ALASKA

JUNE 18 - 27, 2016

6-Day backpacking trip through Lake Clark National Park

HEY! Bert here. Below, you will find a story that takes you through some of the experiences that James and I endured during our trip to Alaska. So without further ado, lets begin....and as with all good trips, it starts with renting a Prius

James and I got there to Alaska a day early in order to do our thing before joining with the backpacking group. So we rented a car and headed an hour south of Anchorage for a hike down in the Chugach National Forest. Trail starts out out pleasant...

2,800 ft in elevation gain later, and its cold, and in some places, really windy...

The following day, we met up with the backpacking group. Pretty interesting crew - 2 guides plus 5 other people in addition to James and I. I was the youngest of the group by a few years. Anyways, we arrive to the "airport" to board our seaplanes and head out to Denali National Park...

...wrong. Weather conditions, at the destination, are not cooperating and we're a no-go for take-off. Bummer, right!?! It is determined that we will stay in Anchorage for the night and try again tomorrow. So we decide to make something of the day and went out for a hike just outside of the city at mountain called Flattop. It ended up being a pretty awesome hike with some really amazing views, especially up at the top. It was super windy at the summit. Just crazy. The combination of rock scrambling to the summit, super windy conditions, and just the excitement of being in Alaska led to one logical reaction  - sprinting around yelling as loud as we possibly could....

We actually pieced together later, at the same time that we were running around yelling, the Cleveland Cavaliers won Game 7 against the Warriors! So we didn't actually see the end of the game but we were celebrating with you Cleveland!!! Let's gooooooo...anywho, let's keep our composure here. The next morning we still a no-go for flying out to Denali..huge bummer again. Since there was no sign of the clouds lifting, a decision was made by the backpacking company to change locations from Denali to Lake Clark National Park. If you're like me or anybody else in the group, you have never heard of Lake Clark. So after a collective pissing and moaning by the group, we realized we had no other choice and accepted the change. I didn't mind - I just wanted to see Alaska for everything that it is, and as you'll see, Lake Clark is no "Plan B" park. It really was amazing. So off we go via two bush planes to get to our first campsite...

After about 2 hours total flight time (we really were by ourselves out there), we made it out to our starting point Turquoise Lake. It was a cold, windy first day/night, and James and I started getting worried we didn't pack well enough - I was reading the headlines in my mind...two southern, city-boys freeze to death after one day in Alaska. Would've been super embarrassing; fortunately, we survived. 

The next day, we left Turquoise Lake and headed to a lake at much higher elevation for our second campsite. There's no trails out here, so you are free to hike anywhere you want. We hiked on mostly tundra throughout the trip, which had a really interesting feel to it. It felt like you were walking on 6" thick of moss. There was no trees until we hit a lower elevation valley at the very end of the trip. 

Typical day: woke up around 8:30-9:00. Guides made us coffee and breakfast. We would then pack up the tents and gear and usually roll out around noon. We would hike until around 6:30, stopping throughout the day for snacks and photos. Once a campsite was chosen, James and I usually hiked around the area for another few miles - we were slowed a little bit by the group during the day. We would come back and the guides will have made dinner and we would crush that. The food was surprisingly good. Really good, actually. Maybe it was just because I was super hungry, I don't know. 

James jokingly suggested we jump in the pond seen down in the valley....

....and it happened. And yes, it was absolutely freezing. Not a bad spot for a swim though

In the picture below, the valley straight ahead of the girl is where we saw two grizzly bears. Super cool to see, even if from a far distance. One of those things where you really want to see a bear,...until you actually see one; and realize you have to keep your distance.  

Our 3rd campsite, ended up being kind of close to where we saw the bears. And there also was a couple bones and antlers from a caribou carcass. So probably wasn't the safest spot, but the view looking into the valley was amazing. We ended up camping here for two nights.

Unfortunately, my camera died after this and couldn't charge it until I got back to Anchorage. James was in charge of the photography after this point. The next day was the final full day of hiking. We finished at Twin Lakes, which was in a super cool valley. We traversed through some thick brush and a spruce pine forest to get to our final campsite located along the lake's shore. The following morning, a seaplane came and picked us up and took us back to civilization. That first shower was soooo nice. And just using a toilet instead of digging a hole was nice as well. 

James and I booked an extra day after the trip as well, so just as the trip began, it finished in a Prius. We took it down much farther south of Anchorage then we did previously and we hiked the Exit Glacier/Harding Icefield trail. Awesone awesome hike. Super cool.

And that's it! It was one heck of a trip and great experience. Alaska was everything I hoped and more and it was even cooler to be able to share that experience with my brother.

'Til next time Alaska

Bert out