Did you know that there are backpacking associations for backpackers, even for backpacking Alaska? Backpackers take their sport and exercise seriously, but not so seriously that they don’t have fun. In fact, backpacking appears to be a growing sport, and is certainly one of the more favorite activities that tour companies say their guests engage in.
Backpacking combines the activities of hiking and camping together to make one great sport. Backpacking typically occurs in back country wilderness scenarios, such as in Alaska where 99% of the state is wild nature, and provides perfect platforms, options, and trekking to a host of unique and varied locations. Alaska may be the best place in the world to backpack because of its size, breadth of wildlife, majestic mountains, crystal clear streams, verdant hills and rocky ridges, plus its glaciers, having ownership of over half of the world glaciers.
Here are 5 great locations in Alaska for backpacking:
1) Denali – Denali National Park has the crown jewel of our national park system, Mt. McKinley. Mt. McKinley is the tallest mountain in North America, standing tall at 20,400 feet, and is a part of a cluster of mountains that range over 600 miles. Denali gets 400,000 visitors a year, but there are still so many remote locations left within Denali that are remote and virtually untouched by man. Hired Alaska backpacking guides would be helpful here.
2) Gates of Arctic National Park – The name alone is alluring. When passing through the Gates of Arctic you will enter a backpacking wonder world where caribou and moose, el and wolves, bear and migrating birds dwell seasonally and year round. About the same size as Switzerland, Gates of Arctic offer kayaking and river rafting, fishing, and peaceful serenity.
3) Wrangell-St. Elias National Park – Shaped by volcanoes on its north side, Wrangell-St. Elias provides some of the most challenging mountaineering and amazing sightseeing in Alaska. Crossing glaciers, walking across broad tundra, crossing crystal clear streams and creeks, to cruising through high mountain passes, you will see caribou, wolves, bear and sheep.
4) Katmai National Park – Dappled mountains and ridges stand mighty above reflective streams and lakes as you meander by breathing in clean air and soaking up the sights and sounds of the Katmai National Park. Backpack in the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes at the end of the Pacific rim of fire. See the largest population of brown bears anywhere in the world, and the greatest concentration of spawning sockeye salmon.
5) Lake Clark National Park – Backpack America’s most remote range in an area that has been trekked less than maybe any other in Alaska. Glaciers, ridges, cirques, mountains and some of the tallest granite mountain faces in the world awaits you.
If you are considering backpacking in Alaska, choose one of these 5 great places for a backpacking trip of a lifetime.