Meet Your Alaska Backcountry Guides

Starting Out

In 2002 I started Expeditions Alaska offering guided backpacking trips in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. As this grew I added hiking trips, rafting and packrafting, photo tours and some of the best sea kayaking trips in Alaska. I began to operate all around Alaska.

A solo operation, I guided all the trips by myself. Small groups work well in the backcountry. The nature of those types of experiences forges strong relationships between the myself and the group, between group member and also between individuals and the place itself.

We visit some truly astonishing places and people came to really value and enjoy those memorable experiences.

Sharing The Trail

Gradually things got busier and busier. In 2010 I started working with several local Alaska backpacking guides to help run trips when I was already booked and unavailable. The result is that I now have a few select guides I work with. Some help out once a year, some guide all season long. All are exceptional at what we do.

Experience & Expertise

Our guide training starts months before anyone sets foot in the field. New guides work through extensive online material covering safety protocols, risk management, leadership, communication, Alaska ecology, and the technical skills specific to each trip type. By the time they arrive for our two-week backcountry training, they’ve already done serious homework.

That two-week field program is where it comes together. Real terrain, real conditions, real problem-solving. Not a weekend orientation.

We build on that foundation with external certifications: American Canoe Association packrafting and sea kayak instructor courses, Incident Response Training, Luc Mehl’s “Start and End Your Trip At Home” risk management program. Our guides take these courses. Then retake them. The skills stay sharp because we keep sharpening them.

The result is a team that knows this terrain deeply and handles the unexpected calmly. That competence is something you feel on day one.

These folks know their stuff. I mean, really know their stuff. Good people and I’m proud that they all want to work with me again. And again.

Backcountry Pros

These folks know their stuff. I mean, really know their stuff. Good people and I’m proud that they all want to work with me again. And again.

Say G’day to a wonderful set of people.

Testimonials

2025
The best backpacking experience of my life
Rhane did a wonderful job challenging the group. I knew that having an experienced guide would add to the enjoyment of the trip - I underestimated how much better it would make it. Rhane shared his experience willingly and freely. He He explained a lot. I came away with new skills I didn't possess.
Expeditions Alaska Backpacking Guide and his guests from our Aug 2025 Backpacking Trip on the Seven Pass, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Mike W

Seven Pass Route

Coming back for another one!
2025
Fantastic
Rachel is an outstanding guide. Great job of listening to client’s preferences & gave clear recommendations when appropriate. Rachel was positive and enthusiastic, which increased everyone’s excitement for being in such a beautiful place. Her overall outdoor experience is extraordinary.
Rachel guiding a group at Skolai Pass and Hole in the Wall, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
Tom Koenig

Skolai Pass Basecamp

1 trip and I'll be back!
2025
Jared was the most AMAZING guide in every way.
He was patient and kind, he was helpful and supportive, and he was communicative and informative. His backcountry cooking skills are second to none. His passion and enthusiasm about all things Alaska is infectious. I am already looking forward to doing another adventure with him in Icy Bay.
Jared guiding a group on Alatna River, 2025.
Nancy V

Alatna River Packrafting Trip

1 trip so far. More coming!!!

Where We Guide

We operate all over Alaska. Gates of the Arctic, Wrangell-St. Elias, Denali, Lake Clark, ANWR. The trips range from weeklong backpacking expeditions to basecamping adventures to packrafting and sea kayaking trips to wildlife photography tours.

Different guides, different skillsets, different landscapes.

The same attention to expertise and focus on the work we do.

Our guides lead all trip types. Challenging backpacking expeditions, gentle packrafting trips, basecamp adventures and multiday sea kayaking trips. Each guide has their specialty, but most are comfortable leading a wide range of our trips. Rhane might finish a two-week traverse over Malaspina Glacier and follow it leading a short basecamp and paddle trip at Turquoise Lake. That range matters in Alaska.

Since 2002 we’ve been running small group trips in places that don’t see many people. These aren’t crowded trails. We’re talking remote Alaska. Fly-in access only, off-trail routes. Genuine wilderness. The guides know these areas because we’ve been back dozens of times. We know where the good campsites are, where to expect wildlife, how weather moves through the region.

We also adapt when conditions demand it. Alaska weather can force a complete trip change on short notice. We’ve shifted to an entirely different expedition, over a thousand miles away, on the first morning of the trip. Our crew makes it work.

The folks guiding your trip aren’t here for a summer gig. We’re here because we want to be. We come back year after year. That matters when you’re ten days into the backcountry.

Expeditions Alaska
Visit the wild