hiking / camping questions (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Aniak: transplants, home, living in)

[richelles]

Originally Posted by treven

A friend and i are looking to to do a month long hike / camp trip in the south western part of Alaska, preferably from Cold Bay, Alaska to King Salmon, Alaska.

I am wondering on the integrity of the land and if there are parts that are unpassable on foot / pack raft due to large lagoon / swamp lands in the area.

Really any help or knowledge on this land and area is helpful and i would appreciate it.

I wonder if you have any idea of what the terrain is like between those two points? I just looked at pictures that were taken on a trip from Anchorage to Dutch Harbor on an air plane over that area. The pictures were taken at some altitude above 20,000 feet in June of 2007 and show the mountains and volcanos on that peninsular with ample areas of snow. The return trip to Kodiak was made on the Alaska Marine Highway System Ferry Tustemenia a week later and the pictures that were taken show the area from the surface of the ocean as we went past during daylight hours. Just the amount of snow visible in the pictures says there was a lot. The weather was really decent during our trip and there were many comments made by people from the area that the sun doesn't usually show up for more than parts of a day normally.

I put four markers on the Google Earth view to get a line along the route you propose and did a path survey and there was something well over 350 straight line miles between those two points. From the plane I saw maybe two of the half dozen or so runways that are indicated on the aerial view in Google Earth. Some of the volcanos in the aerial views looked as if they went from the water on both sides completely across the land surface. I doubt that in some areas you would do more than a few miles a day on those rocky slopes. The view from our altitude going toward Cold Bay was of some really rough almost vertical terrain.

On the trip from Dutch Harbor I took some pictures of the area around Cold Bay as the Tustemenia went up the bay to that town. I think Cold Bay was the first stop on the trip to Kodiak and was possibly the easiest area for walking we saw that day. Between Cold Bay and Kodiak I only took a few pictures outside the few towns where the ferry stopped and those show extreme conditions for hiking. Generally I don't take pictures of vertical terrain and as I remember everything near the water seemed to be somewhat vertical. The light was good for picture taking in June until late in the evening but the view was monotonous from the deck of the ferry so being there was nothing to see except the steep rocky slopes I took very few pictures. During the Winter when it gets dark early you wont make many miles a day and everything will be ice.

The next day on the run to Kodiak we stayed close to shore and again there was little worth expending the effort to use the camera. I doubt you could make the hike across that area in a month because it's steep and rocky with few areas that would allow easy walking. Plus at that time of year even in Kodiak where I have been during the Winter hiking isn't easy and those slopes are much easier to traverse.

One other thing you might have to consider is there might be tribal lands involved in making your hike and unless they give permission to invade their lands you can't legally enter onto those lands.

The pictures I took show only extreme slopes so I'm not going to post them. I did post some of them on Google Earth years ago but I don't know where they are now.

[AKStafford]

Originally Posted by treven

Trying to make the trip in october-december time frame.

Or if you have any other suggestions on where to go in alaska and we can live off the land and fish / hunt for the most part with out dipping into supplies unless needed for a month that would be great. This is just what we came up with for now, still doing more research, obviously

If you are serious about doing some extended hiking in Alaska, wait until summer. Then the weather won't be as much of a factor.

About 3 or 4 weeks ago my brother-in-law did a trip north of the Brooks Range. They were flown in. The plan was to hunt for a few days and then it was a 3 day float trip back down to the road where the truck was parked. They landed and set up camp. That night it started to snow. And it continued to snow on and off for several days. They were stuck in the tent, waiting it out. They were prepared for cold, but not as prepared for the wet snow.

Maybe for your first time out, go with a guided hike: Guided Alaska Hiking and Backpacking Adventures

And here's some other websites:
Alaska Hike Search - A Guide to Hiking Trails in the Anchorage Area
Hiking in Alaska - Best Hikes, Guides, and Trail Maps | EveryTrail
Alaska Hiking | Best Guided Hiking Trips, Lodges and Guides

[JoDan]

Into the Wild!

[Chilkoot]

I think that anyone with the skills to actually complete a hike like that wouldn't be looking for help on this forum.

[garvan]

OP, by any chance, is your name McCandless? Cause you are every bit as clueless as Chris was, and you'll end up in the same place he did, if you try this. That means, the grave.

[Alleycat25912]

Originally Posted by Chilkoot

I think that anyone with the skills to actually complete a hike like that wouldn't be looking for help on this forum.

Thanks for typing what I was thinking ....

[Metlakatla]

Don't let the negative Nancies blow smoke on your dream, Treven. You can do this.

[GrammasCabin]

Met, be nice.

[AK76]

Originally Posted by treven

That does not relate to any of the following i just said or asked, lol

That illustrates your ignorance perfectly.

[treven]

That is why im asking these questions and finding this out before i set out and go for it, haha. I appreciate all the responses and info, I tried to find a map or look at google maps for it, and yes it looked like a swamp / marsh for a good bit of it, thats why i was hoping to find local insight.

Now that i know that part is out of the question, Where would be a good place in alaska to do this two week - month long expedition, most likely during august - september, or september -november of 2015. What would the weather be like and conditions be in this area.

I have looked at average weather reports for past years and current, but only see in some locations it shows 10mm of precipitation a month and a few inches of snow, so that doesnt mean much to me as it poses no threat, but if these numbers are way off and its extremely treacherous, thats why i come here to ask. :]