Jon Prescott and Sam DeBurgh go to Alaska.
https://vimeo.com/46508599
"Night Zero" was spent in Anchorage. Friends-of-friends took us out to a night club and then a pub (Gaslight) where we saw the world's best female bull rider and the world's worst female bull rider (images permanently ingrained).
"Morning One" had us reeling from the night before. We sped down the highway around Turnagain Arm, arriving 45 minutes late for our rafting trip. No problem though, we just missed the line of people getting their dry suits, helmets and PFDs. Mudflap raced us up to the put-in in a late 80s Aerostar Van, telling us nonstop stories about his Aconcagua climb and his girlfriend from Montana with whom he sometimes shares a wardrobe. The rafting on Sixmile Creek was tight and intense. Class IV and V and ice cold.
Next came Homer and a visit with my high school buddy Louis and his wife Jasmine. We took a late night tour of Bear Creek Winery, which their family runs, and I got to operate a forklift for the first time. Our other Homer highlight was a boat ride across Kachemak Bay towards Grewingk Glacier for an 8 mile hike. Self powered trams, PackRaft ferries, glaciers, icebergs; the works.
We snagged an espresso in Anchor Point (where they fire guns into mountainsides at weddings) on our way out to Wrangell-St. Elias NP. The 8 hour drive was broken up with a fishing stop at the Russian River and a truck swap-out in Anchorage because our stereo's auxiliary jack was faulty. Dinner was in Palmer and camp was made at Liberty Falls near Chitina.
Early the next morning we drove to McCarthy. Two hours down the gravel road and we wound up with a slow leaking flat tire which we left with the tire guy to fix while we were in the backcountry. Our bush pilot Don (Wrangell Mountain Air) flew us to Bremner Mine. In the air he let us know we were the first people of the season to attempt the Seven Pass Route and that it was still quite snow covered. Wave of panic. Followed by a still determination as we took in the massive park and all its features. We landed on a flat grassy area near the mine and were off toward Iceberg Lake. 4 and 1/2 days (after a scheduling goof) to complete our 6-8 day strenuous trek. Oh Mary.
Trek Day 1: Bremner to Monahan Creek. A big long uphill crunch through the snow. Crampons were a must. The snow cover was a blessing on the downhills as it allowed us to avoid the rocks and boulders underneath.
Trek Day 2: Monahan Creek to the Tana Lobe of Bremner Glacier. After the most absurd bushwhack through 8 foot tall dense, stubborn brush we emerged at a stream. We made the poor decision to attempt the crossing that night. Carefully picking our way through the current, we made it to land on the other side. This land turned out to be an island. We hadn't seen the fork in the river through the foliage. The second crossing was too gnarly so we turned back, made camp on the bank and built a fire out of a dead tree to dry our boots.
Trek Day 3: Found our stream crossing point! We climbed over the moraine and found our way onto the Bremner Glacier. Crevasses were easy to avoid because the snow was gone at this low elevation and we cruised. Stepping off the glacier we missed the point we were supposed to ascend to the saddle. Instead we walked across glacial excrement on the valley floor for four hours. Once we figured out our mistake we did a 180 and tried our best to soften the psychological blow while creeping back uphill. It was 10pm when we got back to our ascent point. After scrambling up a vertical stream we came to a steep snowy slope. Crampons on. By 11:30 we had flattened out and pitched the tent.
Trek Day 4: Magic. We were on route and in love with the scenery. Crossing the saddle we got our first views of the valley due east of Bremner Glacier. The descent into the valley was quick and we saw some grizzly bears. The glacier near Iceberg Lake was snow covered so we stuck to the moraine, which also being snow covered, was quick work. Camp was made at the foot of the glacier.
Trek Day 5: A early morning stream crossing. The toughest and fastest moving yet. Easy going the rest of the way to Iceberg Lake. Don picked us up and we flew back along the Tana River to McCarthy.
Two flat tires on the gravel road this time. Fortunately one was a slow-leaker so we made it. Both were fixed while we ate big hamburgers in Chitina. We were in a rush to get to back to the airport in Anchorage and I got a speeding ticket on the Old Edgerton Highway. Five moose were spotted and the weather got bad. This was the weather we just missed.
Back to the urban jungle.
This trip was non-stop. Good on us Sam Housemate! And next time we'll go easy on the schedule to incorporate some time to crack open that deck of cards.
