9 days, Alaska, and May; where would you go?

[Brewerbob]

So, the gf's bday is May 15th. Alaska has been on both of our bucket lists forever. Flying out on the Fri night/Sat morning prior and returning the following Sunday. 5 days max off from work. Using the weekends, that's "9 days". Quotes because it's actually only 7 days with boots on the ground. A Fri night flight gets in early Sat AM with time zones (yay). A Sunday flight leaves at just after midnight Sat and gets in Sun evening. Boo on the return time zones. The travels dates are based solely on her bday and could be moved left or right by weeks or months. Prefer not to die of hypothermia nor stampeded by the masses.

I would like to see Denali but then there are sooooo many other parks in AK; Gateway, Kenai, Glacier, ... just to name a few. 9 days isn't enough time to do a single park justice. But short of buying an RV and moving there... justice will have to wait until retirement.

I am just starting the research today. No tickets are bought, no plans yet made. So, you have an open slate with the following assumptions...

Backpacking is the plan; in the back country. A day trip on a bus; maybe.

1) What park(s) should I hit? Why XYZ Park instead of 123 Park?
2) What city(ies) should I fly in/out of? BWI/IAD/WAS/PHI/MDT are all open for departure.
3) Once in AK, bush plane from/to where? I do not want a guided tour. Those seem to be $2000~$3000 for 4/5 days. I just want an air taxi. Drop me off at ____ and pick me up in 7 days at ____.
4) Except for bear cansisters, I have all the gear I think I'll need. What am I missing?


Gear:
Big Agnes FlyCreek 2
Jetboil
Sleeping bags are 15° (mine) and 0° (hers)
Thermals
Light weight down jacket
Rain jacket
Trekking poles
REI sleeping mat
Osprey backpacks

I've got a real gear list somewhere but I think it's on the home laptop.

Thx in advance for tips, suggestions, etc. A special thx for hyperlinks.

[RockDoc]

If you like hiking and history you might try the Chillkoot trail; fly into Juneau, ferry to Skagway. Permit necessary from Canada. Might fit your timeline.

[Brewerbob]

If you like hiking and history you might try the Chillkoot trail; fly into Juneau, ferry to Skagway. Permit necessary from Canada. Might fit your timeline.

Yes to both!!

I started out looking at the cruises; they hit Skagway. But I want off the boat so I can do my own thing.

Juneau might be cheaper. I'll have to check that out. Thx for the suggestion.

[Hikingjim]

unfortunately chilkoot's season isn't until early June (and pretty variable in early June!)

I don't know what you'd find there in mid-may where you can hike for a long time without hitting serious snow. expect the potential of extreme mud/wet conditions in some areas that are snow-free

There would certainly be some fairly clear hikes in places like kenai and the mountains near anchorage. But not sure about backpacking any distance! You might find that you have to piece things together and there are a lot of limitations because of the time of year

[Hikingjim]

Hopefully someone here can help with something specific. I would think flying into anchorage and looking south of there would be a good place to start

[swjohnsey]

Ride the train from Anchorage to Fairbanks.
Denali
Drive down to Seward
Valdez take a look at old cemetery and old Valdez destroyed by earthquake.
Drive up to the park that overlooks Anchorage (forgot name).

[BonBon]

I visited this place a few weeks ago. It was spectacular and has beautiful hiking. Ferry from Juneau or take the little plane. It is not a cruise ship town like Skagway, more of an authentic "Northern Exposure" kind of town. Complete with their very own brewery, several places to stay, (including the woods) good food, and several trails with varying degrees of difficulty. It is my first double bucket list destination- meaning I wanna go again.
and here is a link to hiking trails there: http://www.alaska.org/destination/haines/trails

[Venchka]

May might be ok for fishing in Alaska. You can't hike any appreciable distance in the Rockies, Sierras or Cascades in May. You certainly wouldn't get very far in Alaska in May. Is Denali even open in May?
Go later. You wouldn't want to go to Alaska without backpacking in Denali.



Old. Slow. "Smarter than the average bear."

[BonBon]

We were in Haines at the end of May. that part of Alaska is very mild. Just happened to be a freakish heatwave and not a cloud in the sky when we were there )in the 80s-very unusual) but the average temps in may are in the mid-upper 50s. Lows in the 40s. I call that perfect hiking weather!

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Climate Haines - Alaska

°C | °F

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Average high in °F:	29	32	38	48	57	62
Average low in °F:	18	21	27	34	42	49
Av. precipitation in inch:	6.57	2.95	3.78	2.05	1.46	1.54
Days with precipitation:	-	-	-	-	-	-
Hours of sunshine:	-	-	-	-	-	-

[Hikingjim]

bonbon is right that the weather will be great. The conditions of the trails are what are more limiting
I looked at one of the mountain trails at Haines, Mount Ripinski. It's only 3690 ft and would need a historic head wave to be ready in mid-may.

Ripinski:
"Mid-June through mid-September is the normal hiking season. With easy access, winter ascents would be reasonable as well, though there might be some avalanche danger on the highest slopes."

It would still be great trip in May. Just echoing that your choices will be much much more limited.

[Hikingjim]

But i will put that area on my "alaskan adventure" list. looks pretty cool

[Brewerbob]

Thx all.

Mid-June through mid-September is the normal hiking season. With easy access, winter ascents would be reasonable as well, though there might be some avalanche danger on the highest slopes."

It would still be great trip in May. Just echoing that your choices will be much much more limited.

Where is that from?

It was a National Parks page I was looking at. Fairly certain it was Denali even. Their page said peak season for backpacking passes was May-Oct. Another page or perhaps further on the on the same page was a "warning" that snow is possible every month.

I guess I need to google Haines.

I'm pretty good at being crafty. I can always book tickets for June or even July and just give her the tickets in May on her bday.

Anyone have any experience with Kenai Fjords? Having never seen any fjords I'd like to see those too. But I really don't want to be the standard mouth breathing tourist that jumps out of a car, snaps a few pictures, and then races to the next location. It already feels like that.

[Brewerbob]

It is my first double bucket list destination-

Had it figured out before seeing the definition. Not sure I've ever heard it before but I like it!!

[Brewerbob]

Ride the train from Anchorage to Fairbanks.

The Empire Builder in the Lower 48 is also on the bucket list. There's a "tourist train" in AK that is also Amtrak I believe. I don't know if it's this line or not. Maybe it wasn't Amtrak. Something else to google.

unfortunately chilkoot's season isn't until early June (and pretty variable in early June!)

Note to self: google Chilkoot

without hitting serious snow. expect the potential of extreme mud/wet conditions in some areas that are snow-free

I'd rather backpack in snow than mud!! I dunno if sticking to the lower elevations would help or not (i.e. how much lower are the lower). River crossing would probably be an issues too

You might find that you have to piece things together and there are a lot of limitations because of the time of year

There was a note about that on the Denali page. The park is broken into sections and only so many permits are given per section. It says to plan for a mis-smash and to use the bus to get from section to section.

May might be ok for fishing in Alaska.

Fishing really my thing. I like fishing but don't eat fish. I gave away all of my fishing stuff since I hadn't been in so long.

Is Denali even open in May?

Define "open". Not being a smartass but the NPS site had winter activities listed. It would be pretty bad ass to drag the gf up there to see the Northern lights. I'd handle the cold a hell of a lot better than she would.

Go later. You wouldn't want to go to Alaska without backpacking in Denali.

I have enough list to fill several buckets but you're right. This one rates fairly high.

[Venchka]

Denali "open": When does the bus start operation for backpacking trips. Sounds like May might be viable. Probably less crowded.
Have fun.
Wayne


Old. Slow. "Smarter than the average bear."

[Brewerbob]

What do we think about this??? Airfare is $750 from BWI-FAI / ENA-BWI. I don't know what the cost for the train is going to be. Then there is getting to the airport in Kenai somehow. The last leg is just a place holder for it.

My Alaska Trip Planner

Date	Day	Service	Location	Nights
5/13/2017	Sat	Alaska Railroad DOME Fairbanks to Denali	Fairbanks		Remove
5/16/2017	Tue	Alaska Railroad DOME Denali to Anchorage	Denali Park		Remove
5/16/2017	Tue	Park Conx Bus Anchorage to Seward (PM)	Anchorage		Remove
5/20/2017	Sat	Park Conx Bus Denali to Seward	Denali Park		Remove

[Brewerbob]

Denali "open": When does the bus start operation for backpacking trips. Sounds like May might be viable. Probably less crowded.
Have fun.
Wayne

Now we need to define "bus" apparently. Lol. There are shuttle buses, camper buses, and tour buses. The shuttles and camper are run by the park and seem to start May 20th. The tour buses are third party companies. The earliest of those is "mid-May". Another is May 20th as well.

So looks like I should shift at least one week just to be on the safe side.

[Old Toad]

From 1985 - 1996 I worked on the best job ever invented flying and boating all over Alaska investigating archaeological sites. Typically our work season ran from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekends. If working in the Aleutians Islands and along the AK Peninsula the work season would start earlier and end later.

For hiking, I would focus on the Wrangell-St Elias National Park & Preserve. The 11 million acres sized park is relatively easy to access by auto or plane. If all you have is a week I would recommend flying into and out of McCarthy from Anchorage. Just noticed there is now a shuttle between Anchorage and McCarthy. Using McCarthy as a base you could do day hikes or short overnight loops. You probably would not want to go in May. I was there in June. Lower valley were snow free and melting up higher. Mosquitoes were bad. When I worked in this area in 1992 and 1994 we had helicopter support. There are several outfitters that can set you up for hiking. See http://40-mileair.com/hikingtrekking/ for the Chisana area and http://www.wrangellmountainair.com/backpacking-trips for McCarthy area. There are several more listed on the park's website.

Given one to two weeks I would hike from McCarthy up the Nizina River over the pass dropping into the Chisana River and to Chisana where it is possible to make arrangement to fly out. Or continue onwards to Nabesna crossing Cooper Pass and the Nebesna River (might be a problem crossing or just hike up river). Fly out from Nebesna. This route established by Indians was used by miners following the Chisana Gold Rush of 1913 (the last in Alaska).

[Brewerbob]

Hey, I used to live in Irmo, SC. Howdy, ex-neighbor.

From 1985 - 1996 I worked on the best job ever invented flying and boating all over Alaska investigating archaeological sites.

I hate you already!!

For hiking, I would focus on the Wrangell-St Elias National Park & Preserve. The 11 million acres sized park is relatively easy to access by auto or plane. If all you have is a week I would recommend flying into and out of McCarthy from Anchorage. Just noticed there is now a shuttle between Anchorage and McCarthy. Using McCarthy as a base you could do day hikes or short overnight loops. You probably would not want to go in May. I was there in June. Lower valley were snow free and melting up higher. Mosquitoes were bad. When I worked in this area in 1992 and 1994 we had helicopter support. There are several outfitters that can set you up for hiking. See http://40-mileair.com/hikingtrekking/ for the Chisana area and http://www.wrangellmountainair.com/backpacking-trips for McCarthy area. There are several more listed on the park's website.

Given one to two weeks I would hike from McCarthy up the Nizina River over the pass dropping into the Chisana River and to Chisana where it is possible to make arrangement to fly out. Or continue onwards to Nabesna crossing Cooper Pass and the Nebesna River (might be a problem crossing or just hike up river). Fly out from Nebesna. This route established by Indians was used by miners following the Chisana Gold Rush of 1913 (the last in Alaska).

Thx for the advice, I'll check all these out.

No Denali? Seems a shame to travel 4,000 miles and not see Mt. McKinley.

[Old Toad]

"No Denali? Seems a shame to travel 4,000 miles and not see Mt. McKinley."

If flying in during daylight Denali is visible while on the approach to the airport. Also if the atmosphere conditions are good, Denali is visible from Anchorage. Seeing Denali during the commute between Anchorage and Eagle River really made my day.

You can get to the park by car or train. Or go sightseeing by plane. My wife's step-father had a two sitter Cessna and for the price of fuel, $45 a full tank, would fly me up around there. I sure do miss living in Alaska.