The list of superlatives is staggering. In addition to being America's largest national park (larger than Rhode Island and Vermont combined!), Wrangell-St. Elias is home to the continent’s largest assemblage of glaciers, the second highest peak in the US, and the greatest number of peaks above 16,000 feet.

Backpacking through this amazing wilderness along the famed Goat Trail will both defy your imagination and test your wilderness skill set. With just enough "trails" to make the route manageable, this adventure includes the perfect array of challenge (off-trail navigation, numerous river crossings, and steep terrain!), wildlife, stunning mountain scenery, and remote solitude.

This trip originates in Anchorage, Alaska. Getting to Anchorage is a snap. Alaska Airlines, your travel agent, or the carrier of your choice can easily arrange roundtrip airfare from the lower 48.  Once you land in Anchorage, your adventure really begins. For this trip into Wrangell St. Elias National Park,  you'll find that the areas we visit won't be found on any road map; out here there aren't any roads!

Bush Flights: Access to the Goat Trail is limited to air travel in a small airplane flown by an experienced bush pilot. This adventure includes internal flights between Chitna and McCarthy, Alaska and the bush flight in to the wilderness necessary for the itinerery.  Have your camera at the ready, your trip begins here.  For most, this will be your first experience in a small aircraft – a memorable one to be sure.  The flight to McCarthy on the edge of the Wrangell St. Elias National Park takes you through the western portion of the Wrangell Mountains with towering peaks and tumbling glaciers right off the wing tips.  The 60 mile flight to McCarthy, Wrangell St. Elias National Park’s gateway community, takes approximately 45 minutes.  We'll then take a small bush plane deep into the heart of the national park, where our pilot will use his skills to negotiate the rugged mountain terrain to our put in point at Skolia Pass.

Accomidations: Lodging on night one is included in your package.  The group will be staying in Kennicott at the world famous Kennicott Glacier Lodge, which is perched above the Kennicott Glacier at the historic Kennicott Copper Mine & Mill.  Prices are double occupancy.  If you prefer your own room on night one you will be asked to pay a single supplement of $150.  The remaining nights will be spent camping in the wilderness! 

The Experience: We’ll be meeting at 8am this morning at the Susitna Place in downtown Anchorage.  If you’re staying at a different property in Anchorage, let us know and we’ll arrange to pick you up.  We can also schedule an airport pick-up if you’re arriving into Anchorage that morning.  We’ll need to be on the road to Chitina by 9am so your flight should arrive no later than 7am.  The drive to Chitina takes approximately four hours. Once you’ve settled into your accommodations for night one, we’ll gather for a group dinner and discussion of logistics.  We’ll pour over topographical maps and discuss safety issues.

Up early on day 2, we'll have breakfast at the lodge.  We'll then make our way to the McCarthy airstrip for our flight into the wilderness.  Our first day will allow us to collect our senses, gaze at the surrounding beauty, and get a feel for the terrain we will be covering.  You will quickly become acquainted with our style of wilderness travel and camp etiquette.  Meals are planned to be sumptuous, filling culinary adventures of their own.  Because weight and packaging is critical, careful consideration is taken in planning and packing the ingredients.  You can be assured every meal will be something you may never have experienced in the wilderness.  We use organic and real food products when possible, and the very best freeze-dried and dehydrated ingredients available.

What’s Included:

• All group camping gear (tents, stoves, fuel, etc.), satellite phone, and safety equipment.
• Trekking poles.
• Roundtrip van transportation from Anchorage to Chitina.
• Roundtrip air transportation from Chitina to McCarthy.
• All air transportation for the Goat Trail.
• Lodging on night one at the famous Kennicott Glacier Lodge.
• Professional guide service for duration of trip at a maximum 4:1 client to guide ratio.
• All meals from lunch on day one through lunch on day seven.

What’s Not:

• Lodging in Anchorage prior to and after your adventure.
• Personal gear (sleeping bags, packs, rain gear, etc.) - See Equipment Lists.
• Trip cancellation insurance.
• Alcoholic beverages.
• Guide gratuities.

Everyone asks:

What about the mosquitoes?
In case you've heard horror stories... the number of mosquitoes is greatly dependent on hatching season and annual weather conditions. While we are bound to encounter some mosquitoes during the course of our adventure, their numbers have not generally presented major problems on past trips in these specific areas. That said, please arrive prepared with insect repellent and a head net to fend off any mosquitoes that are present.

Will bears be a problem?
Alaska is bear country! There are both grizzly and black bears in most of the wilderness areas of Alaska we visit. We love seeing bears in the wild and it really is one of the most thrilling experiences common in Alaska backcountry travel. With that said, traveling safely and taking precautions to minimize a negative encounter are things we take very seriously. In addition to being subject to our thorough bear safety orientation, you’ll also see that we take many precautions when traveling in Alaska’s wilderness – 1 all of our food has been packaged to minimize odors – we vacuum seal most of our fresh ingredients and sauces, we pack our food in bear resistant food canisters, and we store our food well away from camp. 2 We make noise when we’re hiking in thick brush or when we’re hiking in windy conditions to minimize surprise encounters 3 we keep an exceptionally clean camp and 4 as a last resort we travel armed. Our guides carry 44 mags or shotguns. Most of Alaska’s national parks, excluding Katmai and Denali, allow for     the use of firearms and our guides are thoroughly trained in firearm use. Again, using a gun is a last resort and thankfully we’ve never had to call one into service on a trip!

What kind of food might we expect?
Our food is excellent – in fact it is something that clearly differentiates us from our competitors. We have spent the past decade fine tuning our backcountry menu. Breakfasts include pancakes, scrambles, various homemade granolas and cereals, French pressed coffee, assorted teas and hot drinks. For lunch we enjoy foccacia sandwiches, bagels and Alaska lox, hummus and toasted pita chips, and assorted wraps. We also have homemade snack mixes both salty and sweet and energy and candy bars available throughout the day. Dinners could include lasagna, pad thai, beef mole’ tacos, penne pasta with a     roasted red pepper pesto, wild mushroom risotto, etc. And we ALWAYS enjoy one of Derek’s home baked desserts after dinner.

When would you require a deposit? and how much? Trip cancellation insurance? Can we get it through you?
We require a deposit of $1000 per person to officially reserve a trip. Really the deposit is due as soon as you’d like to book. That way, we have the trip inked in on the schedule and can begin the effort to coax others into joining the adventure. When you decide to book, we then generate an invoice that we send by email. You’ll then have the option to pay the deposit by mailing us a check, calling us with a credit card number or by using a Visa, Master Card, or American Experss on our secure online payment system. As for trip cancellation insurance, Alaska Alpine Adventures is licensed to sell Travel Guard - an industry leading insurance product designed specifically for adventure travelers. Please contact us for details, or click here to obtain a quote.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park:

Why go to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park?
The list of superlatives is staggering. In addition to being America's largest national park (larger than Rhode Island and Vermont combined!), Wrangell-St. Elias is home to the continent’s largest     assemblage of glaciers, the second highest peak in the US, and the greatest number of peaks above 16,000 feet.

The Alaska, Chugach and Wrangell-Saint Elias ranges converge in what is referred to as the "mountain kingdom of North America." This spectacular wilderness includes the continent's largest assemblage of glaciers, and the greatest collection of peaks above 16,000 feet, including Mount St. Elias (18,008'), the second highest peak in the United States, the largest non-polar icefield in the world and a boundary that, when combined with Kluane Tatshenshini/Alsek National Park in Canada and with Glacier Bay National Park, encompasses the world’s largest internationally protected area at 24 million acres and is recognized as a World Heritage Site.  

Where is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park?
America's largest National Park (13 million acres) is located on the eastern edge of the state of Alaska, sharing its eastern boarder with Canada's Kluane National Park.  Wrangell-St. Elias National Park lies approximately 200 air miles east of Anchorage, Alaska.

How do you get to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park?
Access to the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve is by van, small aircraft or, in some instances, by boat.

Is transportation to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park included in the price of the trip?
Absolutely, our trips are all inclusive from Anchorage. All you need to do is get yourself to Anchorage by Day 1 of your itinerary.

Where will you meet us?
Your Alaska Alpine Adventures guide will meet you at 8 AM at our B&B on the morning of day one for an orientation and gear check. 

Who will I be flying with and what time will we be departing on day one?
Your guides will meet you at the B&B at 8AM.  You'll drive with your guides in a comfortable 15 passenger van to Chitna, Alaska, a drive that takes around 5 hours.  From there, we'll be flying with Wrangell Mountain Air to McCarthy, Alaska before our flight into the wilderness on day 2. 

Is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park a good place for viewing wildlife?
Absolutely. Wrangell-St. Elias National Park is home to grizzly, coastal brown, and black bears, mountain goats, caribou, moose, wolves, wolverines, lynx and tremedous seasonal populations of migratory birds.  The park also boasts one of the largest concentrations of Dall sheep in North America.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Today we’ll meet in Anchorage at 9am. We’ll load into our 15-passenger van and begin the four hour drive to McCarthy, the gateway community to Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Our route will take us north from Anchorage traveling through the majestic Chugach and Talkeetna mountain ranges. After a picnic lunch at the Matanuska Glacier, we’ll continue east on the scenic Glenn Highway toward Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. After arriving in Chitina in early afternoon, we’ll load our gear and ourselves into a charter flight bound for the historic town of McCarthy.  By early evening, we’ll check into the Kennicott Glacier Lodge, taking in the amazing views as we enjoy a fantastic dinner and discuss the days ahead.  Lunch & Dinner included.

Day 2: After an early breakfast, we’ll load packs and make our way over to our air taxi for our early morning flight into the park. As the Cessna lifts off of the gravel runway, the grand scale of this wonderful wilderness will be immediately apparent. The incomprehensible vastness of nearly 13-million acres is overwhelming, and you’ll immediately understand Alaska’s sense of scale as the small plane drifts over the landscape. After half an hour, the pilot will begin the descent toward the unimproved airstrip at Skolai Pass. Our pilot will bid us farewell, and as the plane climbs out and over the Chitistone, the roar of the engine will be replaced by the sounds of solitude. We’ll shoulder our packs and begin trekking toward the Russell Glacier and Chitistone Pass. We’ll camp tonight near the pass. All meals included.

Days 3-5: For the next three days, we’ll make our way through the rugged Wrangell Mountains – the highlight of the hiking being the famed Goat Trail section of the route.  By the middle of day four or five, we’ll be ascending a very narrow footpath arcing upward through steep cliff bands and brightly colored scree slopes. After roughly 1000’ of elevation gain, we’ll be cresting a high ridge overlooking the Chitistone River canyon and the grand peaks of the Wrangell’s. The views from this ridge are spectacular and are made even sweeter by the sense of accomplishment after having conquered the Goat Trail.  With extra days built into the trip, we’ll take exploratory day hikes, allowing us to reach far back into glacial valleys or top out on virgin ridges. All meals included.

Day 6: Today we’ll traverse above Hansen Creek and make our way to the alpine country near the airstrip at Wolverine ridge.  The “airstrip” is perched on a plateau 2500 feet above the churning glacial waters of the Chitistone River.  The day will feel too short as we set up camp and settle in for our final night in this majestic backcountry. All meals included.

Day 7: After French-pressed coffee and pancakes, our pilot will greet us with a mid-morning buzz of our final camp. We’ll quickly pack our bags and prepare for the exciting flight back to McCarthy. We hope to be back in McCarthy by lunchtime and on the road back to Anchorage by 1pm. Please make certain that you schedule all homebound flights for after 10pm, or you can opt to stay in Anchorage overnight. All meals included.