Backpacking in Alaska: What Park Rangers Say to Prepare For

Plan on covering roughly one mile an hour in Alaska's trail-less backcountry, and add more days to your trip than you think you need. That is advice from park rangers on how to prepare for hiking and backpacking in a remote landscape, where much of the route is not on a trail and even very experienced hikers are challenged.

Hiking in Alaska demands self-sufficiency and backcountry skills (NPS / T. Vaughn).

Plan for self-reliance

Food and gear. When flying in, there may be no groceries, gear or trash facilities where you land, so pack all you need and get rid of trash before you board the plane. Bring plenty of food and fuel plus emergency rations, and weather-resistant outerwear, thermal layers and quality rain gear, because weather changes quickly. Bear-resistant containers are required in most areas; bear spray and electric bear fences deter bears, and you should practice using them first.

Electronics. Batteries lose charge in the cold, even in summer, and there is unlikely to be anywhere to charge once you leave a big city or village. Carry spare batteries or a backup, and keep batteries in an inside pocket to use body heat.

Time. Terrain is complex and ever-changing, so do not plan by miles per day; the ranger attitude is "you get where you get." Have many campsite options and no required daily end point, and leave days in case a flight or pick-up does not arrive because of weather or high rivers.

Backpackers scramble down an alder chute in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve. Alaskan terrain is often complex and challenging, so you may not hike as fast as you would on a trail (NPS / T. Vaughn).

Terrain

Hazards

• Bears. Most of Alaska is bear country. Avoid lakeshores, salmon streams and game trails, make your campsite visible so you and the bears can see each other, avoid cooking or eating very odorous food or fish, and sleep, eat and store your bear-resistant container in three different places.
• Weather. It can snow any day of the year in many places, usually between late August and early June. Warm weather with rapid glacial melt, or heavy rain, can make rivers unsafe.
• Cold water. Rivers are cold, swift and remote, with no bridges. Scout for a wider, shallower stretch, and expect some crossings to be impossible in spring melt or heavy rain.
• Drinking water. Treat, boil or filter it; assume parasites such as Giardia may be present. If boiling, carry enough fuel to boil for up to two minutes, and let silt settle before filtering glacial water.
• Aircraft. Much of Alaska is off the road system. Floatplanes land where beaches are not suitable for wheeled planes, and bad weather can delay a flight by days.
• Navigation. Carry a map and compass and practice with them; most of Alaska has no cell service, and GPS can fail in mountainous terrain.
• Daylight. On the longest day, Alaska may have about 14 to 24 hours of sunlight; on the shortest, about 0 to 5. In spring, fall or winter, bring a headlamp.
• Insects. Mosquitoes and other biting insects are common; use repellent, nets or covering clothing.
• Glaciers and snow. Crossings may require crampons, helmets, ropes and ice axes, and it is often unsafe to cross a glacier alone because of crevasses and hidden drainage.
• Emergencies. Hike with a friend; help may be days away and hospitals are often a several-hour flight away. Leave a trip plan with alternative routes with someone who will know when you are overdue, and consider a satellite messenger, with a backup plan with your air taxi.

In bear country, camp, eat and store the container in three different locations (NPS / Lake Clark NP&P).

Follow Alaska's leave no trace principles, and repackage food before you fly into the backcountry to cut waste.

Sources

• National Park Service, Backpacking in Alaska, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve; rewritten in hubnx's own words.