Bush Planes

Basecamping in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park will require a bush plane flight since there are no roads to access its wilderness areas.

Flying into the backcountry and landing on a remote airstrip of dirt, sand or rock is a very thrilling experience that you will never forget!

Contact Wrangell Mountain Air to book a flight.

Setting up Camp

There is no need to travel far after landing in the backcountry. You can simply set up camp near the airstrip. This will make packing much easier because you won’t need to stuff all of your gear and food into one backpack. You can simply carry several loads of gear from the airstrip to your campsite if necessary.

Day Hikes

Explore the area around camp on day hikes with a lightweight pack. No need to carry anything other than the food or clothing layers that you will need for the day.

No Set Schedule

With no time constraints you can do as much or as little as you want each day.

Climb a peak, explore the valley, check out a nearby glacier, swim in an alpine lake or just stay in camp and read a book. Options are endless and entirely your choice.

The goal is simply to relax and enjoy your Alaska wilderness adventure!

Be Flexible

There are no established campsites in the backcountry so options are limitless. That being said, you may want to consider moving a further distance from the airstrip. This will require carrying one or more loads in a backpack. Why would you want to do this?

1. There may be a better, more desirable location to set up a camp. For example, the views may be better, there may not be a viable water source close to the airstrip or there may be a beautiful lake that would provide a great place to make camp.

2. There may already be another party camped near the airstrip. Please respect the privacy of other groups and DO NOT set up camp next to them.

Hybrid Backpacking and Basecamping

Another more adventurous option is to combine both backpacking and basecamping in a trip. This will give you a taste of backpacking in the remote Alaska wilderness without committing to a true point-to-point trip.

Simply backpack for a day or two while moving camp along the way. Once you’ve traveled far enough to reach your goals you can simply establish a basecamp and spend another 1-3 days doing dayhikes with a light pack. Then you simply pack up camp and continue back to the airstrip where you began your journey.

This type of trip gives you the best of both worlds. It is slightly more difficult and adventurous than basecamping while relieving much of the pressures of committing to a full point-to-point backpacking trip.