Alaska Backpacking - 16 and 17 Only

Spend 30 days backpacking 90-150 miles with other motivated teens through remote Alaskan mountain ranges where caribou and Dall sheep roam across endless tundra. You’ll camp under the midnight sun, learn essential wilderness skills, and discover what you’re capable of when you push beyond your comfort zone.

Photo credit: Mauricio Clauzet

Your instructors will start by teaching you the essentials—setting up camp, moving through the backcountry while carrying a 45-55 pound pack, and cooking meals on a camp stove. You’ll learn to navigate with maps and compass, assess terrain, and make smart decisions in bear country. As the course progresses, you’ll take on more challenging skills: river crossings and route-finding across tundra and through willow thickets. Alaska’s weather can be unpredictable, shifting from sunshine to rain quickly, so adaptability becomes part of your daily rhythm.

Photo credit: Mauricio Clauzet

Leadership is a part of every day. You’ll practice communication, risk management, and decision-making while contributing to group choices about routes and campsites. As you build competence, you’ll take on more responsibility—first leading for a day, then potentially for a multi-day student expedition where your group of four to six travels independently of instructors for two to six days.

You’ll be re-rationed by plane or helicopter partway through, as there are no roads where you’ll travel. You’ll return home with wilderness skills, new friendships, and the confidence that comes from thriving in one of North America’s wildest landscapes. 

Photo credit: Mauricio Clauzet