Backpacking Iceberg Lake Valley in Wrangell-St. Elias, Alaska

5 days among glaciers in the U.S.’s largest national park

All photos by author

Trip specs

• Location: Iceberg Lake Valley, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska
• Dates: Aug. 5–9, 2019 (5 days, 4 nights)
• Route: Lollipop loop around the valley, all off-trail. Mileage: ~15 backpacking + ~5 day-hike
• Conditions: Terrific. We got very lucky with consistently warm, very sunny days and cool nights. Highs in 60s-70s, lows in 40s. 10–15 degrees cooler near the glacier. Sunset: ~10 p.m. Sunrise: ~6 a.m.
• Travel: Fly to Anchorage, drive to McCarthy (8 hrs), bush plane to Iceberg Lake airstrip (30 mins)
• Special gear: bear canister, bear spray, InReach or sat phone, crampons or microspikes (no ice axe)
• Photos: Wrangell-St. Elias on Google Photos

Background

Every summer, I embark on a backpacking journey with a couple of friends from college. We started doing an annual trip over a decade ago, and this year marked our 10th trip…