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Outside Magazine May 2001

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Wrangling St. Elias
In this vast wilderness, sport is a necessity. Here's how you can sink your teeth into some big-time backcountry.

By Bruce Barcott

Ramp up, Bucko: Wrangell-St. Elias is rugged, cold, and unforgiving. Always carry a compass and topographical maps, pack extra gear and provisions, and consider hiring a local guide. Here, five sporting ways to get out there.

Backpacking You won't find a maintained trail anywhere in Wrangell-St. Elias, but the park is laced with hikeable game paths. Kennicott-McCarthy Wilderness Guides in Kennicott (907-554-4444; www.kennicottguides.com) and St. Elias Alpine Guides in McCarthy (888-933-5427; www.steliasguides.com) lead hikes and backpacking trips throughout the park. A challenging, 11-day outing in Chitistone Canyon, 45 miles northeast of McCarthy, includes a traverse of 5,820-foot Chitistone Pass, between the Wrangell and St. Elias ranges, via the 25-mile Goat Trail (from $2,495 per person with St. Elias Alpine Guides, including round-trip airfare from McCarthy). Or try a half- or full-day trek on the Root Glacier near Kennicott ($50-$90 with Kennicott-McCarthy Wilderness Guides). Keep an eye out for mountain goats, bears, and caribou.

Mountaineering St. Elias Alpine Guides and Kennicott-McCarthy Wilderness Guides (see above) can take you up any mountain in the park; popular climbs include 16,390-foot Mount Blackburn and 16,237-foot Mount Sanford (7-21 days each; $3,000-$5,750 per person; basic mountaineering skills required). And with the wealth of unclimbed peaks in Wrangell-St. Elias, first-ascent expeditions are yours for the asking (from $3,000).

Whitewater Rafting Alaskan rivers are big and unruly—and damn fun to run. Copper Oar (McCarthy, 800-523-4453; www.alaskan.com/copper_oar) offers Class II-III wilderness rafting on the Kennicott and Nizina Rivers ($45-$225 per person for day trips; $1,225 per person for a six-day trip on the Nizina). St. Elias Alpine Guides (see above) offers three-day floats through spectacular glaciated valleys on the Class I-III Kennicott, Nizina, and Chitina Rivers (from $900 per person, two-person minimum), or a 13-day source-to-sea expedition from the terminus of the Kennicott Glacier to the Gulf of Alaska (Class I-III; $2,500-$2,950 per person).

Fishing The park's lakes are teeming with rainbow and steelhead trout, silver salmon, and arctic grayling; king and red salmon run from June to August. You'll need your own equipment; there are no rental shops near the park. Fly-in, fly-out service to the Tebay Lakes runs $150 per person (two-person minimum) on McCarthy Air (907-554-4440; mccarthyair.com). Fishing licenses (nonresidents, $30 for seven days) are required; buy one from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Web site, www.admin.adfg.state.ak.us/license, or call 907-465-2376.

Sea Kayaking From June through August, a few intrepid paddlers dodge icebergs in the fjords of Icy Bay, near 18,000-foot Mount St. Elias on the park's southern coast. Discovery Alaska offers ten-day kayaking and hiking trips in the region (June and August; $2,250 per person; 800-586-1911; www.akdiscovery.com).

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