There & Back Again: Nikolai to McCarthy
This Father’s Day, we’re excited to share a special guest blog from our pilot Austin’s daughter, Linde. Linde was kind enough to write a trip report from her very first backpacking adventure. They hiked a route from the Nikolai Plateau back to McCarthy that combines sweeping views, plenty of route-finding, and more than a few miles of bushwhacking.
At nine years old, Linde splits her time between Colorado and Alaska, but don’t let her age fool you. As her story makes clear, she is more hobbit than child, and she sure is plenty tough. While she makes the journey sound fun (and it certainly was), this is not a route to underestimate. Sections of dense brush, creek crossings, and off-trail travel require patience, good judgment, and a willingness to embrace a little uncertainty.
One of the things we love about this trip, however, is that it offers a relatively affordable way to experience Alaska’s backcountry. By booking a flight into the wilderness and hiking back to town, adventurers can enjoy a true point-to-point journey through Wrangell–St. Elias without the cost of a round-trip charter.
We hope you enjoy Linde’s perspective on the trail. Her story is a reminder that adventure isn’t always about going farther or faster, sometimes it’s about seeing the world with fresh eyes.
When the wheels of the Cessna 185 touched the ground, I knew I was in for something big, and I was excited for the views we would have and pictures we would take. Once Daddy and I gathered our gear, the plane took off and we saw no one for the next two days. We had 14 miles of this-way and that, up and down, open tundra, narrow ledges, swiftly running creeks, and rocky slopes until we arrived back to our cozy cabin.
Since I am distantly related to Bilbo Baggins the hobbit, I thought it best to enjoy a bit of lunch before starting a long adventure. Plus, it’s less food in my backpack, right? We soon found the ultimate picnic spot. It leaned over the mouth of the Chitistone River and had many ground squirrel holes dug into the ground.
Newly energized, we kept on our hike after lunch. We climbed down a valley, filled our water bottles at a stream, and made some decisions. Daddy and I considered a longer, less steep route or a shorter, but steeper, route. I chose the steep course. The hill was made of loose rock that made four steps feel like seven. We were taking so many breaks, that we found many things we wouldn’t notice if we hadn’t stopped. I picked up a couple of awesome rocks for my brother. Usually when you’re backpacking, you don’t want extra weight. But this was totally worth it. I mean, since I already lost the weight of our lunch, why not pick up a few cool rocks? We also identified wild blueberries and crowberries. (Tip: if you are unfamiliar with Alaskan berries, I recommend asking someone who is knowledgeable about them before eating them.)
Something I’ll never forget is a goat trail we followed for 45 minutes: it was narrow, since goats with tremendous balance created the path across a sheer scree slope. We had to hike cautiously; I planned to turn and lean uphill if I lost my balance so I would not tumble but slide instead.
Eventually, we found ourselves climbing steeply upward. Our reward was a beautiful campsite: panoramic views of massive snowcapped mountains, steep valleys, delicate blue flowers, and some wild blueberries down below. We soon set up our tent and had some dinner. (Tip: if it is a cold night, and you have a Nalgene water bottle and boiling water, poor the boiling water into your water bottle and you have a nice and hot warmer for your sleeping bag!)
I woke up before Dad and sat amazed at the view we had missed when we set up our tent in the near darkness the night before. As I sat on the slope, I heard birds chirping and watched them zoom around. I wondered what they were saying. Once Daddy woke up, we made an oatmeal breakfast and watched a black bear grazing at the bottom of the valley. Keeping an interested eye on the bear as he wandered away, we read some of the book we’d started together the night before and got started on our hike in the late morning.
The hike was more difficult than the previous day. It began with a simple walk down a ridge, from which we FaceTime’d our family! The easy going hike, turned challenging as we encountered the first set of bushwhacking of the day. Daddy led the way, but the animal paths through the brush were low. So, we each had to duck and push branches out of our way as we slowly made progress through the descending thicket. We had heard about this part of the hike from friends who’d done it before. They called it, “monkey swinging” because the ground was so steep, all we had to rely on was our arms. I’d grab a branch and swing to grab another one lower down. We emerged at a creek and sat to eat sandwiches, cheese sticks, and fruit bars while enjoying the cold stream water.
From this point on, we followed streams and creeks for the rest of the day. Since the creek zigzagged, we crossed at times when we were cut off from the bank. These crossings were minor, this time of year and with the weather we’d had. Some of the spots, I could hop over, but once we took off our shoes and rolled up our pants to cross. Daddy found a moose antler shed in the water. I couldn’t imagine carrying that weight on my head for the whole summer! I admired different types of moss – the colors, shapes, and where they chose to live.
This creek joined into another, which poured into another, and still we followed the flow of water. Some areas were flat, other sections were steep; at times we followed a trail, but most of the time... we bushwhacked. We thought we would complete our journey by dinnertime, but we were mistaken. My daddy likes to tell people what I occasionally repeated during this afternoon and evening, “and not for the last time Bilbo Baggins wished he was back in his hobbit hole in his comfortable armchair.” I’ve got to be honest. The last few hours of this hike were not my favorite.
I was so thankful when we finally reached the McCarthy Creek Trail, but I didn’t know we would be on it for another three hours! It was well-past dark, and we were so thankful we’d packed the headlamp. My mom and brother were waiting for us at our friends’ house where we’d planned to finish our hike. Unfortunately, we didn’t arrive until 1:30am! Dad and I had skipped dinner to get home sooner, so we were hungry for the soup that was ready for us.
Overall, our hike was very fun, and I would love to take another backpacking adventure like this next year! My Dad says he’d like our next trip to be the Steamboat Traverse. When you explore Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, I hope you have a splendid time finding interesting plants, enjoying fantastic views, and encountering wildlife (from a safe distance, of course!).