If you had ONE week in Alaska . . . what would you do?

[sli74]

Hey guys,

Toe Cozy's question about her vacation planning, got me thinking . . .
Brian and I are scheduled to take a trip to Alaska . . . the tentative dates are June 29 to July 15. We are spending half the time with his sister and the other half the time doing something outdoorsy . . .

I am leaning towards a trip to Wrangell-St.Elias, since JayH's trip in 2005 looked so amazing. But I am open to suggestions, anything from canoe and kayak camping to backpacking. The trip must be 5-8 days long, cost less than $500 (not counting the flight to get to Anchorage) and will preferably take us away from the hustle and bustle for that entire time, so no dayhikes unless they are from a basecamp out in the middle of nowhere.

There is a REAL lack of free detailed info online about options because everything looks guided and expensive, so any and all help is appreciated.

sli74

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I would fish, hike, fish, hike, fish, hike, and fish. Bike and and Ski can wait.




Tim

 

[dug]

GATES OF THE ARCTIC!!!

Heading there this August. You can't see the entire park, but just pick a spot and camp for a week. Very remote. Float plane access only. Much less visitor traffic than Wrangels, etc.

You will be in peak bug season. Be warned.

oops. jsut read your $500 limit. Prices for planes from Fairbanks to the Gates run about $160/person to the local lodge each way, then another $500-1000 each for the float planes. But, it sure meets your remote qualification request!

 

[spongebob]

Now that matters....If I had been to Alaska before I would be trying a specific area to get a feel for it.

Now if I have never been to Alaska before then getting a taste of different areas (within reason), is the smarter thing to do.

I think backpacking the Kesugi Ridge in Denali State Park (not National) from Little Coal Creek to Byers Lake Campground would be kick butt.(27-ish miles)Map
As you can see Denali on the ridgeline.... More info

I would also like to kayak in Kenai Fjords National Park to several of these cabins. (after taking a water taxi etc. from Seward. You can also climb Mount Marathon(in Seward) or to the Harding Icefield(at Exit Glacier, near Seward) before you go to the cabins.

Another thing is just backpacking in the Chugach Mountains right near Anchorage. It has pretty extensive trails to cool areas. Yet overlooked as they are too close to Anchorage.

This website has some good backpack/hike ideas.

Ohh, And I would go back to Grewingk Glacier near D'oh Homer, Alaska. You can take a water taxi over the bay and camp at Emerald Lake. And there is a cool river crossing in a cage going to the Glacier. You could then get picked up at the end of the Saddle Trail how many days later. Fairly flat hiking.

You could do half day kayaks around etc.
Even a day boat cruise out of Seward to glaciers will show you tons of wildlife and glaciers.

I think the Kenai Penninsula gets dissed, because of the tourists. But step 1 foot off the beaten path and you can be alone.

Personally what does Alaska have that is different from what we are used to??? That is what I would try to see. You have so much daylight at that time of year, so use it.

Now if none of this makes sense then I did my job, and wasted 7 minutes of my life.

 

[Pat T]

I did have two weeks in Alaska (twice)

After four summers working on the Kenai (early '70s) I was finally able to return with my family.

First time back we spent all of two weeks on the Kenai. There is much to do. "Tourists" were not a problem (hey, WE were tourists and you will be, too.) We went late June/early July and bugs were non-existent. It varies from year to year and place to place.

Second trip back I had my two sons with me and we did a five day backpacking trip on the Resurrection Pass trail from Cooper Landing to Hope. We stayed in US Forest Service cabins along the trail. They were reasonable to rent and we could do it ahead of time through ReserveAmerica. We had all the solitude we wanted plus we had no worries about bears at night. Each cabin had an outhouse and a woodstove (or a kerosene or oil stove in one of them). Several of the cabins were on lakes and there was a row boat for our use. We did this the first week in August and bugs were a non-issue. The scenery is spectacular and there are many side-trips you can take, mostly bushwacks.

The Kenai has other remote areas with Forest Service cabins that can be reached by kayak. Homer is also a definite must-see, as mentioned by spongebob. Boat trips out of Seward are unbelievable. Basically, the Kenai has lots to do and see and it's reasonably close to Anchorage.

There are a couple of good hiking guides for Alaska but I lent them to someone--will try to get them back so I can give you more info. You definitely do not need to be guided but you do need to read up on some basic safety issues for exploring in Alaska. Never walk out onto the mudflats of Cook Inlet and Turnagain Arm. And never underestimate the seriousness of an encounter with a Brown Bear.

If you are considering the Kenai or, specifically, the Resurrection Pass Trail, pm me and I'll give you lots more info.

Have a great trip.

pat t

 

[sli74]

Thank you spongebob for all the info and the links . . . they are very helpful. Lots to consider.

sli74

 

[sli74]

Pat, that trip on Ressurection Pass sounds right up our alley, solitude and luxury with scenery and alkes for Brian to swim in (brrrr) . . . I would LOVE any info you can send me on that . . . also, any idea how much the cabins are to rent?

sli74

 

[bubba]

Yeah, Adrian gave some good advise!!

Where is your sister's place that you base from??

You are going to (possibly) just miss snow to ski, but going out to the Kenai Peninsula takes you just past Alyeska Resort. The mention of Seward brings the recommendation to visit the Alaska Sealife Center a great visit that is often missed.

Seriously re-think your schedule based on hours of daylight. AK folks eat dinner and then take off a round of golf at 8PM!! I started a short dayhike in Denali after 6PM!!

And remember, most of Alaska is remote, so getting away doesn't have to be too far. You don't have to go far out of Anchorage to see mountains with Dall sheep and nice trails. Heck, you'll see lines of people fishing salmon right in the heart of downtown!!

I personally loved Skagway - the gateway to the Klondike!! If you think you've roughed it... take a look at what the 1898 Goldrush folks did!! I did a dayhike and mtn biked, but didn't do an extended pack. I'm sure there are options, if not including the Chilkoot Trail. It's an interesting Nat'l Park

Count me jealous!!

 

[NewHampshire]

I would gather some good "essential" supplies and purpously lose myself so I get to stay longer .

Brian

 

[Pat T]

Resurrection Pass Trail

Hi, Sli--

Just Google "Resurrection Pass Trail" and you'll get lots of info.

The website for the Forest Service is here We did not use ReserveAmerica for reservations--we just called the Forest Service toll-free number. Cabin rates are $25-45/night. The website has info for each cabin.

We started our hike in Cooper Landing and our first stop was at the very spectacular Juneau Falls. We spent our nights at Trout Lake, Swan Lake (NOT West Swan Lake), Devil's Pass, and East Creek. We had a reservation for Caribou Creek but were tired and hungry and decided to hike out on the 5th day. You could stay at Fox Creek if you wanted a fifth night. Our hike ended in Hope (where we had spotted a car) and we had a great dinner at a little bar there. If you can't spot a car, hitchhiking is still pretty common in Alaska, but it is a pretty good hike from the trailhead in to the village of Hope.

The hiking is very easy with good footing all the way. You can afford to carry extra weight in the form of good food and a nice sleeping pad. If I did it again, I might consider spending two nights at either Swan Lake or at Devil's Pass. Devil's Pass was spectacular and there were trails to higher areas from that cabin. Hiking trips from the other cabins involved bushwacks, sometimes through very healthy devil's club and cripplebrush.

If you want to swim, you might consider the Skilak Lake Loop road, which is south of Cooper Landing. There are several campgrounds on lakes but don't expect warm water. Skilak Lake is glacial as is Kenai Lake. The color of the water is beautiful but the temperature is pretty low.

Make sure you bring binoculars. We saw bears, eagles, moose and lots and lots of Hoary Marmots which will scare the daylights out of you when they jump out of their holes and whistle at you!

Have fun with your trip planning.

Pat T

 

[Jaytrek57]

Stop at the Denali Ranger Station....plan x amount of days...get the availble units and GO!

USGS MT MCKINLEY (C-2) Quadrangle 1:63 360

6 days of the best backpacking of our lives!! NNE of Wonder Lake. (Units 40-45 if I remember)

One of the Camper bus drivers is orginally from Brighton MA.

Have fun...if you want to borrow tons of stuff (books, maps, etc..) let me know.

 

[sardog1]

I have some contrarian suggestions, given the time you have available and where you're starting from.

1. If you have just 5 days and not 8, the time spent just getting to Gates of the Arctic, or Wrangell -- St. Elias, will make your heart ache as you watch the hours spin by. I'm not knocking them as destinations, but you need more time, IMO, and they're not all that cheap to get to. Denali is eminently doable in 5 days, but you need to be sure the details of your plan will deliver what you want.

2. Almost nobody (except spongebob) thinks of Chugach State Park right at the eastern edge of Anchorage. Five hundred thousand acres of mountains, glaciers, brown/grizzly bears, wolves, Dall sheep, wolverines, moose, etc. -- I have seen all of them within thirty miles of Anchorage International Airport. (Well, okay, not wolverine -- only its fresh tracks, less than ten miles from my house.)

Anywhere in the Lower 48, Chugach State Park would be a national park. Just the view at the Eagle River Nature Center would qualify for national park status, IMO. If you think a half million acres aren't enough, you've got a loooonnnng way to travel eastward over the mountains before you have a hope of seeing a road. Why don't more people take advantage of this opportunity? Because it's "too close" to Anchorage. And some of the locals are all too happy to promote that misconception. (If I still lived there, I probably wouldn't tell you the secret either. )

3. Personally, I'd avoid the Kenai Peninsula in mid-summer. YMMV, but there are other accessible, less crowded places if you do your research.

4. Wherever you decide to go, buy The Milepost right now. It's essential for trip plannning in AK. You can find it in bookstores here in the Northeast as well as online. You don't need the very latest edition -- any from the last couple of years will do just fine. And for hiking in Chugach State Park, whether dayhiking or multi-day, be sure to have the Imus Geographics map. It's a tremendous map, as I'm reminded every time I look across the room where it hangs.

 

[kwc]

Check out this site to get some ideas about hikes http://www.akhs.atfreeweb.com/index.htm
it includes trail reports as well as descriptions and you can get a decent idea of what's out there that may suit your budget and time frame.

you may want to check out the trail from Girdwood to Eagle River (Crow Pass trail ... 26 miles one way, etc.).

we spent a week in Homer this past summer (late June); there is a lot to do there and quite a number of day hikes ... however many of those hikes are across the bay and you need to arrange for a water taxi to get you over there and then pick you up. you can make some loop trips that would extend your hike into overnights. go here http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/parks/units/kbay/kbay.htm for more information.

when you get to Anchorage, head to the Alaska Public Lands Information Center (http://www.nps.gov/aplic/) in downtown Anchorage, and start picking the brains of the people working there. you can make reservations for backcountry cabins there, Denali shuttle bus trips (you will need to ride a shuttle bus to get into the park to hike ... regardless of what section you manage to get a permit for ... and you don't get a permit until you get to the park itself), etc.

the Tangle Lakes area is pretty nice and very remote ... there's a campground there and lots of space to explore ... there are some day hikes there. be aware that you're not supposed to take your rental car (assuming you have one) past the end of the paved road (most rental car companies will give you a list of verboten roads).

you could hike the Chilkoot Trail ... but it's quite a long drive from Anchorage (we drove from Fairbanks to Skagway in a day, but it was a longgggggg day). you would need to make reservations to hike the trail (it's limited to 50 hikers per day, 42 reservations, 8 walk-ons). but it's a pretty awesome hike, especially as you get near the pass and after you cross it. I'd save that for your next trip to Alaska. and there will definitely be a next trip.

one thing to remember about Alaska ... it's a long drive to get anywhere! don't let the map fool you ... but the scenery will blow you away, especially if it's your first visit.

oh yeah, the drive from Anchorage to Denali can be busy ... and you pass through a bit of "sprawl" in the MatSu valley ... lots of RVs on the roads and even though they're supposed to pull over if there are 5 or more vehicles behind them to allow passing, many do not. speed limit is usually 65 on the roads. watch out for flying stones; highways are repaired with loose stone and gravel much of the time, with a little asphalt/oil mixed in, so your windshield in a vunerable target!

oh yeah, the bugs. as Pat T mentioned, it depends upon where you are. there are little biting bugs (kinda like a white striped blackfly kinda thing) and then there are the famous mosquitoes.

wow, I could go on and on ...

 

[trailbiscuit]

Camp at Wonder Lake in Denali National Park. It's a classic. Shouldn't be missed.
You had better extend your trip!

 

[sli74]

WOW !!! Are you guys AWESOME or what? Ask and I receive . . . this is why I LOVE VFTT

Keep all the suggestions coming in cause with almost 6 months to dreaming and planning ahead of me, I need all the links and map suggestions and details to get me through the waiting.

sli74

 

[Ketch-Up]

I agree with Spongebob about the Kesugi ridge trail in Denali State Park. Even though he got all his info by me being his tour guide. As an Anchorage resident I would not recommend Chugach State Park, as Sardog1 hinted at we like to keep the best stuff for ourselves. To me the State Parks are the best way to see Alaska. Has everything the National parks have but no crowds.

 

[dRitter]

Plan on roughly 1 1/2 times on what you normally do, I was in Alaska at that time of year one summer and the daylight will noit be a constraint. If you need it dark to sleep you'll have "extra" hours galore to spend hiking

 

[Jay H]

Hey Seema, a $500 budget on Wrangell St Elias is kind of meek... Just hiring a bushpilot to drop you off is going to be just about that cost per person. and 7 days is kind of tight as you will have about 8-9 hours to get to McCarthy by car from Anchorage. It ***is*** an awesome drive though if you can avoid the RVs

Skagway is an interesting option as it get a load of cruise traffic. You can typically backpack the Chilkoot trail in 3-4 days, with the White Pass train back from Lake Bennett... Places to stay in Skagway is not too bad, my friend and I stayed in a B&B about 5 miles on the way to Dyea and the lady let us use her car. The Chilkoot is an amazing trail and it's full of history, between the Native Alaskans and the mining history as a Gold Rush trail. Because of the tourist trade there, you get things cheaper than say lodging in McCarthy.

The Chugach is a good option as it's real close to Anchorage, of course it runs all the way along the souther coast of Alaska.... it would allow you to get there and get hiking real fast and perhaps a few day trips down towards the kenai Peninsula, perhaps a guided kayak trip down by Seward or somewhere...

If I was to go to Wrangell St Elias again, I would allow for 10 days, 2 days for travelling and at least a week in the backcountry.....

http://www.wrangellmountainair.com/

I flew with those guys who are excellent. You might want to talk to them about short options and cost. They obviously know much much more than any of us can tell you about trips. Many of their trips seem to be 4+ days and they have trips that are point to point and trips that are basecamp and dayhikes. There are things to do along the way, the visitor's center is right in Copper Creek (off the road to Valdez) and one can stop there and do some interpretive nature hikes. There is some hiking near McCarthy as they have the Root Glacier that you can hike up. (crampons needed, it's not technical so long you don't fall in or go up to the headwall). I believe you have to allow 3 hours to go the 60 miles between Cantwell and McCarthy because after Cantwell the road is unimproved and it's a slow drive.


Skagway would be a good timeframe, you will have to pay for a way to get there via plane to Juneau and then the AMHS ferry to Skagway or a pricey puddle jump on a Cessna (Skagway air flies there from Juneau).

Jay

p.s. if you do go to Wrangell St Elias, can you fit me in one of your luggage?????????? I so want to go back... I don't eat much and I will be very quiet.

 

[KayakDan]

]

I would also like to kayak in Kenai Fjords National Park to several of these cabins. (after taking a water taxi etc. from Seward. You can also climb Mount Marathon(in Seward) or to the Harding Icefield(at Exit Glacier, near Seward) before you go to the cabins.

.

I spent a week kayaking in Aialik Bay in the Kenai Fjords,and I would do it again in a heartbeat. It's on my short list of return trips. We visited one of the cabins,but the true experience is beach camping near the glaciers. Distances are long,but the paddling is easy,and the scenery is " Oh my Gawd,I'm in National Geographic!"

 

[erugs]

You're getting some great advice here. Four years ago this summer I flew into Juneau, then took the ferry to Skagway and Brian and I hiked the Chilkoot Trail (returning via the White Pass RR). It was a great trip and wonderful way to become familiar with a far-away place. I'd recommend the Chilkoot in an instant!