NIKOLAI
BASE CAMP
HIKING
Multi Day
- Hiking
- Moderate
- Advanced
A base camp on top of the world
This trip offers a unique opportunity to disconnect from the world and immerse yourself in the raw beauty of Alaska’s largest national park. Hike along the ridgeline, take in breathtaking views, and experience the tranquility of nature in its most untouched form.
While only a short flight from McCarthy, Nikolai Pass is a less-traveled backcountry airstrip perched high on a ridgeline. From up here, you get a birdseye view of this gigantic mountain kingdom. Follow the thin ridgelines for epic hiking and explore each valley’s green slopes, spotting wildflowers, sheep and goats along the way.
- Incredible 360 views and long-distance sightings of the tallest peaks in the country
- Comfortable hiking on flat, small rocks and tundra
- Spot sheep and goats along the way
- Best way to spend a couple nights in the backcountry
Trip Details
Trip Length
2.5 days
Total Mileage
5-15mi
Total Elevation Gain/Loss
500-4,000′
Rates
Private Solo
$3,865
Private 2 Participant
$2,325/person
Private 3-6 Participants
$1,770/person
This trip is only offered on a Private Trip basis. Book now or call our Expedition Coordinator to plan your trip today!
The “Alaska Factor”
There is a reason Alaska has such a rugged allure for the lower 48 and beyond: it is still wild! This raw and untamed landscape offers our clients the opportunity to authentically pioneer new territory and have real adventures. Part of embracing the “Alaska Factor” is understanding that things may not always go as planned and expecting the unexpected. Water levels might rise, snow might fall, glaciers may shift and move – the landscape is dynamic and unpredictable is what makes Alaska, Alaska!
All of our trips are customized as they unfold and your guide will fluidly make decisions based on weather, logistics, and group dynamics to maximize each day’s experience. There can be quite a bit of variation, but on each trip we promise a big slice of the real Alaska and authentic adventure!
DAY 0
DAY 1
This morning you meet your guide and head to the airstrip for your backcountry flight. Taking off you start to get a new sense of scale as you fly higher and higher of the now-familiar landscape of the Kennicott Valley. Following the slopes above town you fly deeper into the mountains until you see a teeny tiny flat spot on a ridge in the distance. “I bet a plane could land there,” you think, and then laugh realizing you actually have no idea and that doesn’t really look at all like a runway. And then you realize that that’s exactly where your pilot is headed!
With graceful talent, they touch down on the rocky ridge, just wide enough for the bush plane’s wings. Moments later you’ve unloaded, the plane is in the air once more, and you’re standing here, on top of the world! Countless, endless mountain tops, peaks and spires, snowy caps, icy glaciers – you can see it all from up here!
Feeling energized by the fresh breeze, you follow your guide down to a nearby creek to set up a camp out of the wind. It’s impossible not to want to go back up there though, so as soon as tents are up, you head back up to the ridge and follow it up and over. You’re surprised by how easy the terrain feels under your feet as you prance around the high peaks, inspired by the goats you see scaling the cliffs beyond.
Having worked up an appetite, you make your way back to camp feeling elated by your day’s exploration. After a delicious dinner prepared by your guide you hang out for a while enjoying the views. Your guide has to remind you that it is getting quite late actually and you check you watch – ooops! That midnight sun did it again!
DAY 2
Someone’s quiet footsteps bring you out of REM sleep and soon the smell of coffee gets you the rest of the way there. You unzip your tent and need a moment to just take it all in. Bright sunshine, colorful flowers, and expansive views fill your cup.
Today you have some options. You can stay low, exploring the greener elevations, knowing that the further down you go, the more you’ll need to come back up at the end of the day. Or maybe, you’ll hike back up to the ridgeline but explore a new route with views of the great Nizina River. Either way, plan on an epic vista for lunch!
Coming back to camp early, you get some time to relax and soak in the solitude of the deep wilderness. Your guide prepares another hearty and delicious dinner for the group and a cozy cup of hot cocoa tops off the night.
DAY 3
This morning you get up early to enjoy some alone time before breakfast. After packing up your camp, you bring your gear back up to the airstrip above.
Due to the epicness of this airstrip’s location, the winds need to be just right to land comfortably and – winds are usually calmer in the first half of the day. We’ll aim for a late-morning pickup.
Taking off, you catch your breath at the even higher views. Descending down toward McCarthy, you get another chance to spot the tall Mill Building towering over the town of Kennecott.
Upon landing, your guide will take you back to our HQ to unpack and then can give you a ride wherever you need to go. If you’re staying in town for the day, your guide is happy to provide you with a walking tour of the area or show you their favorite local hike in the afternoon.
We highly recommend spending this night in town for your comfort and to build a little buffer into your plans, but we understand if your itinerary doesn’t allow it.
What’s included?
- Customized trip planning
- Logistics consultation*
- Your professional guide(s) – 4:1 ratio
- Orientation and a Gear Shakedown
- Roundtrip 15-minute bush flights in and out of the backcountry
- All the food on the trip
- Group gear (bear canisters, cookware, fuel, tents**)
*Upgrade to a Trip Package and have logistics included with your trip!
**We recommend that you bring your own tent if possible
What’s not included?
- Gratuities
- Personal camping and hiking gear
- Logistics
You’ll need to be in McCarthy the day before your trip begins for an Orientation and Gear Shakedown. You’ll meet your guide, grab group gear and make sure you are fully prepared to go into the backcountry.
Please account for a full day for travel both to and from McCarthy and the next Alaskan destination. We don’t recommend leaving McCarthy the last day of your trip as this cuts significantly into your last backcountry day and usually makes for a very hectic drive.
Check out our Transport + Lodging Page to learn how to get to and from McCarthy and local lodging recommendations.
Trip Package
If you are planning your trip +2 months before your trip start date, upgrade to a Trip Package! A Trip Package will include transportation to/from McCarthy, local lodging, and any other local activities you’re interested in. We charge a non-refundable $50 Trip Package fee per person for organizing and managing the bookings included in your Trip Package.
This is a Moderate Base Camp Hiking Trip. 
Please keep in mind that there is no truly “easy” hiking terrain in the Wrangells and often the coolest places require a little extra effort to get to. On our Moderate Trips, you will be off-trail trail for the majority of the trip, traversing some combination of rocky slopes, squishy and spongey tundra, and/or slick glacial ice in crampons – all of it uneven, most of it hilly and some of it brushy. On these trips, you will cover 5-8mi/day with up to 1500’ of elevation gain/loss while carrying your own gear. You will be camping in the rugged wilderness with no manmade shelters, toilets, or really any type of development. We recommend physical training in preparation for Moderate trips. These trips are great options for experienced car campers and beginner backpackers, although we always recommend as much prior experience as possible.
GALLERY
FAQ
All the pictures and descriptions sound amazing! How do I know what’s right for me? Here are some things to think about when selecting a trip:
What is my #1 goal for this adventure? Do I want to relax and get away from a hectic schedule? Do I want to push myself on an epic and athletically challenging journey? Create life-long memories with my family or partner? Learn skills from the experts and grow my scope as a mountain athlete? See new landscapes and experience Alaska’s unique glaciated terrain?
What are my interests? Birding, animals, photography, geology, wildflowers, journaling, athleticism, spirituality, art, technical climbing, etc.
Will this trip be part of a bigger Alaska trip? Where else am I going and what else will I see? Our glaciated terrain, history, high-altitude peaks, and vast backcountry wilderness are what set us apart from other areas in Alaska.
What am I comfortable with at my current level of knowledge, experience, and physical and mental ability? Alaska is bigger and tougher than anything in the lower 48 and it’s a great place to push yourself, but you want to be realistic and make sure you have a good foundation to build upon if reaching for higher heights.
We pride ourselves on cooking healthy and delicious meals even under the most adverse conditions! Your exact menu will depend on the trip, your guide, and the dietary preferences/restrictions you list in your Trip Application. No matter what kind of cook your guide is at home, all our guides are well-trained backcountry chefs and use time-tested recipes from our proprietary cookbook for their trips. We carry a plentiful and varied stock of ingredients and most meals are prepared from scratch (allowing for easy substitutions, additions or subtractions of ingredients). We onlyt use pre-packed freeze-dried meals on summit pushes on our mountaineering expeditions.
On our backpacking and basecamp trips, you can expect 3 meals a day, plus snacks of your choice. Breakfasts and dinners are usually hot meals and lunches are served cold. On mountaineering trips lunches consist of a variety of snacks as it can be hard to organize group meals while on a rope team.
We use a combination of fresh, dehydrated, and freeze-dried ingredients to make our delicious meals, however on longer backpacking and mountaineering trips your guides will use more freeze-dried foods than fresh foods to keep pack weights as low as possible. On our rafting trips, we cook full multi-course meals with fresh ingredients and enjoy hot and cold breakfasts, cold lunches and hot dinners.
Meals for most trips start with Lunch on the first day and end with Lunch on the last day. *
*If you are signed up for a Custom Trip Package with us, it may include more meals. Check with us if you’re not sure. Mountaineering trips also include meals in McCarthy before and after the backcountry expedition.
This is one of the most commonly asked questions!
We practice Leave No Trace principles and make sure to minimize our impact on the natural landscape as much as possible.
In Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, the recommended practice for backpackers is to either individually dig small holes (your guide will carry a small trowel) to use as a personal latrine per-use or choose a place near camp but with some privacy and dig a trench for use as a group latrine, depending on the location. You will carry out all your used toilet paper and all other sanitary products and trash.
On rafting trips, we carry a plastic toilet box with a seat that is set up near camp and your guides will carry out all waste on the boats.
On mountaineering trips, the latrine is commonly a crevasse or snow-pit protected from camp by a wall of snow.
Your guides will instruct you on the particulars of the situation per camp to set you up for success and all possible comfort. Please don’t be shy to ask them questions on this matter. It’s a necessity that has been given lots of thought your guides are experts in ALL things outdoors!
