7 days of backpacking, flying into the backcountry from Anchorage, AK.

This is the quintessential Lake Clark National Park backpacking trip. The Telaquana High Traverse improves upon more established routes with more spectacular trekking, terrain, camping, and scenery. Travel logistics are easy since this trip starts and ends in Anchorage with its international airport and city services, though it does involve a relatively long charter flight (which is simply amazing: it crosses Cook Inlet as we then fly around and through several sub ranges where the Aleutian and Alaska ranges meet).

We get dropped off via float plane at the large Telaquana Lake on the west side of the Neacola Mountains. After a short hike through the forest we reach the alpine and stay high in the mountains for the next few days trekking along creeks, up valleys large and small, beneath towering glaciated peaks, around glaciers, and by beautiful alpine tarns.

About midway through the trip we drop down to Turquoise Lake, another large (but higher elevation) mountain lake in the park. If you’re a fisher, there’s excellent grayling fishing here and we can cook them up to supplement meals! We’ll spend some time exploring the amazing glaciated valley that feeds Turquoise Lake as we continue our trip and again make our way up high into the mountains.

Near the toe of the massive glacier that feeds Turquoise Lake, we’ll branch off the main valley ascending into hanging valleys where we’ll go around beautifully situated high alpine tarns and glaciers. We’ll eventually cross a relatively small glacier to reach the highest pass of the route for the final descent down to Twin Lakes where we have the option to visit Dick Proenneke’s cabin before our float plane pickup.

This route is 28-30 miles with ~11,000 vertical feet of ascending and descending. To participate you’ll need to be mentally and physically prepared to average ~4 miles of hiking with a ~55 lb pack over rough terrain each day.

Rates:

• Start at $3500 per person

Itinerary:

• Pre-trip: Evening meeting at a convenient location in Anchorage for introductions, trip overview, personal gear check (there’s an REI nearby for any last-minute needs), and distribution of group gear and food (pre-packed in bear-resistant canisters).
• Day 1: Meet at airport in the morning to get flown into the backcountry. Start trekking!
• Day 2-6: Trek, camp, eat, sleep, repeat in sublime wilderness.
• Day 7: Last day of trekking. Get picked up for the return to Anchorage.

Trips can be shorter or longer depending on client needs and interests. Rates and itinerary above are based on a 7-day trip.