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Backpack Wrangell St. Elias National Park
Day 1 - Meeting the first morning, the group will have a brief orientation before traveling north in our van toward Wrangell St. Elias National Park. The van ride, about 4-5 hours, takes us through beautiful canyons and across open forests. The group is treated to panoramic views of both the Chugach and Wrangell St. Elias Mountains. Our destination is the quaint town of McCarthy where we meet our backpacking guide and spend the afternoon both enjoying the small town and preparing for the backpacking tour. Once packed, we hike to the base of the root glacier for the first night of camping.
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Day 2-4 - We cross the Dramatic Root Glacier clad with crampons on our boots and hike north toward the Donoho Peak Wilderness. The Donoho Peak Wilderness trip takes backpacking a step beyond, and allows us to fully experience one of Alaska's true wonders - "glaciers". We will get a whole different view from the tide water glacier we visit later in the tour . Camp will be set in the rolling tundra at the base of Donoho Peak. This section of the tour incorporates basic wilderness skills and is an introduction to off-trail , Alaskan-style hiking and glacier trekking. From this western edge of the Root Glacier we can take advantage of several options including: trying our hand at ice climbing, scaling 6,696 foot Donoho Peak, exploring a spectacular section of the Root or Kennicott Glaciers, or simply hiking through the spruce forest to picnic alongside a
n alpine lake.
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Day 5 - The hike back to McCarthy takes us back across the ice and into the ghost town of
Kennicott. Once a thriving copper mine, Kennicott is packed with a rich history. We will have a chance to walk around the
ruins of the mine and capture some Alaskan history. We will make the drive back to Valdez by late afternoon to end the trip.
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