Last updated: November 30, 2017
Itinerary
What follows is a general flow of events. Expect the unexpected and prepare to be flexible.
August 3
Meet your guide for a pre-trip meeting at 4 pm in Fairbanks at Arctic Wild headquarters.
August 4
It is a long and beautiful drive north to the Brooks Range along the famed Dalton Highway. We cross the Yukon River, then make our way through the Old Woman hills and eventually to the truckstop/town of Coldfoot. From there it is another hour and half to Galbraith Lake where we don packs and hike away from Alaska’s longest gravel road.
August 5-August 7
Depending on how far we hiked the evening before, we have between 15 and 20 miles to go and three full days to cover the distance. Winding through the mountains and then past the windswept Itkillik Lake we get our first peek at Thibodeaux Peak on the 6th. By mid-day on the 7th we should be working our way up Inikaklik Creek and looking for a good camp for a couple days.
August 8
The peak towers over us as we depart camp early in the morning. There is no hurry because it doesn’t get dark for another couple weeks, but we will need to keep moving to reach the peak. We’ll follow a relatively gentle ridge to a sub, peak and then continue on up into the sky. With a mile long summit ridge just prior to the peak we will have lots of time to enjoy the high country views.
August 9 - 11
We can retrace our route or elect for a more challenging route back to the road. We will let the weather and our energy levels make that decision when the time comes.
August 12
Cover the last couple of miles to the road, then head back to Fairbanks via the Dalton Highway. Showers are in order!
