Compare Exploring the North Wrangells by Alaska Alpine Adventures vs Alaska: The Great Exploration by Discover Corps

Day 1

Meals: Lunch and Dinner

Today your guide(s) will pick-you up in Anchorage by 8:15am.  You’ll head to our Anchorage shop for a group orientation, before loading into our 15-passenger vans for the six-hour drive to Nabesna, the gateway community to the northern portion of 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.  By late afternoon, we’ll arrive in Nabesna and will check into the Ellis family lodge at Devils Mountain.  After settling into our accommodations, we’ll enjoy dinner at the lodge, pour over maps, and discuss the days ahead.

Day 2

After an early breakfast, we’ll load packs and prepare for our early morning Piper Super Cub flight into the park.  As you and your pilot lift off of the gravel runway, the grand scale of this wonderful wilderness will be immediately apparent.  The stunning 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, you will begin the descent toward a tundra ridge above the upper reaches of Tumble Creek.  After everyone has enjoyed the ride in the cub, the skilled bush pilot will bid us farewell and disappear into the landscape.  We’ll then shoulder our packs and begin hiking toward the headwaters of Tumble Creek, all along trying to digest the majesty of the surrounding peaks that tower well over 13000’!  We’ll camp tonight along the Tumble Creek.  Distance: 5 miles, Elevation Gain: 1500'

Days 3-5

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

For the next three days, we’ll make our way south toward the expansive north face of Mt. Jarvis. The size and scope of Mt. Jarvis is really beyond description and can best be described as incomprehensible.  From the verdant tundra mesas to the twin summits, you’ll enjoy the rare opportunity to witness seven thousand feet of vertical relief and what is literally one of the most majestic vistas in North America.  We’ll cross Tumble Creek on the morning of Day 3,  move up along a stunning tundra ridge toward Jarvis, and will set up camp next to a small lake beneath a hanging glacier.  Day 4 will be spent on a long and amazing day hike where we’ll cross an unnamed glacier (no ropes or glacier skills necessary) and ascend onto a large mesa beneath Mt. Jarvis.  Scouting the tundra for caribou and sheep, we’ll stop for lunch overlooking the Jacksina Glacier and the mighty north face of Jarvis.  By day 5, we’ll be headed north and onto the second stage of our circuit.  All meals included. Average Daily Distance: 8-10 miles, Average Daily Elevation Gain: 2000'-4000'

Days 6-10

The character of the country will change as we begin stage two of our journey and head north toward Tanada Peak. Broad singular vistas will be replaced by tight steep valleys and new views around every corner.  We’ll hop glacier creeks, ascend steep and exposed sheep trails, and cross a 7000’ pass along the way.  While the weather and the terrain will dictate the exact location of each night’s camp, we will have plenty of time to truly explore this amazing and diverse landscape. By the end of Day 10, we’ll be camped along a small creek near a gravel airstrip.  All meals included.  Average Daily Distance: 8-10 miles, Average Daily Elevation Gain: 2000'-4000'

Day 11

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

After a celebratory breakfast in the wilderness, our pilot will begin the process of flying us out of the wilderness one to two at a time.  By early afternoon, we'll again be relaxing at the Devil's Mountain Lodge where we'll enjoy hot showers and a celebratory dinner in the lodge dining room.

Day 12

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast at the lodge, we'll pack up and by 10am we’ll be headed back to Anchorage where we’ll conclude our journey and bid one another farewell.  If you are leaving Alaska on this day, please schedule your homebound flights for after 9pm.  Better still,  you can opt to stay in Anchorage overnight.

Day 1: Arrive in Anchorage

Meals: Dinner

Our Alaskan adventure begins in its charming city of Anchorage. Arrive into Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) and meet your local Alaskan guide. We’ll get a brief introduction to the area before settling into our accommodations at a boutique inn in downtown Anchorage. Dine alongside locals at a brewhouse and get to know one another as we gear up for the week ahead.

Day 2: Learn about Alaska's History and Meet a Member of the Beluga Whale Alliance

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Today's adventure takes us to the Alaska Native Heritage Center. As Alaska’s largest living cultural center, we’ll get the unique opportunity to explore a village of authentic and traditional structures from Alaska’s many native cultures. We’ll also be treated to a range of performances including native dancing led by a community dance group, or athletes demonstrating World Eskimo-Indian Olympic Games skills. In the afternoon, enjoy a picnic lunch and guided hike into the snow capped mountains of the Chugach State Park. Stop along the way to discuss the stunning geography of the area while learning about Alaska history as you gaze over aerial views of Anchorage.

Before dinner, we’ll get a visit from a member of the Beluga Whale Alliance to discuss the declining Beluga Whale population of nearby Cook Inlet and their effort to sustain the species by volunteer driven data collection. Enjoy dinner with a view overlooking the Cook Inlet, named after Captain James Cook during his search for the Northwest Passage.

This hike is all abilities level and will be based on group pace with 3 different routes to choose between.

Day 3: Ride a Glass-Top Train to Seward & Explore Kenai Fjords National Park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Rise early for an adventure down the Alaskan coast. Hop aboard the Coastal Classic train and venture from Anchorage to Seward in style. Often ranked as the top ten train rides in North America, you’ll wind along Turnagain Arm, where the steep mountains of the Chugach Range plunge directly to the sea before entering into the backcountry wilderness. Take in the panoramic vistas of Alaska’s beauty under the glass dome ceiling railcars. This 4.5 hour scenic ride will offer plenty of photo opportunities of wildflowers, rivers, and possible wildlife sightings so be sure to keep your camera handy! Arrive into the quaint, fishing town of Seward where you’ll go from train to boat for an afternoon of wildlife and glacier viewing in the remarkable Kenai Fjords National Park. Keep an eye out for whales, porpoises, puffins, sea otters, the stellar sea lion, and more as we cruise through Aialik Bay towards the mighty Holgate Glacier, an actively calving tidewater glacier. We will spend time in front of the glacier to watch for calving, where giant chunks of glacial ice break off and crash into the water. The tour is fully narrated by a National Park Ranger

Day 4: Join the Alaska Sealife Center for a Puffin Experience before a Dog Sled Tour Through the Wilderness

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Wake to the sounds of fishing boats departing for the day and views of towering Mt. Marathon and Mt. Alice outside your window. Today we will head to Alaska’s only marine rescue and research facility, The Alaska Sealife Center. You’ll have the opportunity to learn about how the center is protecting marine wildlife through rescue and rehabilitation. Go behind the scenes with researchers and learn about a range of animals from stellar sea lions, ringed & spotted seals as well as the giant pacific octopus. Join staff in a privately led deep dive into the characteristics and traits of a puffin. Learn first hand why their bright orange beaks change colors during the year and how they’ve earned their nickname, clowns of the sea!

In the afternoon, visit a local homestead kennel for a look into Alaska’s Iditarod dog sledding family, The Seaveys. Get to know their beloved team of huskies, a tether-free environment, and how mushing runs deep within the family line and their way of life. Your adventure begins with a 2-mile dog sled ride. Feel the power, excitement, and energy of these amazing sled dogs as they are harnessed to comfortable wheeled sleds on this hour and a half dog sled tour. Mush through the Seward Alaska wilderness to the base of Resurrection Mountain and along Box Canyon Creek.

Day 5: Head to Homer & Meet with the Alaska Center for Coastal Studies for "Belly Biology"

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast, we will hit the road and head to the other side of the Kenai Peninsula stopping along the way in the old gold mining town of Cooper Landing. We’ll arrive in Homer and visit the Wynn Nature Center at the Alaska Center for Coastal Studies, whose mission is to protect the unique marine and coastal ecosystems of Kachemak Bay through science-based environmental education and stewardship. Get to know the 150 acre wildlife corridor with a habitat that includes spruce, black cottonwood, and alder trees and is the epicenter for a range of birds from the Black-capped Chickadee to the Orange-crowned warbler. The preserve is located on top of a bluff 1200 feet above Kachemak Bay. After touring the grounds, head down to the Homer Marina with a trained naturalist guide as you explore marine invertebrate life living on & around the Homer Harbor Docks in an activity called, belly biology.

Day 6: Visit a Local Oyster Farm

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Rise for a delicious breakfast followed by some free time to explore the small shops & cafes on the boardwalk along the Homer Spit. In the afternoon, we will board a boat for yet another engaging ocean experience. This time we will explore Kachemak Bay stopping at a local oyster farm to enjoy a tasting! Learn about ocean research by participating in a plankton tow, viewing them under a microscope and using an underwater remote operating vehicle to explore the ocean bed and all the creatures that call this place home! We’ll stop at the secluded Peterson Bay Field Station & visit Intertidal Creature Touch Tanks. Later in the evening, we’ll come together for a memorable Farewell Dinner to cap off our great Alaskan adventure!

Day 7: Explore the Homer Spit before Returning Home or Continuing to Denali

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Enjoy a relaxing final morning in Homer. Head into town for souvenir shopping or beach combing along the oceanfront. In the afternoon, we’ll drive back to Anchorage for evening flights out. Those who opt for the Denali Extension will bid the rest of the group farewell and take a domestic flight from Homer to Anchorage then onwards to Denali National Park.