Alaska Guided Backpacking Trips: How to chose the perfect adventure.
Part 1
Dreaming of going on a guided backpacking trip in Alaska? You’ve got a lifetime worth of choices, but probably only a handful of chances to go! In this post, we’ll talk through your options and things you should consider when picking where to go, what trip to do, and what guiding outfit to go with.
We’ll talk about different locations, weather and season, price, what style of trip you might want to go on and things to look for in a guide company. There’s a lot more to Alaska than just Denali!
Part 1: What, When, Where, How, Alaska Backpacking Trips.
Part 2: Who! i.e What you should look for in a backpacking guide or guide company.
If you’re considering an unguided trip, there will likely still be some gems in here for you… or check out our location specific guides to Alaska like this one to Wrangell St. Elias National Park.
WHEN TO BACKPACK IN ALASKA?
Summer
May: Still early season and quite rainy. Snow at most elevations.
June: This is technically the least rainy month in most of Alaska. In lower elevations, mid to late June is perfect. In upper elevations you’ll still encounter lots of snow.
July: A good balance of less rain and no snow in most of Alaska. The last week of June and the first three weeks of July are prime weather in Alaska but also the busiest and most expensive time to travel.
August 1 - 15: The first two weeks of August are still summer, the second two weeks of August can give fall to winter conditions particularly at the upper elevations.
Autumn
August 15-31: the second two weeks of August can give fall to winter conditions particularly at the upper elevations.
September: This month is rolling the dice. If you’re lucky, you’ll have magical fall colors and cool dry temps. If you’re unlucky you’ll be in the first winter storms, wet, cold and cloudy. If traveling in September (or second two weeks of August) you need to be extra prepared to prevent and fight off hypothermia.
Winter & Spring
October - April: Unless you're ready and excited for winter conditions, travel and camping, it’s best to avoid these months. On one hand, they provide a world of wonder… silence, peace, northern lights, and a magical austerity. But if you’re not 111% ready (or even if you are) these months have a good chance of breaking you down with the intense cold and long dark hours.
That being said, if you’re an experienced winter camper and skier, March, April and May provide epic conditions for ski touring, heliskiing, and ski mountaineering. Everything in Alaska will be cheaper during these months and you’ll experience Alaska more like a local.
WHAT STYLE OF TRIP IS RIGHT FOR ME?
Alaska Backpacking Trips
Backpacking trips in Alaska are, by default, more intense than backpacking trips in the lower 48 or most anywhere else in the world that has trails. Out here, you have to earn it. But the rewards are 1000% worth the effort. In truth, over a decade of guiding full time, I generally find that the harder people work on a trip, the higher they end up rating their experience.
That being said, backpacking off-trail, fording rivers, bushwhacking though Alder and camping in the most beautiful spots you’ve ever dreamed, isn’t for everyone. Most people (even experienced on-trail backpackers) underestimate the challenge. For backpacking to be enjoyable you need to be in shape for the trip — some amount of training is essential for most folks.
Alaska Basecamping Trips
For folks who aren’t keen or aren’t able to cary much weight, basecamping provides an awesome option to be super immersed in the terrain with some more creature comfort.
On a typical basecamping trip, you’d fly in to the mountains and setup camp either right where you land, or within a mile or 2 of the landing strip. Each day you hike to your hearts content with light packs. Perhaps the greatest thing about basecamp hiking trips is that you don’t have to breakdown and reset your camps each day. And generally you can bring a few more creature comforts.
Alaska Multi-Sport Trips
If you really want to spend some time on the water as well as backpacking consider a multi-sport trip. They can be logistically intensive and are often far more expensive, but they do provide variety and a chance to rest the shoulders after carrying a pack. The coolest versions of these trips change from backpacking to rafting while still in the wilderness (without having to return to civilization). If opting for a multi-sport trip I recommend choosing no less than a 10 day trip. Otherwise you’re not really able to get into the rhythm in either section.
Alaska Lodge-Based Hiking Trips
Alaska is home to some absolutely stunning wilderness lodges. We wrote a post about our favorite top seven of them. These lodges allow you to live in absolute comfort out in absolute wilderness — a total rarity on this planet. Most of them cost 10k and above for 3-4 days, but if it’s in your budget it’s likely to be a trip you’ll remember fondly forever.
WHERE TO GO BACKPACKING IN ALASKA?
A big piece is deciding what kind of landscape you’re most drawn to. Below are some of the most popular choices (but there’s so much more!)
Denali National Park
Wrangell St. Elias National Park
Gates of the Arctic National Park
Katmai National Park
Most people when they think Alaska they think Denali.
It’s true, Denali National Park is incredible, but there’s so much more to Alaska! There’s so much more than the national parks even! The truth is, almost any 10 square miles of Alaska would be a National Park were it to exist in the lower 48.
Pro tip: if you’ve got a big enough group for a private trip, consider just telling your guide service about your group’s skill level and asking them to pick the trip place and itinerary based on some general guidelines you provide. Guides love this and you’ll love the wild feeling of exploration that comes from seeing a place very few others have.
Where you want to experience Alaska really comes down to a few things:
What landscape most resonates with you?
Above, you can see photos from the National Parks that are most easily accessed from either Anchorage or Fairbanks (the two major airports). It’s really worth researching photos of the different parks to get a feel for what landscape most excites you. They all have a different flavor.
If you’re super keen to see grizzly bears, Denali or Katmai would be a good bet.
If you’re super keen to see caribou, wolves, or musk ox Gates of the Arctic or ANWR would be a better bet.
Cost
If you’re on a budget, look into guided trips in the Talkeetnas or Denali State Park. Lots of people are drawn to the star power of the national parks, but in truth, the Talkeetnas hold some excellent backpacking. Sure the mountains are much smaller, but the views are still grand. And because you don’t need a plane to access the backpacking, the costs are way lower.
Many people recoil at the cost of guided trip prices in Alaska. Two things to consider.
On most trips a full 1/3 to 1/2 of the cost is getting passed right through the guide service to be paid to the bush plane companies. Bush plane flights are expensive!
The Alaska summer is really only two months long and most companies don’t operate in the winter because well… most people aren’t inclined to come to such a dark and cold (but gorgeous!) place.
As a rough gauge, here’s a list of the major parks in descending order of the cost to run trips in those areas (Aniakchak is the most expensive). Most of this cost is due to plane access… some of it is due to how accessible they are from the major airports.
Aniakchak National Monument
Katmai National Park
Lake Clark National Park (Lake Clark, Neacola and Revelation Mountains)
Denali National Park
Wrangell St. Elias National Park
Gates of the Arctic National Park
When you can travel (season).
Aniakchak is just hard to get to and challenging any way you slice it. (July is best)
Katmai has a long season June - September.
Lake Clark (depending on your route) is relatively low elevation. Trips June through October work well)
Wrangell St. Elias has great options June - September.
Denali is pretty darn snowy until July and then gets real wintery by September.
Gates of the Arctic is perfect the last week of June, but notably buggy in August.
Crowds
Alaska is popping off these days. You’re still likely to have the mountains mostly to yourself no matter where you go, but it’s not the absolutely off the beaten path place it once was.
Strongly consider avoiding the busiest areas during July (i.e Bomber traverse, The Wrangells hot spots like Iceberg Lake or The Goat Trail, or the Arrigetch Peaks in Gates of the Arctic.
In summary, you can’t go wrong and you can always come back. Some people try to fit in as many places as possible in a single trip. I strongly recommend you don’t do this — these places take time to settle into your spirit… move too quick and you might miss a massive piece of what makes Alaska special.
PART 2
How to Chose an Alaska Backpacking Guide Service?
There’s a bunch of guide companies and backpacking tours in Alaska these days and it can be hard to discern the differences. Here’s some things to think about when comparing your options.
What’s their guest to guide ratio and how many people are on a single trip?
Some companies send 14 people into the field to maximize profit, some send 4 - 6 with 1 -2 guides. Over the years, we’ve found that the sweet spot is 6 guests and 1 - 2 guides or 8 guests and 2 guides at a maximum. When we go with 8 guests, we split up during the hiking day and regroup in the evenings. The size of the group can really impact your experience. Smaller groups tend to form deeper connections and more comraderie — and in truth this feeling of shared experience is often a highlight for people.
Are their guides qualified to guide you in remote terrain and do you know who your guide will be?
This is a big one! Your guides make or break your experience. And going into the AK backcountry is no joke, so you need to trust them fully. Many of the bigger guide companies hire guides for the summer, pay them practically nothing, and have super high turnover rates. With these companies you’re likely going out into the deep mountains with guides who maybe have a season of experience or sometimes not even that. All of our guides have 10+ years of experience, have a Wilderness First Responder or higher, and have an epic log of personal and professional adventures to back up their experience.
Do they have lots of good reviews from past participants?
Don’t just look at the reviews they put on their site. Check out their google reviews or Trip Advisor to see unfiltered public opinion.
What kind of gear do they supply? Do they have fresh modern lightweight gear or will you be lugging around a 6lb tent? This makes a big difference in pack weight and your overall enjoyment.
After years of backpacking, we can tell you that a light pack almost always wins out. Being able to travel unencumbered is a great freedom. Many companies have old and outdated gear that weighs a ton. Some things we do to keep weight low: use a bear fence instead of bear canisters whenever possible (this is huge for weight but also for ease of packing your bag… you couldn't;’t pay me to lug around a plastic bear canister anymore), use only newer models of Nemo lightweight tents, cary lots of dehydrated food and mix in fresh vegetables and treats to keep it deliciously light.
Same for food. Do they have excellent food while maintaining low weight (for backpacking trips)?
Yes, I too love fresh made dutch oven lasagna in the mountains. But i’d 11/10 prefer the Mountain House freeze dried version if I have to cary all of it on my back.
How expensive is the trip? What does that cost include? Do higher prices seem to align with higher value: lower group sizes, more unique experience, etc.
Not just how expensive is it, but are higher cost trips worth it? At Indigo Alpine Guides our trips are often on the higher end of prices. What do you get for that?
A super experienced hand-picked guide team (we’ve climbed Denali, skied to the South Pole, been on two month long expeditions in the Patagonian Ice Cap, etc.) and we all have high level remote medical training.
In addition to having incredibly qualified guides you also get smaller groups, better accommodations, excellent gear, and a real adventurous trip — we’ll have real challenge and epic adventure in a relaxed and fun group culture. And most of our trips are all inclusive meaning you don’t have to pay extra for gear or food to be provided or for internal airfare. Many companies with the lowest face value price don’t include any accommodations, charge extra for food and gear to be provided, don’t include the cost of the bush planes or tips for bush plane pilots, and don’t pay their guides a livable wage.
With Indigo you also get a company that’s committed to a positive impact and inclusive culture. The truth is, trips in Alaska are carbon intensive. We couldn’t sleep well knowing we were contributing so much damage to the places we loved most so we made our trips carbon neutral through offsets. Not perfect but a start. We move our basecamps every year to make sure vegetation has a chance to grow back. We simply don’t run trips to the most high-trafficked areas. And we run lower affinity courses and trips for women and queer folx with lots of scholarships each season to help support a more diverse outdoors.
What is the company style? Will you be dragged along like cattle and treated like children on a tight leash, or more like family and friends?
At Indigo, we treat our clients like family. Some companies will treat you like a client and keep you at a distance. Find a company style that resonates with you.
In Summary
In Summary… there’s a lot of great Alaska backpacking guides and tours to chose from. Here’s some important considerations:
Choosing the right Alaska backcountry trip:
July is prime time. Consider going earlier or later to save on expense and have an even more remote experience.
There’s more to Alaska than Denali. Best thing is to scroll through photos of the major destinations and see what landscape appeals to you.
If you’re on a budget, look for trips that don’t involve plane access, like some trips in the Talkeetnas, the Alaska Range, or the Deltas.
If you don’t want to cary a backpack, consider a basecamp hiking, rafting, or lodge-based trip.
Be ready for the real Alaska — there will be rain, bugs, tussocks, and massive awe-inspiring views.
Choosing the right Alaska guide service:
How many guests will there be on the trip with you?
Do they have an impeccable safety record?
Are your guides highly qualified?
Do they have epic reviews on and off their website?
Do they have lightweight newer gear and delicious food?
Where are they on the cost spectrum? What does that cost include?
What’s the company style? Will you know who your guide is before you arrive?
Thanks for reading. Of course, we think we offer some fo the best trip experiences in Alaska. Our past guests think so too. We hope to see you out there soon!
Warmly,
Jack and the IAG Fam