Compare Backpacking The Arrigetch Peaks by Alaska Alpine Adventures

Day 1

Today you are free to arrive in Fairbanks on your own.  From the airport, grab the complimentary airport shuttle to Pike's Waterfront Lodge, which is located near the airport on the banks of the Chena River.  After checking into the lodge, you’ll meet our guides by late afternoon in the hotel lobby. Tonight we’ll do an orientation dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant in Fairbanks and upon returning to our hotel, we’ll pour over maps and discuss the route.  Dinner & accommodations included.

Day 2

After breakfast at the hotel, we’ll make our way back to the airport for our bush flight from Fairbanks to Bettles, the gateway community to Gates of the Arctic NP.  Once in Bettles, we’ll transfer our gear to an awaiting float-plane for the 1-hour flight to Circle Lake - a small oxbow lake near the banks of the Alatna River.  As we bid our pilot goodbye,  thoughts will quickly turn to the expedition ahead.  We'll make camp near the lake, savor our first night in the wilderness, and prepare for our Alaska backpacking adventure into the Arrigetch Peaks. All meals included.  Distance: 1-2 miles, Elevation Gain 300'

Days 3-8

We'll hoist our packs, and begin the steady climb out of the Alatna River valley and into the alpine high country that will be our home for the next 6 nights.  The arduous climb out of the Alatna will reward with spectacular tundra hiking along ridges, unparalleled views of deep glacially carved valleys, incredible camp locations, and stupendous vistas of the magnificent Arrigetch Peaks.  Whether ascending a high mountain pass, walking along a tundra-clad ridge, or hiking alongside a high alpine lake, exploring this area will provide you the essence of Gates of the Arctic National Park, and the vastness of an incomparable wilderness.  All meals included.  Distance: 6-8 miles per day, Elevation Gain 1500'-3000' per day

Day 9

By the afternoon of day 9 we'll descend from the high alpine and make camp along an unnamed clear water creek in the Alatna River valley.  We'll celebrate our final evening in the backcountry surrounded by the silence and solitude found in Alaska's unspoiled and protected wilderness. All meals included.Distance: 4-5 miles, Elevation gain 1000'-1500'

Day 10

With a sense of humility and accomplishment, we'll break camp for the last time and make our way back to Circle Lake, where we'll await our bush flight.  After a short stop in Bettles, we'll return to Fairbanks and the conclusion of our trip. If you are leaving Alaska on this day, please schedule flights home from Fairbanks for after 9pm. Better yet, plan to spend another night at Pikes.  Breakfast & lunch included.

*Whenever possible Alaska Alpine Adventures endeavors to follow our itineraries as written. However, on occasion our trips deviate from the written itinerary due to weather conditions, group preference, specific safety considerations, or unforeseeable circumstances; collectively what some have called “The Alaska Factor.”  Therefore we suggest that you approach any adventure in Alaska with an open mind.