NOLS Alaska Backpacking

AKW4 by the Numbers:
Days: 28
Passes crossed, each at least 1000 feet high: 14
Hours in longest hiking day: 13
Days without carrying a pack: 3
Days without hiking:1
Total mileage: 137
Total elevation gain: 33,300
Most hot drinks consumed by one person in one day: 7
Most blisters on one foot at one time: 5
Hands that were numb for weeks: 2
Therm-a-rests popped: 0
Longest distance without water, in miles (in Alaska!): 10
Wolverines: 1
Caribou herds: 3
Bears: 2
Moose: 3
Foxes: 1
Shortest distance to a dall sheep, in feet: 15
Big glacial river crossings: 3
Airstrips unsuccessfully scouted for: 1

This Alaska backpacking course traveled in the Healy area of the Alaska Range just east of Denali National Park for 28 days. The group of 14 students and three instructors backpacked a total of 137 miles and gained 33,300 feet of elevation. We crossed 14 passes, each of which was at least 1000 feet high, and we traveld all but three days. Ray Atkins and his bush plane resupplied us about once a week, and otherwise we met no other people until the end of the course. Weather included one snowstorm and a few days of rain and fog, but was mostly hot and sunny. Curriculum largely focused on the skills and leadership needed to travel for long days over varied, challenging terrain. We traveled entirely off-trail over many steep, rocky slopes, through thick bushes, across gentle tundra, along gravel bars, and through a small amount of snow. We crossed numerous small streams and medium-sized creeks, and did three large glacial river crossings. We saw large numbers of caribou and dall sheep, as well as a few moose, foxes, grizzly bears, and one wolverine. The course culminated in students traveling independently in three small groups for six days without instructors.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• NOLS
• Alaska
• Backpacking

[isabelscherl]

i found your videos on the NOLS page and they're awesome!

i was on AKW5 this past summer (2011) and i LOVED it, in fact i recognize some of the places that are in this video because we were also in the healy range.

random question: was one of your major glacial river crossings the yanert?

[kboehrer]

@isabelscherl yep! that was one of our first major crossings :) i can still look at maps from back then and tell you where we went. Did you guys exit on healy creek?

[isabelscherl]

@kboehrer i think so, we did a horseshoe, the bus dropped off the side of the highway on this gravel spot then we crossed the highway and were into the wilderness! was crossing the yanert easy for you guys?

we had an, erm.. intersting? time crossing the yanert because this past summer the yanert glacier had melted more than years previous. in fact it took us about three days to cross it resulting in a late reration (i'm sure you can imagine how thrilled we all were about that) we lived on the

[kboehrer]

@isabelscherl wow sounds like you all had quite an adventure. Crossing the yanert was not as crazy for us, we crossed it in one afternoon. no late relations for us, thank god!

[renaicoangler]

GREAAAAT video, and the landscapes are amazing.

regards from Chile

[kboehrer]

@renaicoangler thanks!

[lukristheone]

SAK3 this summer. I'm going back for my instructor course next year. :)

[merrillballantyne]

Dooood.  NICE!. impressive. Seriously I love this vid.