Alaska

The Wood River at Kansas Creek

Alaska was a great success. We all landed in Fairbanks on 24 June ready to fly out on the morning of 25 June. Fairbanks was hot, high 80's low 90's, and everybody was immediately tempted to drop cold weather gear since the forecast even looked promising for the upcoming week.

Our group this year from left to right: Mike, Doug, Jared, Rob, Jeff, Chris, Zachariah, Randy, and Seth

Last minute preparations at the Seven Gables Inn (Jeff, Randy, Chris)

We mostly stayed together at the Seven Gables Inn, the all night light affected us right away. It was hard to reconcile how late it actually was because how light it stays all night. The sun was setting at about 0050 and coming back up at around 0250. Even after it set night never got very dark.

The Smith brothers take up most of the space

The next morning we headed to Wright Air and checked in for our flight. We had to fly in three separate planes, 3 of us to a plane. Rob, Jared, and I had rented the cars so we dropped everybody and they flew out on the first wave and then after we dropped the cars off we flew out on a Helio Courier. The flight took about 45 minutes.

Entering the Alaska Range

Lining up to land the Kansas Creek Strip

The Wood River

Left to Right: Jared, Zachariah, Mike, Doug, Rob

First signs of life not 3 minutes from the airstrip, huge Grizzly tracks

Virginia Creek bed (our trail in the land of no trails)

There are no trails in the wilderness area around Kansas Creek airstrip and so we had to find the easiest way possible. Mostly that meant we hiked in creek beds a lot or right on the edge of the creek. Under 3200 feet the Alder scrub was so thick it was almost unpassable. Eventually we decided to break through and hike along the slopes above the creek and Alder scrub but that proved even more difficult. We originally planned on hiking up to a set of Alpine lakes about 9 miles from the airstrip. But about 7pm we called it quites about 2.5 miles before the lakes.

Hiking along Virginia creek

Alder Scrub

Climbing up above the creek and hopefully to easier terrain

In the tundra looking back towards the Wood river (Doug)

In the tundra (Zachariah)

After a big rain, everybody spread out trying to navigate the slippery rocks in the tundra

A herd of Dall sheep grazing near the peak

Looking down on camp from the peak

After dinner Jeff and I climbed up the peak above our camp to try and get closer to the Dall sheep. By the time we got up there the sheep had moved up higher and around the rocky top. It was really slippery on the rocks since they were still wet so we decided not to go any further. Around the north side we could see into the valley behind the peak and there were Dall sheep all over the rock cliffs. It's amazing the places those things can go.

Camp in the morning, it rained all night

Caribou mother and calf

Hiking up to the lakes

We finished our hike up to the alpine lakes on the second day. We still followed the creak for a while and at one point had to climb over an ice run. The tundra became much easier to navigate and we were able to make it up to the lakes in under 3 hours.

Ice run on the way to the alpine lakes

Looking back towards the creek from the final push up to the lakes

The bigger lake, water was 42 degrees with ice floating on one side

Virginia Creek valley

Zachariah, Jared, and Rob climbing down past the little lake

The Smith brothers came to Alaska with great dreams of all the fish they would catch and eat along the way. Unfortunately we weren't able to find any fish in the waters we saw. They made a last effort on the return trip as they drove from Fairbanks to Anchorage to catch their flights home. Not sure if they were successful then either.

Dall sheep mother and calf

Fording the creek

Chris jumping across

We had to ford the creek multiple times. As everybody got tired of taking their boots on and off we started looking for spots we could throw rocks into the water and build up enough to walk across.

Hiking back down towards a lake on the Wood river on day 3

Climbing back up into the tundra above the creek bed

The Smith brothers trying to avoid the tundra

At one point we decided it would be easier to climb up over a low hill to get to the lake, it saved some time and we got an amazing view of the valley

More signs of life, Moose bones chewed on by something big

Unnamed lake near the Wood river (Jeff)

Finally arrived at camp on the Wood river (Zachariah)

Wolf prints

We found a lot of wolf, bear, moose, and even lynx prints but didn't get to see any of them. While hiking up Kansas creek on 4 we found a huge pile of fur spread around a few bones and wolf and bear tracks all around. The locals had a good meal.

Trying to start a huge bonfire, it didn't go as planned

Makeshift raft, Jeff, Chris, Mike, and Zachariah tried to float down the Wood river but the raft quickly sank. Probably for the better, the water was really cold.

After the raft sunk

Trying to start the bonfire

Arriving at the landing strip, day 5

The first plane circling to see if we made it back

Left to right: Seth, Rob, Chris, Randy, Jared, Doug, Jeff, Mike, and Zachariah

Bear spray had to ride outside in case it burst in flight

Alaska was amazing! It was really cool to imagine that we were in places that few people had been and for 4 days we saw no signs of other people at all. No trails, no footprints, no garbage, no help. Can't wait to go back!

Tentative Alaska Route Map

View Alaska 2011 in a larger map

Alaska Gear List

I'm finally back home (for a few weeks anyways) so it's time to move ahead with preparations for Alaska. I purchased my tickets to Alaska arriving at 8pm on 24 June departing 30 June at 6 am. We are currently scheduled to start flying into the wilderness on 25 June at 8am, we will be taken in in two groups. Every should be on the ground in ready to hike by about 11am.

Fairbanks is turning out to be more expensive to fly into, so we might not have saved very much money by switching locations, but we will be truly off the grid so it should be amazing. Rob is planning on flying into Anchorage and renting a car to drive to Fairbanks which if several people go in on with him will save a considerable sum. If you are interested in doing it with him shoot him an email (or me if you don't have his address).

Below is a basic gear list (not extensive). Please let me know what you can offer for group gear so we can plan and cut some weight:

Personal Gear (be prepared, read up on Alaska range weather and plan accordingly, we could be up against anything even in June):

• backpack (make sure it fits, ask Mike if you want to know how much it sucks if it doesn't)


• sleeping bag


• therma rest or other mattress/ground pad


• bag liner (optional, but it could get pretty cold at night even in June)


• boots (good ones, think Scarpa or Asolo)


• sandals or comfort shoes for around camp and possible river/creek fording


• socks and sock liners (optional) to limit rub


• clothes for temperature range of 35-70 degrees (think in layers)


• rain shell or poncho


• pack rain cover or dry bags for inside your pack (optional, most packs are treated to be water resistant nowadays)


• 2-3L water carrying devices (bottles or pack bladder etc.)


• Food (email me if you want idea's, plan for 3000 calories a day)


• Stove (if you don't have one there are enough in the group to share, but let me know so we plan enough fuel)


• matches (waterproof)


• flashlight and extra batteries


• first aid kit (small should suffice, I will bring a larger group kit)


• map and compass or GPS


• bug spray (the bugs are supposedly pretty bad so don't skimp, if you are buying any new clothes for the trip pop for clothes with Bug-Off, it works really well)


• bear spray or pepper spray (check TSA website for exact maximum allowable in your luggage)

• Gaitors for higher elevation travel (could be some snow pack, we can abort if it gets too deep)

• Crampons (may be useful depending on conditions, we'll check the week before the trip)

Group Gear

• tents


• tarps or ground covers


• bear cans (might end up being a personal item, you can rent from REI)


• saw (I'm bringing one)


• hatchet

• Stove's and fuel

**if you think of any additions let me know.

Reservation Made!

With the help of Uncle Randy's friend "Moose" in Fairbanks we have switched gears a little bit and we now have our reservation for the puddle jumper. Instead of flying into Lake Clark we are now flying to Kansas Creek Strip (click for picture on the wood river near the landing strip) in the Denali area of Alaska, south of Fairbanks. I have a lot of different route options but no matter how we go about it we will start and end at Kansas Creek, so we can set up a base camp near there and do day trips each direction, or we can do a multi day circuit up through the mountains behind the landing strip, over, down, and follow the river back up. We can even decide when we get there and see the the surroundings, just pick the path that interests us most and have at it.

Our reservation is complete! We have a reservation for 9 people to fly into Kansas Creek on morning of 25 June and the planes will return to pick us up on the afternoon of 29 June, so 5 days on the ground. We will be taken in on 4 person planes, 1 pilot and 3 passengers to each plane and everybody is limited to 40 lbs or less of gear. That's important so keep it in mind as you start to get ready. The total cost for 3 planes round trip is only $3600, less than half of what Lake Clark was going to cost us. Right now we are 8 confirmed which means the price is $450 per person if we go up to 9 people the cost is a mere $400 per person round trip. We can add another plane if we go over 9, the max is 3 passengers per plane with 40 lbs gear per person. I made a $600 deposit so we are all set. We will be flying out of Fairbanks, so buy your tickets into Fairbanks not/not Anchorage. Our air taxi is reserved with Wright Air Service.

I will post a basic gear list and a group gear list soon. If anybody is in the market for a Bear can this is the trip to justify the purchase with. The area is full of bears, moose, caribou, and dall sheep (mountain sheep). Here is my list of who is attending as of right now, if anybody is having second thoughts or if anybody else wants to come let me know asap:

Doug

Gary

Jeff

Mike

Randy

Rob

Seth (Jeffs friend)

Zachariah

Maybe's:

Ben

Greg

Hunter

Chris

Float Plane Price for Lake Clark

I have now received quotes from several bush taxi services in Alaska and the prices are a little higher than I found last year when first starting to look at this hike. The lowest price quote we have right now is from Lake Clark Air at $715 per person with 50 lbs gear max per person. I had hoped to get the price down lower to around $500 per person. However, the economic downturn seems to have driven a lot of outfits out of business and so most of the ones I had talked with last year are no longer around. Seems like less competition equals higher price... This price is the 2010 price and will go up 10% on January 1, per Lake Clark Air. It's a total sales pitch, but they have offered to give us this years price if we make our reservation and pay deposit by 1 January. If after that time someone decides they cannot come then we can still apply the full balance to the final price of the actual travellers, so no loss of money if someone has to back out. They will also allow us to add people as long as we give them notice two weeks prior to our trip. On top of this price everybody has to get to Alaska which could make it too expensive. Let me know individually what you think, if the price is too high let me know. The deposit is 50%, so around $350 now, and the remaining in about April.

I'm about decided on the actual hiking routes. I talked with a park historian last week that told me the Mulchatna drainage has a lot of black bears in June, fishing in the rivers. He built me up a lot, got me all excited, and then caveated it with "...but one year we had some hikers that spent a week hiking in the area and only saw some squirrels...", so we'll see. The area has a lot of bears but because it is not well travelled like other Alaskan parks the bears are not used to human's at all and will be more skittish and less willing to check out our camp. Another stop I would like us to make is along the northern side of lower twin lake to see the Dall sheep. I talked with a ranger in Anchorage that told me about a natural salt lick that attracts the sheep. They are usually rare but we have a good chance of finding them if we locate the salt lick.

For some really amazing photo's around Turquoise Lake, Twin Lakes, and the Mulchatna River click here.

Current party members (confirmed via email):

Mike

Jeff

Doug

Rob

Marcus

Randy

Gary

Possible party members:

Ben

Greg

Hunter

Chris

Trek 2011

Telequana drainage (Photo courtesy of NPS.gov)

I am back from Cappadocia and in full on expedition planning now. The votes were unanimous in favour of going to Lake Clark National Park in Alaska so I'm starting to work out the details. I expect to have a price for the puddle jumper round trip Anchorage - the park - Anchorage figured out here in the next week or so. I'm coordinating with a couple different outfits to see the best price and options for our flight.

There are a couple of things I would like to hear everybody's opinions on, some of which will help me in coordinating the flights into the park. I'm basically thinking of a couple of different options for our trip:

Option 1: We hike the Telequana trail from Telequana Lake to Twin Lakes. The park is trailless, so the name of the route is sort of a misnomer. It is reference to a general route the Telequana indians used to migrate I believe. The region of the park is mostly tundra covered making the hiking part of it easier with less bushwacking, but it is no less wild or beautiful. Direct route would be about 30-35 miles and would cross several rivers we have to ford with bears, moose, and other wildlife to see.

Option 2: We get dropped by float plane on Turquoise lake and set a base camp there on the end near Mt. Telequana. Then we make day trips each day exploring in each direction with daily roundtrips of 10-15 miles. My inclination would be to climb Mt. Telequana one day, it's not tall by world standards but still a 6500 ft climb from the lake bed. Then one day hike down the runoff and find some grizzlies, etc. This option would make timing easier since we would be picked up at the same place, so if we are slower than we think one day it's not going to make our final day a race to meet our plane.

Either option will allow us to see a lot of amazing territory and either way the price of the single engine plane ride into/out of the park will be the same. So let me know what your thoughts are, and vote on the poll on the side for which option interests you most.

Current plan:

Hike dates: 25-28 or 29 June 2011 (plan to start hiking on morning of 25 June)

Current party members (confirmed via email):

Mike

Jeff

Doug

Rob

Marcus

Zachariah

Rumored members (not yet confirmed):

Randy

Hunter

Curtis

Please let me know if you are coming for sure or if any of your plans change.