Locations
2025 locations
This season we will operate in five locations, listed below in chronological order. Use these links to jump to each location:
- Southern Utah
- Brooks Range, Alaska
- High Sierra, California
- Greater Yellowstone
- Appalachian Mountains, West Virginia
Location overview
Our season starts in April just as spring arrives in the Escalante canyons of southern Utah. Here, we offer both backpacking and technical canyoneering trips. This is a favorite guide location due to the unique geology, springtime conditions, and off-trail travel opportunities.
Gates of the Arctic National Park, in the central Brooks Range of Alaska, is our premier location — it’s a capstone trip for alumni and it redefines your concept of wilderness. These trips are scheduled in late-June and early-July, during a narrow window between spring breakup and summertime mosquitoes.
The most popular and arguably most magnificent location is the High Sierra in California. Expect dramatic mountain landscapes, mostly perfect weather, and world-class backcountry travel.
In September we witness the transition from summer to fall in Greater Yellowstone, where the trips are headlined by wildlife, thermal features, and big wilderness.
Finally, our season ends with peak fall colors in West Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains, our lone location in the east that is within a half-day drive for most of the Mid-Atlantic and Rust Belt.
Southern Utah
Client ratings of this location:
- 2024: 4.97/5.0
- 2023: 4.87/5.0
- 2022: 4.81/5.0
- 2021: 4.74/5.0
- 2020: 4.81/5.0
In southern Utah we follow canyon bottoms, scramble across slick rock, traverse sandy benches, and pass by ancient rock images around the Escalante River, a perennial tributary of the Colorado River that flows into Lake Powell. This area is a gem of the Colorado Plateau, but it thankfully lacks the hordes of tourists that swamp other locations like Grand Canyon, Zion, and Arches National Parks.
Our operating area is managed as Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Its 300,000 acres makes it about 40 percent of the size of Rhode Island. Needless to say, we have ample room to roam and explore here.
Our groups meet in the adorably quaint town of Escalante. For the duration of your trip, you will not cross a road or encounter a wheeled vehicle, and you probably will not see many (or any) other groups during the middle of the trip when we’re the furthest out.
The area has only one established hiking trail and only a few use trails, so we will often (or always) be off-trail. Most routes are non-technical (i.e. climbing ropes, harnesses, and hardware are not required), but may have sections of Class 3 or Class 4 scrambling where a hand-line or pack-haul is helpful or necessary. Guides are expected to modify the route to suit the interests and abilities of their groups.
The Colorado Plateau is a unique environment, and thus has a host of unique challenges. We’ll help you learn to manage water, navigate in deep canyons and across featureless benches, find breaks between the geological layers, and cowboy camp under the stars.
Late-April and early-May is prime time in southern Utah. The temperatures are mild, the vegetation is vibrant green, water sources are reliable (though not abundant), and the weather is consistently friendly.
While this landscape is mostly flat, many of its miles are hard-won. The canyon bottoms are slow, especially if they are brushy or water-filled; and the benches above are covered in deep sand and are mostly shade-less.
In this location we contend with fewer logistical or regulatory limits on our use, so we can make room for nearly every qualified applicant. As a result, Utah is worth consideration at least as a Second Choice because we can’t accommodate all the demand in other popular locations like Alaska and the High Sierra.
What we like
- Extensive off-trail travel
- One-of-a-kind geology and landforms
- Springtime conditions (mild temps, budding leaves, blooming wildflowers)
- Dry weather, cowboy camping, and lightweight packs
- Rich archeological evidence
What we dislike about or are challenged by
- Fine-grained “blow sand” that reduces walking speed
- Steeply angled slickrock slabs or vertical ledge systems that may require scrambling, handlines, pack hauls, or body assists on more physically aggressive trips
- Dry, shade-less, and sand-covered benches between the canyons
- Occasionally strong springtime winds
Brooks Range, Alaska
Client ratings of this location:
- 2024: 4.91/5.0
- 2023: 4.93/5.0
- 2022: 4.77/5.0
- 2021: 4.83/5.0
- 2020: cancelled due to Covid
- 2019: 5.00/5.0
The Brooks Range is the greatest wilderness in North America, and this location is designed to provide a once-in-a-lifetime backpacking experience and a capstone experience for our alumni. We operate in Gates of the Arctic National Park. This is the program’s premier destination.
These mountains will redefine your concept of wilderness. The range is 1,000 miles long and usually about 100 miles wide; it has no trails, save for those made by wildlife, notably caribou; it’s intersected by just one road, the Dalton Highway (aka the Haul Road); and only one town sits firmly within its boundaries, Anaktuvuk Pass, a native village with a population of about 350. To access most areas of the park, it’s necessary to charter a bush plane that can land on lakes or natural gravel airstrips.
The lack of trails and roads in the Brooks Range, combined with a long list of challenges unique to the Arctic, add significant burden and risk in planning a trip here. More than any other location, the value of our service shines — we will secure the regional and bush flights, ensure that you have the appropriate gear, plot a route that is suitable and spectacular, and assemble a competent group of like-abled individuals.
The Alaskan wilderness is romantic, but it’s not easy. You should expect wet feet (everyday and all day), ankle-twisting tussocks, occasionally thick bushwhacks, and probably some cold-and-wet storms. Late-June is too early for nightmarish bugs, thankfully. Grizzly bears and wolves are around, but historically stay away from larger groups like ours.
What we like
- Exceptionally vast, remote, and lightly traveled
- No manmade hiking trails
- Thrilling bush plane flights
- Unique wildlife, including grizzly bears, wolverines, caribou, and Arctic foxes
What we dislike about or are challenged by
- Consistently wet feet
- Tussocks, which are quart- to gallon-sized cylinders of vegetation-topped dirt that waver when stepped on
- Sponga, which is soft and soggy tundra
- Ankle- to knee-high brush at the lowest elevations
- Potential for cold-and-wet weather
- Heavy bug pressure as we get into July and if the weather is warm and calm
For an excellent description of Alaska, refer to Nathan McNeil’s review of his Gates of the Arctic trip in 2019. Since this trip, we’ve moved our trips to areas with better walking, but these challenges will all still be experienced.
High Sierra, California
Client ratings of this location:
- 2024: 4.88/5.0
- 2023: 4.87/5.0
- 2022: 4.84/5.0
- 2021: 4.73/5.0
- 2020: 4.72/5.0
- 2019: 5.00/5.0
The High Sierra is probably my favorite backpacking destination in the lower 48. The range is huge and intricate; the towering mountains are majestic; the off-trail travel is both blissful and exciting; road access is very limited; and the crowded, high-use areas are easy to leave behind.
No exaggeration, I think I could spend the rest of my life exploring it.
We operate within multiple land units, including Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, Yosemite National Park, Inyo National Forest, and Stanislaus National Forest. These areas have much in common, including their granitic peaks and domes, glacier-carved valleys, abundance of alpine lakes, open forests, and stable sunny weather; but each has a distinct feel. Typical elevations range from 8,000 to 12,000 feet.
Our more aggressive and longer itineraries involve “high route”-type travel, including sections of the Sierra High Route, Yosemite High Route, and Kings Canyon High Basin Route.
July and early-August are ideal for High Sierra trips. Even after epic winters, we’re beyond the risk of extensive lingering snowpack and raging rivers. The vegetation is vibrant green and the wildflowers are in bloom. The days are long and full of potential. And the risk of trip-ending wildfires or wildfire smoke is much less than it is later in the summer.
What we like
- Consistently excellent weather
- Idyllic mountain travel, both on- and off-trail
- Swimming in alpine lakes
- Peak wildflower season in July
What we dislike about or are challenged by
- The high altitudes can be challenging for clients who live at sea level without proper acclimatation
- Extensive fields of talus, ranging from the size of basketballs to refrigerators, but it’s at least stable and sticky
- Periods of heavy bug pressure
- Monsoonal weather can produce cold rain and hail
Greater Yellowstone
Client ratings of this location:
- 2024: 4.62/5.0
This location was new for us in 2024, and I can definitively say: it’s a winner. But I’m also committed to improving our trip quality in 2025, using what we learned last season in terms of itineraries, off-trail routes, wildlife activity, points of interest, and weather conditions.
Most trips in this location take place in Yellowstone National Park, which has an abundance of backcountry thermal features and wildlife, including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, raptors, and Sand Hill cranes. Due to the regulations and the nature of the landscape, these itineraries have more on-trail hiking and established campsites than other locations.
Our other trips take place in the adjacent Teton Wilderness, which is on the park’s southwest boundary and managed by Bridger-Teton National Forest. This area is notable for its remote and hard-to-reach valleys and plateaus, including the Thorofare River and Trident Plateau, the most remote points in the lower 48. The opportunities for solitude and off-trail mountainous travel offset the more skittish wildlife and lack of thermal features.
What we like
- For the lower 48, this is big wilderness
- In the park, wildlife and thermal features
- In the national forest, classic high mountain travel
- Minimal backcountry traffic and virtually no bugs
What we dislike or are challenged by
- In the park, opportunities for off-trail travel and dispersed camping are limited due to the park’s regulations and extensive trail system
- The high elevations of the mountainous areas pose a challenge for those from lower elevations who have not properly acclimated
- Extensive areas of blow-downs create the need for careful planning and route-finding when off-trail
- At this latitude and these elevations, fall conditions arrive early and groups may experience some cold nights (between 20 and 30 degrees F) and/or cold-and-wet conditions
- After a long and dry summer in the West, these trips may be affected by faraway or local wildfires in the form of poor air quality or area closures
Appalachian Mountains, West Virginia
Client ratings of this location:
- 2024: 4.62/5.0
- 2023: 4.67/5.0
- 2022: 4.61/5.0
- 2021: 4.67/5.0
- 2020: 4.58/5.0
- 2019: 4.50/5.0
If you love the Appalachian Mountains, want Appalachian-specific instruction, and/or cannot justify the travel expense or time for a 3- or 5-day trip out West, this is the location for you.
West Virginia is charmingly rural, and its backcountry areas are as wild as the Appalachians get. Early-October is prime season here: the colors are turning, the bugs are gone, and the temperatures are comfortable both at night and during the day. It’s also the driest month of the year.
Seneca Creek and Dolly Sods have environmental conditions typical of both the southern and northern Appalachians. In the lower elevations, we find lush hardwoods and rhododendron tunnels, like in the Blue Ridge; and in the upper elevations, expect guard spruce and soggy peat bogs, like in Maine. The setting is ideal for teaching regional skills, like how to sleep in hammocks, manage continuous rain and dampness, and navigate through indistinct terrain with limited line-of-sight visibility.
Monongahela National Forest is reasonably accessible from many eastern metro areas. Imagine a “box” with corners at New York City, Columbus, Knoxville, and Raleigh. Anything in that box is no more than about five hours away.
What we like about this location
- In the eastern US, West Virginia is about as undeveloped and wild as it gets
- Peak fall foliage, mild temperatures, and low humidity
- No bugs or ticks
- Flat needle-covered campsites with nice fire rings
What we dislike about or are challenged by in this location
- The potential for fog, rain, and muddy trails, as well as cold-and-wet storms that feel much more November-like than summer-like
- Rooty, rocky, and leaf-covered trails
