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The Trip

Unfortunately, this trip has been cancelled. If you have questions, please contact us.

Travel with us on a journey through the mountains of the Yukon Charley Rivers National Preserve. Guide your own team of sled dogs through the same ancient pathways that Native Americans, gold miners, and trappers used to explore this vast wilderness. Using the mighty but frozen Yukon River as our highway, we will loop north to the Tatonduk River and then follow the footsteps of the gold miners up the Seventymile River to complete a circuit of unparalleled beauty and solitude.

Our hosts, Scarlett and Wayne Hall, along with 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 16 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 completing our wilderness dog sledding circuit, we will personally interact with the mushers and elite race dogs of the Yukon Quest as they pass through the Eagle checkpoint. The Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race is run every February between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Because of the harsh winter conditions, difficult trail, and the limited support that competitors are allowed, it is considered the "most difficult sled dog race in the world." This year it starts in Whitehorse and finishes in downtown Fairbanks. Our host, Wayne Hall, has completed the Yukon Quest twice!

Our trip starts with a charter flight from Fairbanks to Eagle. Upon landing, we will be met by our hosts and travel down the frozen Yukon to their home at Last Chance Creek. The next morning, we will receive instruction on dog mushing and then begin our circuit through the immense 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.

Our entire trip takes place against a backdrop of serene stillness and breathtaking natural beauty, with opportunities to observe wildlife including moose, Dall sheep, wolves, lynx, wolverines, goshawks, marten, and possibly even caribou, which sometimes winter in the area.

Itinerary

This nine-day trip begins with our flight to Eagle. It is important for you to arrive in Fairbanks two days prior to the start of the trip. This will allow you time to recover from missed connections and to give any lost luggage time to catch up with you. More importantly, the trip leader will be available to check out your clothing & equipment, take you shopping if you need any additional items, and get you fully prepared for being comfortable in sub-zero temperatures.

Day 1: The trip starts mid-morning as we head out to the East Ramp of the Fairbanks International Airport for our 75-minute bush flight from Fairbanks to Eagle, Alaska. Our wilderness guides will be waiting for us at the airstrip in Eagle. After brief introductions and issue of boots and winter outerwear clothing, we will leave on the 45-minute, seven-mile run by snow machine to the Hall family homestead on the Yukon River.

After settling in, we will venture outdoors where we will start learning how to handle the dogs and the sleds. Dogsled training starts with learning the names of the dogs, the dog team positions, basic commands, and trail-finding skills.

Day 2: Today you learn to care for and handle your own sled and team of four to six dogs. Within a day or two, handling the dogs will become second nature and the dogs in your team will come to you when you call their name. A day trip from the homestead along the Yukon River will help us learn to travel up and down hills and over broad frozen rivers before moving on to more challenging terrain.

Day 3: We will mush our individual dog teams approximately 30 miles downstream from the homestead on the Yukon River, then a short distance up the Tatonduk River where we will spend the night in a neighboring homestead cabin.

Days 4-5: Although the exact routes and distances of our trip will depend on weather and snow conditions, we plan to make our way across the Yukon River and over a low pass into the drainage of the Seventymile River. Although public-use cabins are available in the area, we will make an effort to spend one night in a tent outfitted with a wood-burning stove.

Day 6: We travel back to our starting point, arriving at the Hall family homestead in the late afternoon. As a reward for our unforgettable accomplishment in the Alaska wilderness, we will enjoy a hearty meal, take a hot shower in the sauna cabin, and relax in the camaraderie of our fellow trip members.

Days 7-8: After traveling 600 miles from Whitehorse, mushers from the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race will be arriving at the Eagle checkpoint. Scarlett Hall is in charge of this checkpoint, and trip members will get a rare opportunity to be official Yukon Quest volunteers. Some of the duties involve greeting the musher, helping the musher park his/her team, getting straw, fuel, and gear to the musher, seeing that the musher is fed and has a place to sleep.

Day 9: 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., and preferably not until the next morning. Although the trip will officially end upon 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 guest house or hotel.

Barring any bad weather, the winner of the Yukon Quest dogsled race is expected to arrive in downtown Fairbanks sometime on February 12. If you can spare the time, you are encouraged to stay the extra two days to witness this event. Although the winning team can arrive at any hour, the race headquarters located at the finish line tracks the location of the leaders and can give advance notice of when they will arrive.

Accommodations and Food

On this trip you will experience all aspects of life in a remote area of Alaska. At the Hall family homestead on the Yukon River, we will be housed in a rustic cabin and move about in the low-intensity lighting provided by solar-charged batteries. It will be a strange mix of frontier and hi-tech living as you lie in your sleeping bag and read by personal headlamp while Scarlett Hall monitors the progress of the Yukon Quest through her satellite internet connection.

When our dogsled journey takes us on the trail, we'll be sheltered in either a remote one-room cabin or a large canvas tent, each heated by a wood-burning stove. Sleep will come easily at the end of a long day on the trail after we lay out our sleeping pad on the floor and climb into our toasty warm sleeping bags.

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 lunch on day one in Fairbanks, and end with breakfast on day nine 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. Due to the short duration of daylight and problems with stopping for a long period of time in extreme cold, there is no formal lunchtime meal. In place of lunch, our food is packaged for individual snacking along the trail or for sharing during a break in travel. At the end of the day, after we have settled our dog teams for the night, dinnertime provides a welcome opportunity to recount stories from the day.

Upon request by the group, the sauna cabin at the Hall family homestead can be fired up for washing and relaxation. Trip members can enjoy the unforgettable experience of a hot shower followed by an immediate scrub-down with -20 degree snow!

Trip Difficulty

Although this trip is meant for the beginner with no previous dogsled experience, moderate strength and agility is required. Trip members need to be in good to excellent physical condition. As you learn to dogsled, you will fall off the sled and land in the snow more than once.

Daily activities will begin with the care, handling, feeding and harnessing up of your own dog team in the morning. After that, most daylight hours will be spent riding the runners of your own sled as you explore the depth of your relationship with your team of dogs. Some days will be spent traveling from camp to camp deep in the Alaskan wilderness at distances of up to 40 miles, which will take most of the available daylight hours. Upon arrival at camp in the evening, you are responsible to unharness your dog team, then provide care, handling and feeding of the dogs before having your own dinner.

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. If the temperature is exceptionally cold (below -40 degrees F), the group will stay close to cabins and do short day trips. You will learn quickly how to dress to stay warm and, just as importantly, how to vent to stay cool. After this trip, you will return back home to tell friends that -20 degrees Fahrenheit is a "dry cold" and not nearly as frigid as you 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 while on the trail, trip members will be able to take a hot shower and clean up when at the homestead.

Equipment and Clothing

Winters in the interior of Alaska are extreme. Temperatures in February 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.

A complete list of clothing will be provided prior to the start of the trip. The trip leader will help each trip member develop his/her own personal set of clothing. Trip members will be responsible to have their own layered clothing, with exception to the specialized winter outerwear. The outerwear consists of specialized boots, insulated bib overalls and insulated parka with fur ruff. Arrangements will be made to borrow these from the local guides. However, many trip participants from the northern portions of the Midwest and East Coast opt to purchase a personal set of winter outerwear, since there will be opportunities to use it later in their hometowns. In addition, having your own personal clothing will insure that you have the most comfortable trip possible.

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 and face masks.

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. Since batteries become non-functioning at sub-zero temperatures, small digital cameras that can stay tucked inside your parka (to stay warm) work well in the frozen north.

Specialized equipment needed for dog sledding will be provided. Although trip members may bring their own sleeping bag (if suitably rated), we recommend that you borrow an expedition sleeping bag from our guides.

References

Information about the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race can be found at the official website: www.yukonquest.com

Trip members can find all of these books at Amazon.com or through their local book dealer:

• 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 and of predators such as wolves, bears, and eagles. Most of the people in this region live a subsistence lifestyle where 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 are 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.

Travel in Alaska and the Arctic

Sierra Club outings in Alaska and Arctic Canada 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. Many of our Alaska and Arctic Canada trips now carry satellite phones, but even with this technology, communication with the outside world can be difficult and emergency assistance can be days away. Weather in Alaska and Arctic Canada is unpredictable, and inclement weather can be severe. Among other hazards are cold river and stream crossings, tidal activity, calving glaciers, the psychological effects of remoteness, and the presence of large wild animals. You're in good hands, though, so don't worry: Your trip leaders have vast experience in the Last Frontier, and they'll provide all the guidance you need.

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

Gary Aguiar fell in love with Alaska on a 1983 trip to the Alaska Range, east of Denali. On that trip, it rained 12 out of 14 days, and the group ran out of food a day before the bush pilot returned to pick it up. Needless to say, Gary developed a healthy respect for Alaskan weather on that trip.

Not all Alaska trips are like that, of course. Since then, he has led a number of Sierra Club trips to Alaska, developing trips that include day hiking and a casual travel itinerary so people of varying abilities can experience the Alaskan wilderness. Gary owns and operates a small environmental engineering firm that has been cleaning up contaminated groundwater in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 20 years. In addition to hiking in Alaska, his recreational interests include long-distance running and open-water swimming in the bay.

E-mail: gary@hydroanalysis.com

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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