** Must be in good shape and have experience with sudden changes in temperature, mosquitoes, bears, swift stream crossing and glaciers **

A stunning valley that is rich with opportunities for exploration. The area offers terrain that is as diverse as it is impressive and includes luxurious valleys, hanging glaciers, alpine ridges and massive glaciers. Bears are often spotted in the valley and occasionally wolverine.

Some people just base camp this valley, but the way to do it is as a combo Alaska backpacking/base camp trip. I call it a loop trip becuase you end up back at the drop off airstrip. But you get to see so much more of this amazing valley by doing a bit of backpacking and then take a couple days to explore an area before moving on.

There is just so much to explore here that you could easily spend a week and not run out of places to discover. The ridge to the north is rich with possibilites that range from moderate scramble summits to hidden lakes to high alpine glaciers. This really is an Alaska backpacking paradise.

There is also a glacier on the valley floor that is fun to explore as long as you are careful and properly equiped. Glaciers make this a quintessentially Alaska backpacking adventure as there are few places in North America where you can hike on glaciers without needing advanced mountaineering skills and gear.

More details and pictures about this true wilderness experience here: http://www.wrangellsteliaspark.com/backcountry_treks/iceberg_lake/index.html

Lack of 4 signups as of 5:00 p.m. EST on June 22, 2011; the event is cancelled

This particular trek is only accessible by bush planes from a town called McCarthy, located inside the park. You can either reach McCarthy by plane or by driving along the scenic McCarthy Road. The road is not paved and some rental companies do not allow you to drive on it. On the other hand, locals claim that it is well maintained and easy to navigate.

Here is more info about the road: http://www.largestnationalpark.com/transport.html

The idea would be to meet at McCarthy Lodge the evening of Friday July 1st to get to know each other while enjoying one of their special craft beers and then leave for Iceberg Lake early the next morning.

We made our plane reservations with: http://www.wrangellmountainair.com/trips/basecamping/  for $420 a person after reading numerous positive reviews on the internet about the pilots. Since the cancellation fees are extremely high, you are responsible to reserve your own place on the plane that leaves at 10:30 a.m. on July 2nd.

After hiking for 4 days and 3 nights in the area surround the lake, the plane pick us up at 12:00p.m. on July 5th at base camp near the lake and fly us back to McCarthy.

Finally, for those who decide to stay in the park after this trip, there are great day hikes around McCarthy including some very old mines hanging on the cliffs of the glacial valley, just check out the site bellow.

http://www.wrangellsteliaspark.com/