People have called the flight through Lake Clark Pass one of the most stunning in Alaska. It takes you through a rugged canyon walled on either side by dramatic peaks, tumbling glaciers, and spectacular waterfalls. Dense green vegetation clings to the steep hillsides in stark contrast to the white glaciated basins above and the chalky Tlikikila River cuts a wide and braided swath beneath it all. This is Alaska at its finest, the epitome of wilderness and the essence of Lake Clark National Park.  The one way to top a flight through Lake Clark Pass is to float through it. To raft these silty waters from the summit to Lake Clark is to take part in a whitewater journey that few ever have, and to behold the surrounding beauty from the river itself is a treat like no other in Alaska. Here are more images from this adventure.

This trip originates in Anchorage, Alaska. Getting to Anchorage is a snap. Alaska Airlines, your travel agent, or the carrier of your choice can easily arrange roundtrip airfare from the lower 48.  Once you land in Anchorage, your adventure really begins. For this trip into Lake Clark National Park,  you'll find that the areas we visit won't be found on any road map; out here there aren't any roads!

Bush Flights: Access to Lake Clark National Park is limited to air travel in a small airplane flown by an experienced bush pilot. This adventure includes internal floatplane bush flights between Anchorage and Lake Clark National Park. Have your camera at the ready, your trip begins here.  For most, this will be your first experience in a small aircraft – a memorable one to be sure.  The flight to Lake Clark takes you through the southern portion of the Alaska Range with towering peaks and tumbling glaciers right off the wing tips.  The 110 mile flight to Summit Lake, in Lake Clark National Park, takes approximately an hour.

Accommodations: This is a real wilderness camping trip and you will be sleeping in expedition quality tents for the three nights in the Lake Clark wilderness.  You will have the choice of a single, double, or family size tent which is capable of sleeping 2 adults and 2 children.  You will need to bring a sleeping bag, rated to 30 degrees F. or warmer,  and a sleeping pad (details below).  We will also have a group tarp erected for eating, relaxing, and getting out of the weather.  There will be no hot running water, showers, beds, or cabins.  This is "real" Alaska and you will be completely immersed in it for the 5 nights.

The Experience: Our first day in the wilderness will allow us to collect our senses, gaze at the surrounding beauty, and get a feel for the terrain we will be covering.  You will quickly become acquainted with our style of wilderness travel and camp etiquette.  Meals are planned to be sumptuous, filling culinary adventures of their own.  Because weight and packaging is critical, careful consideration is taken in planning and packing the ingredients.  You can be assured every meal will be something you may never have experienced in the wilderness. We use organic and real food products when possible and the very best freeze-dried and dehydrated ingredients available.

What’s Included:

• All group gear (tents, stoves, fuel, inflatable canoes, life jackets,  dry bags, etc.), satellite phone,  and safety equipment.
• Ground Transportation to Chugach State Park and Lake Hoood on Day 1.
• Round trip bush flight transportation from Anchorage to Lake Clark National Park.
• Professional guide service at a maximum 4:1 client to guide ratio.
• All meals from lunch on day one through lunch on the final day of the itinerary.
• Storage for your extra travel items while in the field.

What’s Not:

• Lodging in Anchorage prior to and after your adventure.
• Personal gear (sleeping bags, packs, rain gear, etc.). - See Equipment Lists
• Trip cancellation insurance.
• Additional room nights in Anchorage due to weather delays.
• Alcoholic beverages.
• Guide gratuities.

Reservation Policy:

A deposit of $1000.00 per person is required to reserve a trip with Alaska Alpine Adventures. The remaining balance is due 60 days prior to the start of the trip. Reservations made within 60 days of the trip starting date require payment in full.

If the participant cancels a reservation earlier than 60 days prior to the starting date, the deposit will be refunded, minus a $500.00 administration fee. If the participant cancels within 59-31 days of the starting date, 50% of the trip balance will be refunded. If cancellation is made within 30-0 days of the trip starting date, there will be no refund of any costs. Alaska Alpine Adventures recommends cancellation insurance available through Travel Guard. Please call or email us for details.

Everyone asks:

What about the mosquitoes?
In case you've heard horror stories... the number of mosquitoes is greatly dependent on hatching season and annual weather conditions. While we are bound to encounter some mosquitoes during the course of our adventure, their numbers have not generally presented major problems on past trips in these specific areas. That said, please arrive prepared with insect repellent and a head net to fend off any mosquitoes that are present.

Will bears be a problem?
Alaska is bear country! There are both grizzly and black bears in most of the wilderness areas of Alaska we visit. We love seeing bears in the wild and it really is one of the most thrilling experiences common in Alaska backcountry travel. With that said, traveling safely and taking precautions to minimize a negative encounter are things we take very seriously. In addition to being subject to our thorough bear safety orientation, you’ll also see that we take many precautions when traveling in Alaska’s wilderness – 1 all of our food has been packaged to minimize odors – we vacuum seal most of our fresh ingredients and sauces, we pack our food in bear resistant food canisters, and we store our food well away from camp. 2 We make noise when we’re hiking in thick brush or when we’re hiking in windy conditions to minimize surprise encounters 3 we keep an exceptionally clean camp and 4 as a last resort we travel armed. Our guides carry 44 mags or shotguns. Alaska’s national parks allow for the use of firearms and our guides are thoroughly trained in firearm use. Again, using a gun is a last resort and thankfully we’ve never had to call one into service on a trip!

What kind of food might we expect?
Our food is excellent – in fact it is something that clearly differentiates us from our competitors. We have spent the past decade fine tuning our backcountry menu. Breakfasts include pancakes, scrambles, various homemade granola and cereals, French pressed coffee, assorted teas and hot drinks. For lunch we enjoy foccacia sandwiches, bagels and Alaska lox, hummus and toasted pita chips, and assorted wraps. We also have homemade snack mixes both salty and sweet and energy and candy bars available throughout the day. Dinners could include lasagna, pad thai, beef mole’ tacos, penne pasta with a roasted red pepper pesto, wild mushroom risotto, etc. And we ALWAYS enjoy one of Derek’s home baked desserts after dinner.

When would you require a deposit? and how much? Trip cancellation insurance? Can we get it through you?
We require a deposit of $1000 per person to officially reserve a trip. Really the deposit is due as soon as you’d like to book. That way, we have the trip inked in on the schedule and can begin the effort to coax others into joining the adventure. When you decide to book, we then generate an invoice that we send by email. You’ll then have the option to pay the deposit by mailing us a check, calling us with a credit card number or by using a Visa, Master Card, or American Experess on our secure online payment system. As for trip cancellation insurance, Alaska Alpine Adventures is licensed to sell Travel Guard - an industry leading insurance product designed specifically for adventure travelers. Please contact us for details, or click here to obtain a quote.

Lake Clark National Park:

Why are so many of your trips in Lake Clark National Park?
Simply because we believe Lake Clark National Park to be the most spectacular and diverse park in Alaska. At over 4-million acres, this wilderness park has something for everyone - miles of coastline, active volcanoes, spectacular lakes, glaciers and icefields, wild and scenic rivers, stunning mountains, and very few visitors. If you seek solitude and the perfect Alaskan landscape, Lake Clark will not disappoint.

Where is Lake Clark?
Lake Clark and its surrounding 4 million-acre national park is located approximately 150 miles West-Southwest of Anchorage.

How do you get to Lake Clark?
Access to Lake Clark National Park is solely by small aircraft or, in some instances, by boat.

Is transportation to Lake Clark included in the price of the trip?
Absolutely, our trips are all inclusive from Anchorage. All you need to do is get yourself to Anchorage on Day 1.  All transportation thereafter is included in the price of your trip.

Where will you meet us?
Alaska Alpine Adventures will provide a shuttle to Lake Hood Seaplane Base on the morning of Day 1.  This is when you will meet your guide for the trip.

Who will I be flying with and what time will we be departing on day one?
You'll be flying with into the Tlikikila River with Rust's Flying Service.  We schedule our departures for 10am.

Who was Dick Proenneke?
Dick Proenneke lived on Twin Lakes, in the heart of Lake Clark National Park, from 1968-1998. He resided in a small hand-hewn log cabin on the South shore of the upper lake near Hope Creek. Dick, who has been called a modern-day Thoreau, was a prolific writer and photographer. His cabin, which we visit on a number of our adventures, is a testament to his simple lifestyle and a reminder of his dedication to wilderness and conservation.

Is Lake Clark National Park a good place for viewing wildlife?
Absolutely. Lake Clark has been called Alaska's epitome and Little Denali, though at 4 million-acres and roughly the size of Switzerland the term little doesn't really apply! In addition to seeing all 5 species of Pacific salmon, the park is home to grizzly, coastal brown, and black bears, dall sheep, caribou, moose, wolves, and tremendous seasonal populations of migratory birds.

Itinerary:

Day 1: This morning, our group will meet at 9am in Anchorage.  After a short orientation and gear check, we will then make the drive to Chugach State Park where you’ll take a beautiful hike and enjoy a trail side lunch with your guide.  By early afternoon, we’ll then make our way to Lake Hood Seaplane Base, the busiest float-plane airport on earth, where we’ll board a floatplane bound for Lake Clark National Park and our home for the next 5 nights.  This 1 hour scenic flight will take us over alpine tundra, braided rivers, and cascading waterfalls.  Our skilled bush pilot will then take us down to a small lake nestled in Lake Clark Pass, where we will unload our gear on a small beach and then wave the airplane goodbye.  We’ll set up camp on the lake, bask in the newfound solitude, and then take short early evening hike before dinner.  Lunch and Dinner Included.

Day 2: We'll spend first day in the wilderness portaging gear to floatable water and familiarizing ourselves with the dynamics that have helped to create the beauty around us.  By late afternoon, we’ll be on the river and enjoying the pure majesty of Lake Clark National Park as we paddle the milky white Tlikiklia in our inflatable canoes.  These boats, called SOARs, are amazing.  Not only are amazingly stable and comfortable, they are also incredibly easy to paddle!  By the end of the first day, you will be comfortably navigating the river – even if you’ve had very little rafting experience.  All meals included.

Days 3 – 4: By the end of the 3rd evening, we'll reach the confluence of the North Fork where we will make camp on a gravel bar alongside an unnamed creek. Within Lake Clark Pass the surrounding mountains seem to completely envelope the river, and the surrounding countryside is both humbling and breathtaking.  From these spectacular campsite locations, we may spend time hiking up creek beds in search of waterfalls, moose, bears, and sheep.  And the rafting on these days will offer both beauty and challenge as we encounter a couple of Class III rapids along the way. All meals included.

Day 5: We will spend our last full day floating to Lake Clark. As we enter the lake, keep in mind that in the Fall, Sockeye Salmon spawn in huge numbers in the milky waters beneath the boat, and from that point we are nearly 200 miles from saltwater!  As we finish our dinner beneath 4000' granite cliffs, our sleeping bags will beckon us after an amazing day.  All meals included.

Day 6: After our final breakfast in the wilderness, we’ll break down camp and prepare to return to civilization. As the floatplane descends on the Lake, we’ll depart knowing that this amazing place has made lasting impact on our souls. We’ll return to Anchorage by early afternoon.  Join us for this unparalleled Alaskan rafting adventure!  Breakfast & lunch included.