Wrangell-St. Elias

[John “Jay” Menna]

This national Park just came on my radar.

The description of hiking there from the NPS website is:

For many backpackers, hiring the services of a local guide will make the trip safer and more enjoyable. In general, the areas above tree line (~3,000') afford the easiest hiking and best views. These areas are often accessed by chartering a flight to one of the many possible "bush" landing strips. Note that there are many more places to land than are shown on maps.

Walking across the spruce muskeg with a pack or crossing rivers can take much more time than expected. From a distance the landscape may look like easy hiking, but place a foot in it and you quickly find out the land tests your endurance. While planning your trips, remember that there are very few actual "trails" like you may find in other national parks in the lower 48. Here you will find rugged, un-maintained routes over which you may only be able to travel a few miles in a day.

Read this : http://perpetualweekend.com/2010/02/33-days-across-wrangell-st-elias-national-park

"3 days to walk one valley"

Sounds like heaven on earth. Anybody been there?

[M M]

We did the Seven Pass trek in 2012 based on Greg Fensterman's guide (Falcon Guides), by ourselves. No trail indeed, and we only saw 2 persons on our last day of a week-long trip, though many grizzly tracks. Incredible scenery, with glacier traverses and beautiful alpine passes. I can only recommend this park. Navigation was obvious with glaciers and huge valleys and the good descriptions from the book. The bush flights to and from the trek were not very expensive and definitely worth the money, just for flightseeing over glaciers : we could see mt Logan, peaks in the Kluane, St. Elias, etc. I can send you links for pictures if you want to have a look. We will go back for sure at some point, there are other treks on our to do list in this park. The above mentioned guide is a great source of information to start with. You can also check ideas on the websites of Trek Alaska and Wrangell Mountain Air. We combined it with a road trip in Alaska and Yukon and shorter backpacks in Tombstone territorial park (spectacular too), Kenai peninsula and Denali NP.

[Jeffs Eleven]

Not really hiking, but look for the Documentary Mt. St. Elias.

They ski it. 18,000 feet vert.

Really interesting video. Good looks of the Mtn, but usually higher elevations

[USA Duane Hall]

About 5 of us flew out of this area about 5 years ago maybe. Kirk Ellis, dropped us off close to a glacier and we spent four days out. I just wish we could have seen more animals, about all we saw were a few scattered Caribou. The next year the organizer went, they missed a griz, but when reviewing pics when they got home, enlarged one photo and there one was.

https://devilsmountainlodge.wordpress.com/history/our-history/

Duane

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