An Alaskan Adventure 2016

Alaskan Adventure 2016
Denali National Park, Kenai Peninsula, Anchorage
Pristine Wilderness - Stunning Vistas - Incredible Wildlife
Labor Day Weekend - September 2 to 11

Join us on our Dynamic Alaskan Adventure! Come and experience its vast natural beauty and spectacular wilderness, the true destination for an adventurer.

Highlights Include:
*Hiking inside Denali National Park
*Kenai Peninsula, Kenai Fjords, and Kachemak Bay
*Drive in and hike on the Denali Highway, considered Alaska's most stunning drives
*Unlimited amount of hiking trails
*Over abundance of wildlife at all locations (bears, beaver, moose, elk, bald eagles)

Optional Activities
*Biking in Denali National Park
*Kayaking in Kenai Peninsula
*White Water Rafting Class III-V
*Glacier Trekking on Matanuska Glacier
*Dog-sledding, flying over Denali National Park, or Glacier Boat Cruise

Included
All ground transportation and transfers
Accommodations (Alaska Country Cabins and Hotels)
Multiple Light to Intermediate Hiking Days

Not included
Your airline ticket; All Optional Activities, Tipping, Personal Spending, most meals, etc...

Pricing
$1,495 - Early Bird Special - Make deposit by March 31
$1,595 - Make deposit by April 30
$1,695 - Make deposit by May 31
$1,795 - Make deposit by June 30

Please note: only $200 deposit needed to hold your spot; however, we have only 11 spots available

Itinerary
Friday, September 2 - Transfer Day - New York to Anchorage
Depart New York on any convenient flight for you to arrive in Anchorage Friday night.
We will pick you up from the airport and transfer you to our hotel.
Possibly grab late dinner in town and overnight Anchorage

Saturday, September 3 - Anchorage, Beluga Point, and Hiking Option: Alyeska Resort
Today we will ease into the Alaskan life style and explore Anchorage and its surroundings:
Anchorage offers the comforts of a large US city but is only a 30-minute drive from the Alaskan wilderness. Founded in 1914 as a work camp for the Alaska Railroad, the city was devastated by the 1964 Good Friday earthquake but quickly rebounded as the industry headquarters for the Prudhoe Bay oil boom. Today almost half the state’s residents live in or around the city, as Anchorage serves as the economic and political heart of Alaska. Sorry, Juneau. We recommend to hike Flat Top mountain for a full view and intro of the town. For anyone interested, we will offer to visit the Alyeska Resort. During the summer, it can be reached on foot or via the Alyeska Resort Tram. A ski resort during winter, offering stunning nature views during summer.
End of day, suggest group dinner and overnight Anchorage.

Sunday, September 4 - Anchorage to Talkeetna and Denali
After breakfast, we will transfer to the town of Talkeetna, our base of operations for the next 2 days.
The historic village of Talkeetna is nestled at the base of Denali (Mount McKinley), North America's tallest peak. Talkeetna has an outstanding panoramic view of the Alaska Range that can be enjoyed and photographed from several places as you wander through this town and discover what this unique location has to offer.
Hiking Option: Talkeetna Lake Hike
In the morning we will get our legs moving with a 5-mile hike on the Talkeetna Lake. This beautiful hike is through Talkeetna's picturesque forest and along a beautiful lake for great views of Mt. McKinley and a chance to spot some wildlife.

We will aim to have lunch in the historic village of Talkeetna. This town is known for hikers from all around the world preparing for the Mt. McKinley climb. The remainder of the afternoon will be able to choose your own option such as:

*Dog Sledding; a unique Alaska experienc
*Take a scenic flight over Denali National Park and visit the untamed mountains of the Alaska Range
*Tour Alaska's wilderness on an ATV adventure tour.
*Ride the scenic Hurricane Turn to Chase town and from there enjoy a river float trip back to Talkeetna
*Explore the town of Talkeetna by having a cup of coffee and visiting the local shops and galleries.
*Ride the Alaska Railroad - Hurricane Turn Train - one of the most scenic railroads rides
Ending the day with a suggested group dinner and overnight at Alaska country cabins in Talkeetna

Monday, September 5 - Hiking Denali National Park
After a hearty breakfast, we will drive to Denali National Park, home to Alaska's signature wildlife sanctuary. This light to intermediate hike starts at the Park Visitor Center and will take us about 4 hours to complete the 4.4 mile hike. This hike is short, but is has a 1,700-foot climb and offers spectacular views of the Denali National Park entrance area, the Nenana River valley, and alpine ridges. For lunch, we recommend to pack a picnic lunch.

Afternoon Optional Activities: ATV rides, Horseback Riding, Fly Fishing, Jet-Boat Riding, Rafting, Flight-See by Helicopter, Flight-See by Airplane
In the evening you will be able to plan your own activity and enjoy the midnight sun or relax at the cabin with a campfire, group dinner and overnight at Alaska country cabins

Tuesday, September 6 - Hiking and/ or Biking in Denali National Park
Get ready as we have another active day in Denali National Park. After breakfast, we'll start our day with a bike tour in Denali National Park. The biking will be an Alaskan experience with a view of Mt. McKinley. Spectacular views of surrounding mountains, valleys, and lakes which will inspire you while you enjoy 4 hours of biking in Alaska. This is a moderate ride for those with basic skill levels and reasonable fitness. For those not interested in the bike ride, we'll offer another spectacular hike, offering the full serenity that Denali National Park offers, on a light to moderate 5-mile hike. We suggest to bring another box lunch today.

Late afternoon transfer to Seward via an optional stop at the Denali Highway: Denali Highway is a lightly traveled, mostly gravel highway in the U.S. state of Alaska. It leads from Paxson on the Richardson Highway to Cantwell on the Parks Highway. Opened in 1957, it was the first road access to Denali National Park. Traveling or visiting the Denali Highway today is truly a path through awesome wilderness that links travelers to Alaska's prehistoric past and gold rush history. The road is considered one of Alaska’s most stunning drives. Most of the highway is at or near tree line, running along the foothills to the Alaska Range and through glacial valleys where you can see stretches of alpine tundra, enormous glaciers and braided rivers. We will aim to stop frequently and take plenty of pictures.
End of day, suggest group dinner and overnight Seward

Wednesday, September 7 - Seward and Kenai Fjords National Park
The Kenai Peninsula offers some of the most accessible wilderness adventures in Alaska. There are multi day hikes through the snow-capped Kenai Mountains and mind-blowing paddles through glaciated fjords. You'll camp on never-seen-before lost coves in remote corners of Kenai Fjords National Park and Kachemak Bay State Park, and battle some of the biggest fish around. And in every forgotten corner you'll be close to the natural world, the mountains, the lakes, the rivers and the people that make Alaska wild.

Approximately the size of Belgium, the eastern Peninsula is dominated by large ice fields, the jutting Kenai Mountains and the icy waters of Resurrection Bay. To the west it flattens out, with rolling hills, large lakes and a long coastline. This is a top pick for first-time Alaska explorers. The wilderness is accessible by a good network of trails and navigable rivers, and there are several worthwhile towns, such as Seward, Hope and Homer that provide interesting cultural attractions and rip-roaring nightlife.

Seward is at the crossroads of everything. Perched on the edge of Resurrection Bay, it offers out-of-this-world views of water, sky, mountain and forest, and is easily accessed by road, boat and rail. Because of its size (and its history as a railroad port), there is plenty of nightlife, good shopping and quality restaurants in the picturesque old-time downtown area. Just a jump from town, you have access to Kenai Fjords National Park, superb sea kayaking, birding, whale watching, hiking, and/ or biking that can take you to the top of the Harding Ice Field or across the whole Kenai Peninsula. The body of the city is divided into two centers: the newer, touristy harbor and the historic downtown. Lowell Point stretches to the south of town, and other amenities can be found just north along the Seward Hwy.
End of day, suggested group dinner and overnight Alaska country cabins in Seward

Thursday, September 8 - Seward to Homer
After breakfast, we'll aim for the Caine’s Head Coast Trail Hike. This hike is rated one of the top ten hikes in Alaska! We recommend to start the hike on a water taxi, which will take us to Caine Head State Marine Park. On the water taxi, we will be able to look for wildlife and take pictures of the stunning glaciers surrounding us.

Something is always happening along the beach on the five-mile hike to Caine's head. You might see a sea lion gorging himself on a fish, a humpback whale cruising the bay, or a flotilla of harlequin ducks. Hikers also can get a taste of Alaska history by exploring the remains of Fort McGilvary, built to protect Seward during World War II, two miles beyond Caine's Head. This is a moderate 5-mile hike.

After lunch, we will continue on the The Seward Highway, a road-trip-lover’s delight, with smooth, winding turns through mountains that have you craning your neck around every corner. The 127 miles of highway is all Scenic Byway, and there are plenty of turnoffs for gawking and snapping photos. Keep in mind that the mileposts along the highway show distances from Seward (Mile 0) to Anchorage (Mile 127). The first section of this road is from Anchorage to Portage Glacier (Mile 79).

Lucky is the visitor who drives into Homer on a clear day. As the Sterling Hwy descends into town, a panorama of mountains sweeps across the horizon in front of you. The Homer Spit slowly comes into view, jutting into a glittering Kachemak Bay, and just when you think the view might unwind forever, it ends with the dramatic Grewingk Glacier. Hearing travelers’ tales of Homer, you half expect to find lotus-eaters and mermaids lounging about. At first blush, though, Homer’s decidedly feminine appeal might not be evident. The city isn’t overhung with mountains like Seward, nor does it have the quaint townscape of Cordova. It sprawls a bit and is choked with tourists; it isn’t lushly forested, it lacks legendary hikes, and it has a windswept waterfront that makes kayaking a bitch. And then there’s the Homer Spit – a tourist trap you may love to hate. Stick around for a bit, however, and Homer will make you a believer. For one thing, there’s the panorama, and the promise that it holds. Across Kachemak Bay, glaciers and peaks and fjords beckon – a trekkers’ and paddlers’ playground to which Homer is the port of entry. And then there’s the vibe: the town is a magnet for radicals, artists and folks disillusioned with mainstream society, who’ve formed a critical mass here, dreaming up a sort of utopian vision for their city, and striving – with grins on their faces – to enact it. Because of that, this is the arts capital of Southcentral Alaska, with great galleries, museums, theater and music.
Homer lies at the end of the Sterling Hwy, 233 road miles from Anchorage. For tourists, there are two distinct sections of town. The ‘downtown’ area, built on a hill between high bluffs to the north and Kachemak Bay to the south, lies along – or near – busy Pioneer Ave. Heading eastward, Pioneer Ave becomes rural East End Rd, with a number of other lodging and eating options. The second section of Homer, and certainly the most notorious, is the Homer Spit, a skinny tongue of sand licking halfway across Kachemak Bay.
End of day, suggested group dinner and overnight in Homer

Friday, September 9 - Homer and Kachemak Bay
Stand on Homer Spit and look south, and an alluring wonderland sprawls before you: a luxuriantly green coastline, sliced by fjords and topped by sparkling glaciers and rugged peaks. This is Kachemak Bay State Park, which, along with Kachemak Bay State Wilderness Park to the south, includes 350,000 acres of idyllic wilderness accessible only by bush plane or boat. It was Alaska’s first state park, and according to locals, it remains the best.

The most popular attraction is Grewingk Glacier, which can be seen across the bay from Homer. Viewing the glacier at closer range means a boat trip to the park and a very popular one-way hike of 3.5 miles. Outside the glacier, however, you can easily escape into the wilds by either hiking or kayaking. With more than 40 miles of trails, plenty of sheltered waterways, numerous campsites, good backcountry skiing, and a few enclosed accommodation options, this is a highly recommended outing for a day or three.
End of day, suggested group dinner and overnight Homer

Saturday, September 10 - Homer to Anchorage via the Sterling Highway
After breakfast, we will have the morning open to hike, kayak, rent a bike or head to Homer Spit:
The Homer Spit is a long, narrow finger of land jutting 4.5 miles into Kachemak Bay. Dotted with businesses, the area caters to visitors and provides numerous recreation opportunities, from fishing and beachcombing to shopping and boating. With glacier-studded mountains and crystal-clear water surrounding you, the tiny businesses and miles of beaches that make up the Spit also make for one of Homer's most beautiful features. Take long walks, take photos, check out the boats returning with their huge catches, or cast a line for salmon yourself at The Fishin' Hole-located near the boat harbor-which is stocked with kings and silvers. Test out your sea legs with a fishing charters for halibut and salmon, head out on a guided sea kayaking trip, or hop a ferry across the bay to the quaint boardwalk-lined town of Halibut Cove. The Spit also offers some of the best eagle viewing in the state - up to several hundred during certain times of the year! Extreme low tides (say a minus-15 foot) expose interesting sub-sea flora and fauna on beaches and harbor piers.

At the Harbor, you can take a walking or boat tour with guides who know the boats and their histories and functions. Many of the boats belong to commercial fishermen and charter operators and there are also a great number of pleasure sail and motor boats, which come and go throughout the summer. The Harbor Master's office has a harbor map with the names of all the boats and their functions as well as owners. Just observing the creative names people have given their pet boats is a fun pastime. Since we weren't here when it formed, we rely on science, archeology and legend to know what caused the four-mile-long stretch of land that extends half way across Kachemak Bay near where the bay extends easterly from Cook Inlet. It is thought to be a moraine left behind by a long ago glacier that may have also been the creator of Kachemak Bay. The Spit was continuously reshaped by ocean currents until about 1000 years ago when early Alaska Natives began to inhabit it and re-inforced it in places to keep it from washing away. To this day, Homerites are keeping an eye on erosion and sandbagging as needed to prevent this vital piece of the town from being cut off from the mainland.

After lunch, we'll head back up north on the Sterling Highway stopping frequently to take plenty of photos.
End of day, suggested group dinner and overnight Anchorage

Sunday, September 11 - Anchorage and Alyeska
Open day in Anchorage: Suggested Optional Activities: (See full list below)**
White Water Rafting Class III-V - We will transfer to the artist and hippie town of Girdwood for a change of scenery and to prepare for our day of white water rafting. Rafting the Sixmile River. This river consists of 3 Canyons, each of them harder in class. You may sign up for the first canyon (class III), first and second (III-IV), or all three (class III-V).

1st Canyon: The 1st Canyon of the Six Mile is offered to beginners and families, and must be run by our other paddlers going for the 2nd and 3rd Canyons as well. It is ranked a solid class III run, with one section that ranges from class III – class V depending on the water level. The trip starts with learning to paddle on some swift water, gradually increasing in rapids action. It is rock-and-roll for another mile and then play time! Enjoy a refreshing voluntary swim or a water fight with the other rafts. Paddle by a plainly visible eagle's nest. Your trip ends after a total of about 5 miles (6 at high-water).

The 2nd Canyon adds another 2.5 miles to the trip, and steps the paddlers up a level of difficulty. The 2nd Canyon is ranked solid class III+ and IV and combines 4 big drops in rapid succession with other smaller rapids to keep you on your toes.

The 3rd Canyon of the Six Mile is our thriller! It adds another 3.5 miles of river to the trip and has enough class IV and V rapids on it at all water levels to make it Alaska's premier whitewater paddle-rafting run.
End of day, suggested group dinner and overnight in Anchorage
(A good option to depart with late night/ overnight flight Sunday night)

Monday, September 12 - Last day in Anchorage
Depending on the time of your flight, you might still have time to enjoy one or the other of these activities:**
Biking the Coastal Trail, hiking Flattop Mountain, Glacier Explorer Canoe Trip, Glacier Discovery Tour, Anchorage Museum of History and Art, Alaska Zoo, Sunday Market.
Afternoon and/ or evening transfers to the airport, end of itinerary

Suggested Airlines
Delta and United are currently offering the best deals

Cancellation Policy:
If you cancel more than 60 days before the date of travel, you would receive a refund less $200
If you cancel less than 60 days before the date of travel, you would receive 75% refund
If you cancel less than 45 days before the date of travel, you would receive 50% refund
If you cancel less than 30 days before the date of travel, you would receive 25% refund
If you cancel less than 15 days before the date of travel, there won't be a refund possible unless we find replacement for you !
(We always highly recommend to take out travel insurance: www.travelex.com)