[Mega-Will]

So. It's been a looong time since I've posted much on here. But I certainly haven't stopped hiking. I moved to Alaska in the summer of 2008 and have learned a lot about the state and the outdoor activities that can be done here. Perhaps some of that information will be useful or at least interesting to some of you. Of course, no one knows everything about this place, so what follows should be thought of as an always lengthening journal of experiences and ideas. Though I make a point of getting around the state as much as I can, I have still focused on the two parts of the state where I have lived: Southcentral (Anchorage and the Mat-Su), and Delta (the Eastern Alaska Range). I know these areas very well, but it should be assumed that my knowledge of the other areas discussed is sparse, my maps incomplete, and my photos unrepresentative. But where to begin.. I'm not really quite sure how to organize all this, so I suppose I'll just dive in and figure it out as I go along. Here's a map of the good hiking areas, along the road system, in Alaska. (click, then enlarge). The yellow outlines show areas where hiking is primarily on established trails, while the red outlines show areas where there is good access to cross country hiking (meaning minimal bushwhacking, good game trails, hunting trails, etc). As you can see, the densest concentration of trail hiking is located near Anchorage and the northern Kenai Peninsula. And this is indeed the best location for a hiking oriented first visit to Alaska, unless you have something specific you want to see. For the rest my maps in this thread, black lines indicate roads, yellow are established trails, red are potential routes, blue are generally float trips (although I think I used blue for climbing routes on some older maps), and purple are climbing routes on the newer maps.

Alaska road accessible hiking areas

Click and download full resolution map here:

Alaska road accessible hiking areas

(download in bottom right corner) And here's a few sortof representative photos from around the state to give a basic idea of the terrain you will be hiking through: The coastal fjords:

034 (4)

And heavily glaciated coastal mountains:

Portage Glacier

The leeward side of the coastal mountains:

125 (3)

Interior rivers and boreal forest:

441

Interior mountains and tundra:

020 (3)

Northern interior rolling low mountains:

100 (8)

And finally, the mountains of the arctic:

View from James Dalton Mountain

[Mega-Will]

Eastern Alaska Range

Eastern Alaska Range

Download full resolution map here:

Eastern Alaska Range

Far from population centers and without any protected status to call attention to itself, the Eastern Alaska Range sees far less use than the other paved road accessible high mountain country of Alaska. There are few trails, and no signed trailheads (aside from a couple on the Denali Highway, at the edge of the region). There is plenty to do however, and living near this remote region has given me the opportunity to explore it in detail as few others have. There are relatively few trees here, and brush line is not too far up the slopes from the road. So access to the high country is primarily by game trails, and in some cases hunters 4-wheeler tracks. The area is 3-4 hours from Fairbanks, via the Richardson Highway, and 5-6 hours from Anchorage via the Glenn and Richardson Highways. Though the weather here is generally dryer than down on the coast, these mountains still catch coastal moisture, especially on their south slopes, and the Chinook wind that blasts north along the Delta River is often dusty and brutal. Access to some areas is aided by a high clearance vehicle (Red Rock Canyon especially), but many areas are accessible by standard low clearance rental cars.

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (15)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (16)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (17)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (18)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (19)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway

Along the road south of Delta

Black Rabids, Richardson Highway, Alaska Range

Black Rapids (2)

Black Rapids, south of Delta

Black Rapids

Caribou on Summit Lake, Alaska Range

Rainbow Mountain, near Delta

Near Black Rapids

Near Black Rapids, Alaska Range

Mt. Hayes from Richardson Highway

Moose along Richardson Highway, south of Delta

Eastern Alaska Range at night

Eastern Alaska Range at night (5)

Eastern Alaska Range at night (4)

Eastern Alaska Range at night (3)

Eastern Alaska Range at night (2)

Delta River Valley, Alaska Range

Richardson Highway through the Alaska Range

Summit Lake, Alaska Range

Summit Lake, Richardson Highway

Sunset from Summit Lake, Richardson Highway

Sunset near Black Rapids, Delta

White Princess from Richardson Highway (2)

004 (2)

188

029 (2)

024

015 (3)

017 (2)

103

106

107 (2)

107

110 (2)

111 (3)

113 (5)

113

114

119

120 (6)

124

Alaska Range near Delta

Alaska Range from Richardson Highway

388

186 (2)

174 (2)

164 (3)

153 (3)

149

143

133 (3)

126 (2)

125

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (2)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (3)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (4)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (5)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (6)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (7)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (8)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (9)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (11)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (12)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (13)

Alaska Range, Richardson Highway (14)

022

023 (3)

025 (7)

026

033

034 (3)

037 (3)

037 (5)

040 (7)

042

043

044

072 (3)

071 (4)

071 (3)

068 (2)

067 (5)

060 (2)

059 (3)

054 (2)

050 (4)

049

049 (2)

047 (5)

073

077

084 (4)

086 (2)

089 (2)

091 (3)

093 (2)

093

094 (4)

100

101

102

White Princess from Richardson Highway

022 (2)

019 (4)

019 (3)

019 (2)

017

016 (6)

015

015 (2)

013 (2)

007 (6)

005 (2)

001

[Mega-Will]

Bear Creek (Eastern Alaska Range) Coming from Delta, this is the first potential hike that's fully in the mountains - Donnelly Dome to the north is more of a large outlying foothill. Bear Creek is a signed crossing between Ruby Creek to the north and Darling Creek to the south (about 33 miles south of Delta Junction). You wouldn't guess it from the wall of brush, but there are decent footpaths that begin on both sides of the bridge. Both are a bit faint, but both provide access through nice open woods to the subalpine and, with some minor off trail difficulties, to the alpine tundra above. From there, a huge expanse of dwarf tundra and scree can be explored, with a little scrambling, all the way up to the Jarvis Glacier divide if one chooses. Personally I prefer the south trail which accesses the alpine with some very minor brushy routefinding, and leads to a more prominent highpoint. The north trail is worthwhile as well though, where the alpine is accessed via some easy, dirty scrambling. Both trails provide nice views of Bear Creek Canyon, which can also be followed if you're into canyons. Round Trip: about 5 miles (south trail to high point) Elevation Gain: 2400ft.

Bear Creek

115

026 (2)

028

031 (3)

033 (2)

034 (3)

039 (2)

045

051

113 (3)

111 (2)

102 (3)

094 (2)

081 (3)

072 (2)

066 (2)

063 (2)

059

056 (3)

054

053 (3)

[Mega-Will]

Castner - Fels Glacier Divide This is one of the most spectacular dayhikes from a paved road in Alaska and it shows almost no sign of human traffic. Though a little bit of bush pushing and some substantial routefinding are required down low, if one stays on the correct path, this one's pretty reasonable. And once brushline is reached, you are treated to a nearly endless gradual alpine staircase which sneaks non climbers in above the high jumbled cliffs and glaciers of the Alaska Range. The trailhead is located at a pulloff on the north side of Lower Miller Creek. If you're in luck, the braided glacial river will be running mostly along its south bank, allowing easy travel along the gravelbar. If not, any substantial distance through the brush down here would make this hike much more difficult. It's a little hard to describe the exact route, so I will attach a google earth screenshot. When leaving the old riverbed, you will be looking for a large game trail shooting straight up the slope. This leads to a patch of tundra. Take a right here until you see another obvious game trail leading down into the brush, aiming for a small lake. Once in the bottom near the lake follow the path of least resistance near the shore toward the big brushy mountainside to the northeast. Scan the slope looking for the lowest brush. From what I've seen, it's best to head back left along the toe of the slope for a bit before turning up. Regardless, this is the worst bushwhacking of the route and it's steep as well. After maybe 500 vertical feet of this, the ridgeline is reached and the brush and routefinding are over. As a sudden bonus, a spectacular view of Castner Glacier opens up. From here, enjoy the broad ridge as it leads you into the sky. There is at least one tarn on top of the ridge in early and mid summer that would allow decent camping, and snowpatches can probably be found through the summer most years. To me though, this is best as a long dayhike. Any of the highpoints (4226, 5390, 7000+, or 7368) is a worthy turnaround point. The last one does require a significant descent though, and the view isn't that much better. Just recently, I noticed that the next large ridge to the south, between Fels and Canwell Glaciers, has a real lake right on top. That's a definite camping trip for next summer, though the level of bushwhacking remains to be seen. Round Trip: At least 4.6 miles, up to 14 miles. Elevation Gain: At least 1900ft. Up to 5200ft.

Castner, Fels Divide

Castner, Fels Divide Google Earth

515

088

103

105 (2)

113 (2)

114 (2)

114

115 (3)

117

118 (2)

118 (3)

121 (2)

124 (2)

126

128 (2)

132 (2)

137

138

140 (2)

143

144

146

149 (2)

160 (2)

160 (3)

161 (2)

162 (2)

163

164 (2)

167 (2)

167 (3)

168

169 (2)

171 (2)

171

172

173 (2)

175 (2)

178

183

184 (2)

186

213

219 (2)

227 (2)

478

479

481

484

487

500

502

503

506

507

513

514

[Mega-Will]

Coal Mine Road Though this route is maybe a bit boring for a hike in summer, I'll mention it since going part way out to a public use cabin at Coal Mine Lake #5 makes a great snowshoe or cross country ski in winter, and going further out the road is an excellent mountain bike trip in summer. The second half of the ride is right on top of a moraine above brush line, with expansive views of the Delta Valley and the Alaska Range. There is a second public use cabin further out the trail. Drive about 24 miles south from Delta on the Richardson Highway and park at the signed pull-off. Much of this road can be driven by 4-wheel drive, high clearance vehicles, but it doesn’t generally see a whole lot of traffic in this quiet area, far from population centers. Coal Mine Lake #5 4.2 miles round trip +350 feet End of road 15.4 miles round trip +850 feet

Coal Mine Road

159 (2)

134

141 (5)

156

[Mega-Will]

Gulkana Glacier Every April, the biggest hillbilly party of the year happens out here in the remote Eastern Alaska Range. Several thousand motorheads from all over the state come to watch races and participate in the festivities. Food carts, beer gardens, and live music, all in the snow.. And for good reason, Isabel Pass provides some of the best snowmobiling in the world. For the rest of the year, this is really a quiet place, affording a nice relatively easy hike at the end of a bumpy road. I must say that the snow rally organizers do an admirable job of picking up the garbage after the event. You really would never know. The access turnoff is just south of the signed Richardson Monument at Isabel Pass, about 68.5 miles south of Delta. Turn east onto the gravel road and watch it deteriorate into a jeep trail. 4wd isn't necessary, but without a little clearance, this hike might not be much fun since the road wouldn't be enjoyable to walk. Start walking when it's obvious you shouldn't drive any more. Quickly, College Creek is crossed on an awesomely rickety looking wild west suspension bridge. The sometimes faint and very rocky trail continues uneventfully to the toe of the glacier. It should go without saying, but people have died straying onto lingering snow on top of the glacier and falling into crevasses. Only venture onto the ice if you know what you're doing. Round Trip: about 4 miles. Elevation Gain: 500 ft.

Gulkana Glacier

070 (2)

079 (3)

085 (3)

086

[Mega-Will]

Gunnysack Peak The hike to Gunnysack Peak is the only hike in the Eastern Alaska Range where an actual trail ascends all the way to the summit of a substantial mountain. The catch however is that this hike lies entirely within Black Rapids army training area. In order to hike here, one must contact the office and make sure no training is going on, and then stop by to check in and check out. This will deter many, but the hike is worth it. When checking in, ask about the best place to park. In any case, the hike begins on grassy ski slope trails. There are several ways to go -- the trails converge at the lift tower at the top. The trail furthest to the north, skirting the gorge of Gunnysack Creek, is probably the quietest. From the top of the ski slope, a fairly obvious two track trail continues up and slowly turns into a hiker only path. The trail mostly disappears for a pitch up a steep meadow, but appears again when the ridge becomes more defined. Some minor exposure and talus hopping eventually leads to the summit, marked by a memorial to fallen soldiers. Very nice views overlook most of the Delta River Valley and right up Black Rapids Glacier. There is also a hike that starts right across Gunnysack Creek to the north, behind Black Rapids Lodge, entirely outside the army training area. The folks there are friendly and will point you in the right direction. Apparently, this path is flagged all the way to brush line, but I have not been up there yet myself. Drive about 40 miles south from Delta on the Richardson Highway. Black Rapids Training Area is an obvious compound on the left, just past the Lodge at Black Rapids. Check in at the training area office. Round trip: about 6 miles, but it depends on where you park. Elevation gain: 3700ft.

Black Rapids Training Area

101

202

203

201

197

199

163 (2)

174

172

176

180

186

192

191

190

189

195

193

165

161

162 (2)

158

159 (2)

149

148 (2)

138 (2)

140

130 (2)

121 (2)

116 (2)

[Mega-Will]

Michael Creek This is another surprising "wall of brush" footpath along the Richardson Highway in the Eastern Alaska Range between Delta and Glennallen. The signed creek crossing is about 46 miles south of Delta and there are trails that push into the brush on both sides of the bridge. On the north side, trails lead to a couple private cabins. The trail you want is on the south side of the bridge. There are a couple confusing junctions; for the time being you can follow the red ribbons tied around shrub branches. If you reach a large river-rock cabin, you've missed a right turn. When the path reaches a grassy meadow, it's not obvious but you need to take a sharp left back away from the meadow, up the hill. From here, the trail leads steeply up onto a tundra bench where the tread temporarily disappears. Follow the path of least resistance (generally up and to the right) and the trail will reappear through a last band of brush. Once through this, there are some fine views from rock outcrops overlooking the Delta River region. This is a decent turnaround point, but it's rewarding and simple enough to climb higher, on up the tundra. Eventually a vertical ridge step halts easy progress, and this is as far as I've gone. It's likely possible however, to skirt the gendarme on the right and continue up the ridge into high alpine rock and snow, up towards the Jarvis Glacier divide. Round Trip: about 3.5 or 4 miles Elevation gain: 1700ft.

Michael Creek

455

392

393

402

412

420

429

431

433

447

200 (4)

202 (2)

[Mega-Will]

Donnelly Dome As you can see, I have pictures depicting a wide variety of conditions on this hike. I’ve been up here many, many times since it serves much the same purpose as Tiger Mountain for Puget Sound residents, just with considerably better scenery and worse weather. I’m particularly grateful for this geographic anomaly 20 miles south of where I live since the rest of the region here north of the Alaska Range is rather gentle. I think I’d end up getting fat without Donnelly Dome. Of course, there aren’t any trailhead signs here or anything, and most of the hill is on military land. The army doesn’t seem terribly bothered by people tromping around in this area though, particularly on the south side, accessed from non-military land along the Richardson Highway. If you want to be official, pick up a recreation pass at the visitor’s center at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, or at Fort Greely in Delta on weekdays. There are two main trails here, one on the south side which climbs steeply up an open and wind blasted slope. Another trail climbs the north side, accessed from “Dome Road” on military land. It’s just as steep and a bit brushier but the ridge walk to the summit is really cool. I’ve generally stopped going that way, and sometimes drop part way down the ridge from the other side to extend the workout a bit. One unexpected quality of this hill is it’s availability as a surprisingly reasonable winter hike. Like I mentioned, the open south slope is frequently blasted with the warm Chinook winds funneling out of the Delta River Valley, and is often mostly clear of snow. The shrubby tundra at the base of the Dome gets heavily drifted, but generally isn’t too terrible to walk. In addition, big steep slopes in the mountains are almost always much warmer (often as much as 30 degrees, even when it’s not windy) than the interior valley bottoms. Drive just less than 20 miles south from Delta on the Richardson Highway, and park at a pull-off on the west side of the highway. There are a couple parking spots from which the trail can be accessed, the best one is just past the top of the hill rising up from the Donnelly Flats straightaway. The first part of the trail can be driven with 4wd, hc. Look for a footpath heading toward the mountain after a half mile or so. The open, upper slopes have several indistinct trails. 3 miles round trip +1660 feet elevation gain

Donnelly Dome

View from Donnelly Dome

003 (5)

005 (4)

006 (4)

024

030 (2)

032

047

049

050

051 (2)

052

060

074

083

337

Alaska Range from Donnelly Dome

Eastern Alaska Range at night (6)

far eastern AK Range from Donnelly Dome

Fort Greely from Donnelly Dome at night

Granite Mountains from Donnelly Dome 2

Granite Mountains from Donnelly Dome

Mt. Hayes from Donnelly Dome at night

016 (4)

012 (3)

005 (3)

060 (3)

045 (3)

044 (3)

029 (3)

026 (2)

080 (2)

054

shadow of Donnelly Dome

Mt. Silvertip from Donnelly Dome

[Mega-Will]

Rainbow Ridge This is a small mountain range along the Richardson Highway, lower and closer to the main river valley than the icy main range of the Delta Mountains. Its name is inspired by the multi-hue cliffs and scree slopes seen dramatically from the highway, 4,000 feet below the crest of the ridge. Hiking in these mountains can be done from several access points. The Redrock Canyon (local name) access gives the option to gain much of the elevation on an ATV trail (expect motorized traffic on weekends especially). The road up McCallum Creek edges up to the brush line on the opposite side of Rainbow Ridge (no trail), and the other two “trailheads,” along the highway itself are really just narrow spots in the brush where hikers have previously found a way up into the high country. One is a pullout at the big bend at MP 209.5, and another at a gravel pit at MP 206.5.

Rainbow Ridge

Red Rock Canyon The main ATV trail from Redrock Canyon ascends spectacularly (look for a more pleasant foot trail, first on the left, then on the right) up to almost 5,000 feet. The view from the overlook at the end is spectacular, including the large Canwell Glacier, the Delta River Valley, and the Hayes Range in the distance. To the south though is a rubbly ridge that looks steeper and looser than it is. I’d call it a class 2 scramble but the view from the top will knock you out, making that steep climb and even the ATV road totally worth it. In addition to what you could see before, you’ll realize that you’re now right on top of the hanging glaciers clinging to the north side of the Rainbow Mountains. The icy north face of Institute Peak is one of the most beautiful features in the area, and it’s right in your face. There’s lots of moderate, open country up here, but most of it is recent glacial moraine, and gets really tiring after awhile. At least walk the minor ridge down for awhile, even though it doesn’t really go anywhere. Take note that the snow melts much more slowly here than in most interior locations. The day I did this hike was 91 degrees in Fairbanks, but only pleasantly cool here. Save this one for high season in mid July through mid August. Round Trip: about 8 miles from Creek crossing (HC vehicle), 12 miles form canyon entrance. Elevation Gain: about 2000 feet.

Hiking in the Alaska Range south of Delta

Hiking south of Delta

Jeep track, Rainbow Mountains

Rainbow Mountains Hike (2)

Rainbow Mountains Hike (3)

Rainbow Mountains hike (4)

Rainbow Mountains hike (5)

Rainbow Mountains hike, south of Delta

Rainbow Mountains hike

Rainbow Mountains

Rainbow Ridge Hike (2)

Rainbow Ridge Hike

4-wheeler trail south of Delta

024 (6)

Canwell Peak Canwell Peak (named after the survey marker on the summit) is the northernmost summit of Rainbow Ridge, and offers a more convenient scramble than the main summits. It's become perhaps my favorite dayhike in the eastern Alaska Range. Follow the Red Rock Canyon road until it levels out on top of the moraine about a mile in. Take a right up steep heathery tundra up onto a broad ridge. From here you can see the whole route. Make an end run across easy tundra around the canyon you see in front of you. Cross the creek (this is locally called Rainbow Basin) and head to the first prominent notch to the right (north) of Canwell Peak. Follow the ridgeline from there, skirting left around some minor gendarmes. One can descend the same way, or plunge step down the scree of the east face. Round Trip: about 6 miles from creek crossing (HC vehicle), 10 miles from canyon entrance. Elevation Gain: about 2700 feet.

054 (3)

011 (2)

016 (9)

022 (9)

031 (7)

033 (6)

035 (4)

039 (6)

044 (4)

087

071

069

047

045

121

114

107

105

101

047 (4)

045 (5)

090

024 (2)

027

034

037

041

042

044

001

005

008

013

Rainbow Mountain I have not managed to summit Rainbow yet, but have attempted twice, once from MP 209.5, and another time, in late winter, from directly below the peak. Both routes are quite steep, with some loose, obnoxious scrambling up high, and a bit of bushwhacking down low. The direct route is probably preferable. Round Trip: about 3.5 miles. Elevation Gain: 4000 feet.

Rainbow Ridge Hike, Delta (2)

Rainbow Ridge Hike, Delta (3)

Rainbow Ridge Hike, Delta (4)

Rainbow Ridge Hike, Delta (5)

Rainbow Ridge Hike, Delta (6)

Rainbow Ridge Hike, Delta (7)

Rainbow Ridge Hike, Delta (8)

Rainbow Ridge Hike, Delta (9)

Rainbow Ridge Hike, Delta

058

130

105

099

089

071

068 (2)

060

015 (2)

South Rainbow Ridge From the gravel pit at MP 206.5, hike northeast through light brush to reach a trail and head right (southeast). This leads up into an avalanche blasted creek gully, and with some boulder hopping, up to a high pass. Cross country travel up the peaks to the north of here is possible and rewarding, but somewhat annoyingly steep. Round Trip: about 5.3 miles. Elevation Gain: 3150 feet.

024 (6)

025

029 (2)

[Mega-Will]

Suzie Q Creek I stumbled upon this great hike just poking around one day and I’ve never really heard of anybody else hanging out up here, except maybe sheep hunters. The hike doesn’t really have a name but it follows Upper Suzie Q Creek in its lower stretches, so I’ll go with that. It’s accessed from a comm. tower road from MP 225 Richardson Highway. Just before the tower is a pullout and faint ATV trail heading east. Hike out this trail across beautiful “Sound of Music” style flowery tundra. The trail gets a little tough to follow in spots and ends pretty quick, but generally stay parallel to the creek. There’s a bit of brush around where the slope steepens, but you should be able to weave your way around the clumps and get on a rockier ridge. A little light scrambling leads up to an otherworldly pasture of teletubby-green dryas. The ridge beyond is generally hikeable, with some tougher scrambling in spots, but the views don’t significantly improve for awhile, so call this a short hike, or devote a full day to it. The ridge eventually leads up to the main Delta-Jarvis divide, up at about 7,000 feet, though I haven’t been that far yet. Looking at Google Earth though, the close up view of 9000+ foot Mt. Silvertip from there would be extraordinary, not to mention the rest of the spectacular Delta River region. I’ve taken a couple people on this hike now, and they’ve been totally blown away by the scenery and surprised at the easy access – highly recommended. Note: This hike is within the army's Black Rapids Training Area. In the past, this section has been little used, and I didn't use to bother to check in. They have begun using the area more however, and it is a good idea to check ahead and see if it's being used. They want recreational users to check in and out in person, but that honestly doesn't seem necessary. Drive about 42 miles south from Delta on the Richardson Highway and take a left on a gravel road immediately before Suzy Q Creek. Wind up onto the windblown tundra and park either at the AT&T tower, or at a small pullout where the trail actually takes off. Round Trip: about 4 miles to high viewpoint. Can continue much further. Elevation gain: 1800ft. to high viewpoint.

Black Rapids Training Area

McHugh Peak Hike (3)

Black Rapids Hike, Alaska Range (2)

Black Rapids Hike, Alaska Range

Black Rapids Hike, Richardson Highway

Dall Sheep from Alaska Range Hike

In the Eastern Alaska Range, south of Delta

[Mega-Will]

Top of the World As you can see from the pictures, this route makes for a good winter snowshoe outing. The area is worthwhile in summer as well, although the top of the plateau is boggy with a rutted ATV trail. The clear, beautiful upper portion of the Delta River is on the other side of this plateau, but this is probably best enjoyed as a float trip from Tangle Lakes. The parking pullout is about 61.5 miles south of Delta. The pipeline crosses the river here and makes a conspicuous beeline up a steep slope with a gravel road on its right side. Follow this road up to the top of the plateau and then cut off to the left up the moderate ridge leading to Pt. 4364. There is lots of room to explore up here among rolling tundra mountains with the big peaks of the Alaska Range in the near distance. Round Trip: About 6.5 miles Elevation Gain: 1600ft.

177

091

093

096

102

117

120

123

131

135

141

153

162

167

169

172

174

[Mega-Will]

Dalton Highway Of all the winding, gravel highways that radiate out from Fairbanks, this one is unquestionably king. The only road extending into the vast northern half of Alaska, the Dalton traverses the endless rolling hills of the interior, crosses the enormous Yukon River, winds through the rocky, impossibly harsh, and eventually treeless landscape over the highest road pass in the state, and then extends endlessly across the tundra of the north slope, leading to the Arctic Ocean. The majority of this region is not really good for hiking. Bogs, mosquitoes, and uninspiring terrain take much of the fun out of it. A couple regions along the way, Finger Mountain for instance, offer terrain high, open, and dry enough for hiking, but the main attraction is the Brooks Range. Although there are few established trails, they're hardly needed here, and the options are truly endless. Lacking the heavy glaciation typical of the coastal mountains, rivers in the Brooks range run mostly clear. Aside from the main rivers, most streams are typically small and cross-able on foot. The catch is that the permanently frozen ground responds quickly to rainfall and even small streams can be totally inaccessible for several days after a heavy rain. Likewise, the peaks here are ragged, but mostly not extreme. This combination of factors leads to a landscape perfect for long distance hiking / packrafting traverses. Though very good trips can be begun from the road, it is also popular to fly in to remote locations for hiking, and to float rivers like the North Fork Koyokuk, the Alatna, the Noatak, etc.

Brooks Range

Download full resolution map here:

Brooks Range

Dalton Campsite

Dalton Highway (2)

Dalton Highway, Chandalar Shelf

Dalton Highway, Glabraith Lake

Dalton Highway, near Galbraith Lake

Dalton highway, north slope (2)

Dalton Highway, north slope (3)

Dalton Highway, north slope

Dalton Highway

Fireweed along the Dalton Highway

Galbraith Lake, Dalton Highway (2)

Galbraith Lake, Dalton Highway

North Slope, Dalton Highway (2)

Mt. Sukakpak

Mt. Sukakpak 4

Mt. Sukakpak 3

Mt. Sukakpak 2

Midnight sun in the arctic

Koyokuk River in Wiseman

Kanuti River

Kanuti River, Dalton Highway

Kanuti River, along the Dalton

Kanuti River along the Dalton

Galbraith Lake

North Slope, Dalton Highway (3)

North Slope, Dalton Highway

Sukakpak (3)

Sukakpak (4)

Sukakpak (5)

Sukakpak (6)

Sukakpak Mountain over the Koyokuk River

Sukakpak Mtn

Sukakpak

view from Dalton Highway

Wiseman 2

Wiseman

156

157

158

160

161

164

173

182

190

194

202

204

278

272

268

267

261

253

251

239

227

222

214

210

281

285

288

312

315

Atigun Pass, Dalton Highway

Brooks Range from the Dalton

Brooks Range, Dalton Highway (2)

Brooks Range, Dalton Highway

Chandalar Shelf, Brooks Range

Dall Sheep in the Brooks Range

Dalton Campsite 2

Yukon River Bridge, Dalton Highway

026

029

043

048

063

155

154

152

146

140

133

113

105

092

087

084

080

[Mega-Will]

James Dalton Mountain One could talk almost endlessly about the unbounded wilderness of the Brooks Range, but most of it takes a great deal of time and/or money to reach. This is one of those places where much of the wildlife never has and never will see a human being, and it’s comforting just to know it’s there. But! When eyeing the Alaska Highway map, one can’t help but notice the thin line pointing north like a sore thumb, all the way to the Arctic Ocean, right through the middle of the Brooks Range. This is the Dalton Highway, the Haul Road, built to service the pipeline from the north slope oil fields, and eventually opened to the public. Though most of it passes through impressively empty, but ultimately forgettable country, the section through the mountains is one of the greatest road-accessible mountain playgrounds in North America. The Brooks Range lacks the enormous icefields and truly extreme big-wall topography of the coastal ranges, and trees are absent, aside from the lowest valleys on the south slope, but these shortcomings are more than compensated for by accessibility. This is steep, spectacular country, but almost all the peaks can be scrambled, the valleys hiked, and the non-glacial mountain streams can usually be safely crossed. Bob Marshall’s book, “Alaska Wilderness” beautifully describes his delight at being able to explore a new valley or a new peak almost every day for his months spent in the North Fork Koyokuk Country, just west of today’s Dalton Highway. Geologically speaking, the mountains are the furthest north extension of the Rockies, and they have a character similar to the Front Ranges of the Canadian Rockies, such as the area around Banff, except without trees of course. Steep, cliffy north faces, gentle scree-covered south slopes, fascinating mountain shapes, waterfalls, gorges, karst topography, and an overwhelming emptiness, sum up what you’ll find here. Though there are endless options, probably the best backpacking sampler of the country would be to hike west into the area of Mt. Doonerak and the North Fork Koyokuk and make some sort of loop. A relatively cheap way to have an extended trip would be to have a food re-supply flown into a gravel bar by Coyote Air out of Coldfoot. Or, it’s entirely possible to mail food to Anaktuvuk Pass (a rare high mountain native village), and loop-hike through there. If you’re fascinated by the idea of packrafting, the North Fork Koyokuk, the Tinayguk, and the John Rivers are all classics which lead to scheduled air service from the bush-town of Bettles. Like I said – endless, and I’ll shut up now. Of course I haven’t actually done any of this. So far I’ve managed only a couple day hikes from the highway. The first is James Dalton Mountain, picked out, as much as any other reason, because it was about the only named feature in the vicinity of Atigun Pass. It’s also one of the higher summits next to the highway and has a commanding view, though I was hit by a snow squall (in late August) about 10 minutes before reaching the summit. The hike itself is really quite pleasant, and on unusually solid ground for the arctic. The hike is recommended, but one of many options here, picked almost at random. Round Trip: 6.6 miles. Elevation gain: 3700ft.

James Dalton Mountain

View from James Dalton Mountain

James Dalton Hike

James Dalton Mountain (2)

James Dalton Mountain (3)

James Dalton Mountain hike (2)

James Dalton Mountain hike (3)

James Dalton Mountain hike, Dalton Highway, in the arctic

James Dalton Mountain hike

James Dalton Mountain

[Mega-Will]

Sukakpak Mountain The nearly vertical west face of this peak makes for quite a sight along the Dalton Highway north of Coldfoot in the Middle Fork Koyokuk Valley. Surprisingly though, the more mellow side makes an excellent half day scramble. Park at the MP 203 turnout along the Dalton and start hiking east. There’s not even a faint boot path here, but the ground is firm and there’s almost no brush in this dry almost-arctic spruce stand. Aim for the prominent rockslide at the south end of the wall, and pretty much head right up it, taking care to avoid a recently active section of the rock slide. From a notch, I turned north and headed up the broad south ridge. This way starts steep and annoyingly loose, and gets positively treacherous higher up – I don’t recommend it. Instead, drop down a little and climb up the southeast ridge instead (I came down this way). The steepness of Sukakpak and its isolated position give it a spectacular view, though most of the immediate country isn’t as steep as what you’re standing on. I summitted Sukakpak at about 10:30PM in July, under full daylight. It’s hard to think of a better way of celebrating the midnight sun than on a precipice far above the Arctic Circle. Round Trip: about 5 miles. Elevation Gain: 3000 feet.

Sukakpak Mountain

View from Sukakpak

My car from top of Sukakpak

Sukakpak (2)

Sukakpak Mountain in the arctic

Sukakpak Mountain

Summit of Sukakpak Mountain

View from Sukakpak (2)

View from Sukakpak Mountain along the Dalton Highway

View from Sukakpak Mountain