Skyscraper |
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Trek Alaska
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Eagle River, AK 99577
