Hike & explore your heart out while creating time for yoga, reflection & meditation.
This trip has endless hiking possibility and invites exploration- truly an adventurer’s dream. Surrounded by glaciated volcanoes, we hike on a blanketed surface of ash & pumice (over 700 feet deep in places!) from the 1912 eruption; people describe this area as lunar or “moon like”... probably having something to do with the numerous old fumaroles (steam vents) from the eruption. 😉
This trip is ideal for someone with previous backpacking or lots of hiking experience; we navigate river crossings, mountain terrain and unique volcanic features as we hike up valley and explore the surrounding peaks in world famous "Valley of 10,000 Smokes."
Dates: Custom dates only
Location: Katmai National Park, Alaska
Activities: Backpacking, day hiking, bear viewing
Duration: 8 days, 7 nights
Lodging: Backcountry tent camping
Max group size: 6
Level: 3
Cost: $2400
Katmai National Park was created in 1918 to preserve the Valley of 10,000 smokes, a landscape created by the 1912 Novarupta eruption- one the most powerful volcanic activities every recorded. Katmai National park is home to the densest population of brown bears in the world, most notably those at the famous Brooks Falls.
July 19th: Arrive in King Salmon (commercial flight from Anchorage).
July 20th: Meet guide in King Salmon in the morning for group introductions before flying in a small float plane to world famous Brooks Camp for a day of brown bear viewing; we spend the night in an established National Park Service campground.
July 21st: After tea and a nourishing breakfast (of many more to come!) we head out to the valley on a 26 mile bus ride through a boreal forest ending at the 3 Forks visitor center. Here we leave the rest of the tourists behind and begin our wilderness journey. Our goal is to hike almost 12 miles to Mageik Lake, taking in views of Mt. Mageik & the Buttress Range on the way.
July 22-26th: We start each day with spectacular views from our yoga mats for an a.m. yoga & meditation practice before further exploring the valley. We begin our circumnavigation “loop hike” of the valley floor, with stops along the way to attempt non-technical summits of various peaks: Fallen Mountain, Broken Mountain, Baked Mountian, Cerebrus, and maybe even Mt. Griggs- we’ll see what weather holds and how much energy we have. Some nights we move camp and travel through the valley, but some days we will set up a basecamp and stay for more than 1 night; this sets us up better for longer peak approaches with lighter packs. We end each day with dinner and some post hike stretching, dharma talks, meditation and/or self-reflection time.
July 26th: After our closing yoga class, we say goodbye to the valley, returning back to the 3 Forks Visitor Center to ride the bus back to Brooks Camp. Spend our final night together at the campground.
July 27th: An early morning departure via float plane ride back to King Salmon.
