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The Trip

Imagine yourself journeying through the Alaskan wilderness on the runners of your own dog sled. During the day, you hear the crisp crunch of the snow at zero degrees. At night, from the comfort of rustic cabins, you hear the howling of wolves in the distance. Peeking outside, you see the shimmering northern lights overhead.

Travel with us on a 160-mile journey through the mountains of the vast Yukon-Charley preserve. We will travel, each with our own dogsled, following the same ancient pathways used by American natives, gold miners, and trappers, to explore this vast and recently abandoned wilderness. Using the mighty but frozen Yukon River as our highway, we will follow the route of the famous Yukon Quest race from Circle, Alaska to the home lodge in Eagle.

With tales of the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest sled dog race fresh in their minds and hearts, our hosts, Scarlett and Wayne Hall and their son, Matt, will share with us their in-depth knowledge of raising and working with sled dogs as we journey with them through the frozen wilderness. They began mushing as a hobby more than 18 years ago with their own dog and a few borrowed dogs. Their passion for mushing ignited quickly and led to a program of breeding and raising their own sled dogs. The Hall homestead now revolves around their dog yard of 70+ friendly, energetic Alaskan Huskies that are raised as an integral part of their happy family.

After a short bush flight from Fairbanks to Circle, we will spend the day receiving instruction on dog mushing and retire to our cabins before beginning our journey up the Yukon. In the morning, after a hearty breakfast, we will pack our sleds and harness our dogs for our wilderness adventure and head south up the vast frozen river on a journey into the heart of the Yukon-Charley Wilderness. Each day will be filled with the daily chores of living in wild Alaska, including hauling water, melting snow, and caring for Wayne’s beloved dogs that will quickly become our friends as well.

All this will occur against a backdrop of serene stillness and breathtaking natural beauty, with opportunities to observe wildlife that include moose, Dall sheep, wolves, lynx, wolverines, goshawks, marten, and possibly even caribou, which sometimes winter in the area.

Itinerary

This seven-day trip begins with our flight to Eagle. You are advised to arrive two days prior in Fairbanks so as to be able to recover from missed connections and give any lost luggage time to catch up with you. The days of rest in Fairbanks will be important as we prepare for total immersion into the Alaskan dog-mushing lifestyle the following day. While jet lag and time changes pose their own challenges, be comforted that the approach of spring has lengthened the daylight to over 12 hours.

Day 1: We make a 60-minute bush flight from Fairbanks to Circle, Alaska. The Hall family will be waiting with their dog teams at the airstrip. After brief introductions and a snack, we will suit up in our Arctic gear and boots and have our first lessons in dog sledding before leaving on a brief circuit through the town to our lodgings.

After settling in, we will again venture outdoors, where we will continue with dog- and sled-handling lessons, starting with learning the names of the dogs, their positions, and basic commands and trail finding skills.

Day 2: Today you will learn to care for and handle your own sled and team of 4-6 dogs. Harnessing and unharnessing dogs will become second nature. We begin our journey as we travel up the frozen Yukon River, following the passage of countless travelers traversing this winter wilderness. Our camp will be waiting for us some 35 miles upriver from Circle, where we will picket our dogs under the trees and cook dinner in our woodstove heated tents.

Day 3: Our midmorning departure will allow us plenty of time to cook a hearty breakfast for ourselves and the dogs before packing the sleds and harnessing up for the journey ahead. Our destination by afternoon will be the historic site of Slavins Roadhouse, immaculate in design, a two-story roadhouse that dates back to the Gold Rush and is maintained in great condition. There is a lot of room here for everyone and incredible gold rush era history. This site is the main focus of the NPS activities in the Yukon Charley Preserve.

Day 4: We will explore an old gold mining district a few miles from Slavins and then proceed about 25 miles to the Kandik River. A small overnight cabin will serve as our cookhouse and cardroom, and we will set some heated tents under the stars for comfort.

Day 5: Traveling from the Kandik River cabin to Nation River cabin provides 30 miles of perhaps the most beautiful and remote sections of the Yukon River in the Charley Preserve. This stop will be a very rustic cabin at the mouth of the Nation River, where we will once again feast on meals prepared by our guides and stretch out on rough bunks while our dogs burrow in their snow beds outside.

Day 6: This will be our most exciting section of the journey. The run from the Nation cabin includes the famous Ford Lake Mail Trail at Calico Bluff. We will pass over a bend in the river through beautiful forest and across frozen lakes, ending again near Eagle. John Balzaar’s book, Yukon Alone, describes this passage in fascinating detail. The day ends at Last Chance Creek Lodge, the home of the Hall family. A sauna will cleanse our pores and a gourmet meal awaits us after our passage along the Yukon Quest Trail.

Day 7: On the last morning, we will fly from Eagle back to Fairbanks. Trip members should allow some time for weather delays and are advised to not plan their departures from Fairbanks until after 6 p.m. Although the trip will officially end on arrival at the Fairbanks airport, the trip leader will be happy to help those trip members who want to spend the night in Fairbanks make reservations at a guesthouse or hotel.

Accommodations and Food

On this trip you will experience all aspects of life in a remote area of Alaska (see http://bushalaskaexpeditions.com). At our hosts' home on the Yukon River we'll be housed in a rustic cabin, sleeping in sleeping bags on bunks, and reading by propane or Coleman lamps. As our dogsledding journey takes us on the trail, we'll be sheltered in more remote, one-room cabins in the traditional Alaskan style, heated by wood-burning stoves. Sleep will come easily at the end of a long day on the trail as we make nests on a sleeping pad on the floor or plank bunks and climb into our toasty warm Alaskan sleeping bags. We'll be staying in comfort at our tent camps, with woodstove-heated tents and the light of the stars above.

As is fitting on a self-sufficient trip into the Alaskan wilderness, you'll enjoy the bounty of the land with hearty meals that include berry pancakes, seven-grain cereal, moose and caribou meat, and wild Alaska salmon. Although the meals will generally feature wild game, vegetarians can be accommodated with advance notice. Trip meals begin with breakfast or lunch on day one in Fairbanks, and end with breakfast on day seven in Eagle.

Our hostess, Scarlett Hall, has tried-and-true recipes that will warm and nourish us through our chores and travels. Breakfast will usually be served at 7 a.m. in preparation for a full day on the trail. Lunches will be packaged for individual snacking along the trail or for sharing during a break in travel. At the end of the day, when we have settled our dog teams for the night, dinners will provide a welcome opportunity to recount stories from the day.

A suana at the homestead and one of the distant cabins will be available for a delightful treat. A battery-operated shower at the homestead can also provide a chance to clean up.

Trip Difficulty

Moderate strength and agility will be assets on this trip with an overall requirement that trip members be in good to excellent physical condition. Daily activities will begin early with each participant engaged in instruction about, and, ultimately, the care and handling of their own dog team. By day two, most daylight hours will be spent riding the runners of your own sled as you explore the depth of your relationship with your own team of dogs. Each day will be spent traveling from camp to camp deep in the Alaskan wilderness at distances of up to 45 miles, which will take most of the available daylight hours.

The exhilaration of traveling by dog-powered sled through the Alaskan wilderness can be tempered by the cold weather conditions. The trip leader and the Hall family will help you prepare for the extremely cold temperatures we might experience. Most people who go on winter trips with the Halls learn very quickly how to dress to stay warm and how to vent to stay cool, and report that -20 degrees Fahrenheit is a dry cold and not nearly as frigid as they expected it to be. However, even with these assurances, trip members must be mentally prepared for the challenge of being outdoors and active throughout the day at sub-zero temperatures.

Although showers are not possible every day, the suana will provide an opportunity to clean up when at the homestead.

Equipment and Clothing

Winters in the interior of Alaska are extreme. Temperatures in late-February and early-March can range from +30°F to -50°F. Layered clothing is essential to accommodate indoor and outdoor activities and varying levels of exertion. Thin underlayers of silk, capiline, and/or polypro form the necessary base layer. Polar fleece or tightly woven wool pants and a shirt can be worn comfortably over the base layer, followed by windbreaking and heavily insulated outerwear in the form of ski pants and a hooded jacket.

In this extreme climate, special care must be given to the selection of gloves, hat, boots, and face mask, as the extremities are most susceptible to the effects of cold. One thinner layer of gloves is necessary so that you can quickly perform duties requiring manual dexterity under cold conditions. Our guides will provide each trip member with outer mitts, face masks, and, if necessary, outerwear that is appropriate for use in an arctic environment.

Personal toiletries, a small duffle or backpack for extra gear, your one change of clothes, and a camera (with extra batteries) round out the list of necessary items. Small digital cameras that can stay tucked inside your parka (to stay warm) work well in the frozen north. A complete list of clothing and equipment will be provided prior to the start of the trip. The trip leader will help each trip member develop their own personal set of clothing, and many supplement these items with clothing from the local guides or the Sierra Club.

Specialized equipment needed for dog sledding will be provided. Trip members may bring their own sleeping bag (if rated as a four-season bag) or borrow one from our guides.

References

Trip members can find all of these books at amazon.com or borrow the copies that will accompany the trip leader:

• Balzaar, John, Yukon Alone.Wayne Hall, our host, was the guide for the author.
• McPhee, John, Coming Into the Country. The third section in this classic book is about living in bush Alaska in the Eagle area. This book can give you a real feel for the country that you will be traveling in.
• Shore, Evelyn B., Born on Snowshoes. Evelyn was born and raised near Eagle and has traveled extensively by dog sled.
• O'Neil, Dan, A Land Gone Lonesome. This book describes the history of the area and current issues, a great read that provides insight for discussions.

Conservation

Most of the conservation issues in this region of Alaska concern the balancing of fish, moose, and caribou populations while still providing for the needs of people, as well as predators such as wolves, bears, and eagles. Most of the people in this region live a subsistence lifestyle, in which they are dependent on wild game and fish populations and are intimately involved in decisions made by local, statewide, or national entities that manage these resources. The Hall family lives off the land, and they are very concerned and politically active in all conservation issues to ensure that the wilderness remains wild and unspoiled while providing a way of life that blends with the environment. The Halls will be happy to discuss all of the conservation issues that affect their subsistence lifestyle and give us the chance to experience their lifestyle for ourselves as we travel with them.

Sierra Club outings in Alaska are special experiences in true wilderness, but they also carry an element of risk. Trip locales are often remote, away from the amenities of civilization, including sophisticated medical care and immediate evacuation possibilities. All of our Alaska trips now carry satellite phones, but even with this technology, communication with the outside world can be difficult and emergency assistance is at least a day away. Weather in Alaska is unpredictable, and inclement weather can be severe or serene and beautiful.

Trip Price

See the How to Apply for an Outing section for more details on registering for this trip and details about our Reservation and Cancellation Policy.

The payment of a deposit does not confirm you as a member on the trip. Participants must be approved by the trip leader. After signing up for this trip, you will be sent a confirmation packet containing approval materials (Participant Approval Questionnaire, Medical Form, Liability Release Form). Each applicant (including those on the waitlist) must fill out these forms and promptly mail them to the trip leader. The leader will review the approval materials and notify you of your acceptance in a timely manner.

Staff

Don Murch is a father, organic farmer, commercial fisherman, and wilderness guide with extensive travels in the wilds of Alaska. He has 35 years of experience planning and executing backpacking, rafting, and group tours in the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Mexico. Gourmet cooking is one of his favorite pastimes.

E-mail: hake@berkeley.edu

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General Notes About Sierra Club Trips

• Carbon Offsets
• Carpooling
• Electronic Devices
• Equipment
• How to Apply for a Trip
• Leader Gratuities
• Liability Release and Assumption of Risk
• Medical Issues
• Non-discrimination Statement
• Participant Approval
• Reservation and Cancellation Policy
• Seller of Travel Disclosure
• Travel Insurance
• Trip Feedback
• Wilderness Manners