We are guiding two Alaska trips this year.
ALASKA’S GATES OF THE ARCTIC NATIONAL PARK
Hunt Fork of the John River to the Arctic Divide
August 8-18, 2009 (11 days, 10 nights)
Gateway City: Fairbanks, Alaska. Please arrange your flight to arrive in Fairbanks by early evening of August 7. We’ll stay in a Fairbanks campground that night. We’ll then take a commercial flight to Bettles the following morning. That afternoon we’ll be treated to a spectacular bush flight across the rugged Brooks Range to the starting point of our backpack expedition. We’re planning to get back to Bettles on August 18. We’ll book the return flight to Fairbanks for the morning of August 19 arriving there before noon. Bill and Bryn will meet everyone at the campground in Fairbanks on August 7 around 5pm for pre-trip logistics, safety and Leave-No-Trace ethics along with food distribution and equipment check.
Price: $2795 all-inclusive from Fairbanks. The price includes all food during the backpack, campground fees, roundtrip commercial flight between Fairbanks and Bettles along with excess baggage fees, roundtrip bush flight from Bettles, bunkhouse accommodations in Bettles after our trip before flying back to Fairbanks, dinner and breakfast in Bettles before returning to Fairbanks, community gear, permit fees, route maps, guiding, trip and equipment information, and a DVD of our trip. A nonrefundable deposit of $400 is needed to hold your reservation. We recommend booking early because of our small party size of only 5 guests.
Trip Description: The Brooks is the northernmost mountain range in the world; an untamed land where the forces of wind, water, temperature extremes, and glacial action have sculpted a wildly diverse landscape. Our route passes by tundra hills, limestone and granite peaks over 6,000 feet, broad U-shaped valleys, glacial tarns, and rushing arctic streams. The valleys are mantled with thickets of dwarf birch, alder and willow on a floor of heath, moss and fragile lichens. At times we’ll encounter wobbly sedge tussocks that will slow our pace, giving us pause to revel in our vast, wild surroundings.
The expedition begins near the mouth of the Hunt Fork of the John River in the remote north-central reaches of the 8.4 million acre Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve. Our pace will be moderate, yet challenging, averaging about 6 off-trail miles per pack day. The overall distance is about 40 miles so we can anticipate 2 or 3 non-pack days for day hiking, non-technical climbing, fishing for arctic grayling and just plain relaxing. We’ll explore country rarely, if ever, visited by humans. We’ll likely see some of the western arctic caribou herd during early fall migration as well as a variety of arctic birds, Dall sheep, fox, grizzlies, and perhaps wolves and wolverines. Our route to the arctic divide winds generally to the northwest across rounded saddles and lofty plateaus bracketed by chasms enclosing foaming streams.
Bob Marshall explored some of this fascinating region during the 1930s and described the country vividly in his classic book, ALASKA WILDERNESS. He was overwhelmed by a “vast panorama of the Brooks Range with its black summits and sparkling green slopes tumbled around in wild confusion as far as we could see in every direction—endless mountains rising and falling as if the waves of some gigantic ocean had suddenly become frozen in full motion.”
Map: For the best overview of the Gates of the Arctic and our centrally located Brooks Range route we recommend the 1:400,000-scale National Geographic Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve topographic map ($11.95). Call 1-800-962-1643).
Difficulty: Strenuous.
Minimum age: 16. Backpacking experience necessary.
ALASKA’S KATMAI NATIONAL PARK:
EDGE OF ENORMITY BACKPACK & PADDLING EXPEDITION
September 1-15, 2009 (15 days/14 nights)
Gateway City: King Salmon, Alaska. Please arrange your flight schedule to arrive in King Salmon as early as possible on September 1. Roger, Bill and Polly will meet guests in King Salmon as they arrive. Our group will then fly by floatplane to Brooks Camp, in the heart of Katmai National Park, where we’ll camp for the night.
Price: $2695 all-inclusive from King Salmon. The price includes round-trip flight from King Salmon to Brooks Camp, all camping and permit fees, all food for our backpack and paddling trips, boat and equipment rental, roundtrip vehicle shuttle to Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, all community gear, route maps, guiding and interpretation, trip planning and information, and a DVD of the trip. A non-refundable deposit of $500 is needed to hold your reservation. We recommend booking early due to our small group size of only seven guests.
Trip Description: Katmai National Monument was created in 1918 to preserve the famed Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, a spectacular forty square mile, 100 to 700 foot deep ash flow. A National Park since 1980, Katmai is still famous for volcanoes, but also for brown bears, pristine waterways teaming with fish, remote wilderness, and a wild, rugged coastline. The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes is filled with ash flow from the June 6-8, 1912 eruption of Novarupta. This was the largest eruption by volume on earth during the 20th century, depositing some 13 cubic km of material. Today, most of the steaming fumaroles have cooled, but a vast volcanic landscape remains and beckons explorers and naturalists. Our expedition will feature education about Katmai’s natural history, human history, ecology, bears, geology, volcanology, and wilderness stewardship.
On September 1 we’ll fly to Brooks Camp, the primary staging area for visitor activities in the park. The following day we’ll travel by shuttle bus via a 23-mile gravel road to Three Forks Overlook for our first view of the Valley of 10,000 Smokes. For the next five days we’ll explore the wonders of this volcanic wilderness. Highlights include camping at foot of towering volcanoes and glaciers, climbing the Novarupta dome, and weather permitting, a non-technical climb to the rim of Katmai Caldera Crater Lake. Our pace will be moderate but challenging, averaging 6-8 off-trail miles per day with several potentially difficult stream crossings. At the conclusion of our backpack we’ll return to Brooks Camp for a full day of viewing magnificent Brown Bears at the peak of their early fall salmon fishing.
We’ll then begin our lake and river-paddling trip. All rivers are rated Class I. Highlights include camping in the beautiful Bay of Islands; overnighting at the historic Fure Cabin; paddling the shoreline of Grosvenor Lake; floating down the Grosvenor and Savonowski Rivers to Naknek Lake; and paddling the turquoise waters of Iliuk Arm to scenic Research Bay, where bear viewing opportunities abound. On the morning of September 15 we’ll fly back to King Salmon where daily commercial flights are available to Anchorage.
Climate: Be prepared for stormy weather with clear skies averaging about 20% of the time. Daytime temperatures range from about mid-40s to mid-50s F. The average low temperature for September is 40.3 degrees F. Strong winds and sudden gusts—williwaws—may sweep the area, sometimes at speeds up to 50 to 60 mph. Light rain can last for days, with possible periods of heavy wind driven rain.
Map: For an excellent overview we recommend the 1:300,000-scale National Geographic Katmai National Park map ($11.95). Call 1-800-962-1643.
Difficulty: Strenuous.
Minimum Age: 16. Backpacking and basic canoe paddling experience necessary.