Adventures for 2010

Here's what I've got in the mix for adventures this year.
We'll see what I can pull off.

1. 'Copper River Circuit'
Drive to Chitina and park vehicle, then bike over Thompson Pass to Valdez. Hop on the ferry to Cordova, after ditching the bikes in Valdez, then hitch a ride to the Million Dollar bridge and hike from Cordova to Chitina (100 mi) along the west side of the Copper River on the old Northwest Railway railroad bed. Washed out in places, but mostly hike-able. The first 10 or so miles is an ATV trail, with the last 15 or so before Chitina being the same. Hop in the car, drive to Valdez and pick up the bikes and grab a beer and pizza. We'd mail a food drop and maybe some gear to Cordova to begin the hike back to the car in Chitina. Roughly 1 week to do the whole trip, including driving down there... hopefully less. Most likely done in August, prior to the 'rainy season.'

2. Unalaska Island Traverse
Fly to Unalaska Island (Dutch Harbor) and trek around, circumnavigating a good portion of the highly-fjorded island. If I remember correctly, I figured it to be about 100 miles and about 5 days of hiking. Never been there before, so I'm pretty excited about trying to make it happen. I love AK Airlines miles! Probably mid-summer.

3. Tombstone Mountains Trek
Return to the Tombstone Mountains, north of Dawson, YT, and hike in and over the high ridgelines, into the western drainage. I went there with a buddy in 08 and it was absolutely awesome. Very much like photos I've seen from Patagonia. On the map, hike in on the southern ridgeline of Grizzly Creek and over the ridge west of Grizzly Lake. Return to the car by hiking the Grizzly Lake Trail on the north side of the creek. This is the route I did two years ago and we loved it. Probably 6 days hiking, 2 more driving there and back. Would be a great training trip before doing the Copper River Circuit. Fall colors are amazing on the Dempster Highway, however.

4. Biking the Denali Park Rd
Take the bus in to Kantishna and bike back 92 miles to the cars at park hq. That way, we can totally be on our own schedule, never have to wait for a bus, and arrive back at the cars whenever we want. Most likely, bike the road when the buses aren't running (at 'night'). Quite the uphill battle from Kantishna, but once over the pass, it's a bumpy downhill gradient to the car. Probably 2-3 leisurely days of biking, to account for scenery, wildlife, and the mountain. I'd like to do this trip a few times... once in spring, once in summer, and once in the fall.

5. Valley of 10,000 Smokes Hiking
Fly to King Salmon and on to Katmai to hike around in the Valley of 10,000 Smokes for a few days. This trip may fall behind the four above. I'd really like to do it, but I'm not going to get my hopes up, realistically. Another mid-summer trip.

6. Of course, hiking in the Brooks Range, Denali, and in the Susitna headwaters (the 'Coffee-Pizza Traverse'). Maybe some others...

7. Gerstle River & Glacier
Drive our Tacomas up the river bed a ways, then try and bike/hike to the glacier. Most likely done in late September, as the water will be at its lowest and ground starting to firm up, yet there shouldn't be snow