Hiking Alaska’s Wrangell- St. Elias National Park and Preserve
The last time I was in the Alaska
Wrangell’s was 1997. Even though I was part of a climbing expedition I was
dropped off by bush plane by myself about a 45 minute flight from anywhere. The Wrangell- St. Elias National Park and
Preserve is the largest National Park in the United States by area, covering an
area of 20,587 mi². I was dropped off by myself to see how the bush plane would
cope with the landing next to the glacier (the plane carried only the pilot and
me). The weather was awful, almost zero visibility and it was pouring with rain
and snow.
The pilots parting words to
me where, ‘I think it will clear up [referring to the weather] otherwise it could be days before we get
back to get you – now help me push the cub [referring to the plane] out of the mud.’
After the plane left I felt
very lonely. I was in the middle of nowhere by myself. I put up my tent and it
was only then that I realised that in the confusion at the airport (we were meant
to be flying in as teams of three) I didn’t have a sleeping bag, fuel or book
to read with me. I was very thankful a few hours later when the weather cleared
and I heard the buzz of the Twin Otter dropping in the rest off the group. I
was already fed up with reading dehydrated food labels (that I had no way of
cooking) and eating cereal bars!
Anyway, I’ve always fancied
going back to the Wrangles. But there was no guide book on the park until
recently. The new guidebook
titled, ‘Hiking
Alaska’s Wrangell- St. Elias National Park and Preserve,’ was delivered
by Amazon
today. As with all Falcon Guidebooks it’s
well put together and is a fascinating read. I can already feel the expedition
plans buzzing around in my head.
Many thanks for the link Ollie. Have been looking for something new for an expedition!
David
Posted by: David Rogers | August 28, 2008 at 07:58 AM
Hi Dave,
Good to hear from you. I would really recommend the Wonderland Trail to you if you are after some Wilderness Hiking. It’s a fantastic 8 – 12 day trip. More info here: http://olliebray.typepad.com/olliebraycom/2008/08/cascades-youth.html
OB
Posted by: OllieBray | August 28, 2008 at 10:27 PM