“We did a single-day packrafting trip with Joe and Mollie. They were incredible! We hiked for a few miles through blueberry bushes to a spot on the Jack River where we ate lunch and then rafted back to our starting point. The guides were kind, smart, and great teachers about the nature, wildlife, and adventuring that we were doing–not only on our trip with them, but they were also giving us tips for doing trips on our own. This was just simply a perfect day.”
Traverse Alaska Philosophy
Traverse Alaska specializes in private, custom human-powered adventures based in Denali. We provide single-day and multi-day hiking, rafting, backpacking, packrafting and custom trips that focus on deep exploration and education across Alaska. Partnering with the highest quality local lodges and restaurants enables us to create seamless itineraries that inspire connections to our natural world and ignite the soul. Our custom-designed trips challenge guests while creating the opportunity to experience true, wild freedom at their own unique pace.
Testimonials
2024 Summer highlights: July
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Private, custom rafting adventures with families and young kids in their own big raft, safely rafting by the Riley Creek fire, families learning about sled dogs and cuddling puppies, seeing bears while hiking, experiencing clear views of Mt. Denali for the first time, learning about packrafting, and finding water to cool off on those rare hot July days.
#traversealaska
2024 Summer highlights: June
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Private, custom day hiking and rafting adventures, kids getting to practice rowing a raft, rafting adventures with all ages including grandparents and grandkids, traversing the tundra with active families, finding wildflowers and caribou antlers on the tundra, learning about sled dogs and mushing, and getting to experience all 20,310ft. of the mountain—Denali on a clear, bluebird day.
#traversealaska
Happy solstice weekend from Denali! ✨
Now we shift toward the light.
Sunrise: 10:45am
Sunset: 3:05pm
4hrs 20min of daylight
We’re continuing with our guide introductions.
Next up, Bill “Buckwheat” Overington / @80billwheat who has been involved with Traverse Alaska for a number of years.
Buckwheat wears multiple hats including raft guide and manager of our entire river rafting department of the business (in addition to many other talents he brings to the team).
We are so fortunate to have his expertise, dedication, attention to detail, and fun, laid-back attitude on our team.
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Where are you from?
Originally from Florida, which seems kind of strange, but I moved to Colorado when I was 12. I split my time between Colorado and Alaska.
How long have you been in Alaska?
I came to AK in 1989, so it’s been 35 years now.
What do you love about guiding?
Being outside everyday is important to me, so I apparently made a career out of it. Making outdoor experiences accessible to a broad range of individuals, in both age and background, is incredibly rewarding on a daily basis.
What are you most passionate about sharing when it comes to Alaska?
I love sharing river time with visitors to the Denali area. The Nenana is a free-flowing, glacial river and the eastern boundary of Denali National Park. The dynamic nature of changing water levels, a diverse range of old, young and even currently active geological features combined with a perfect progression of whitewater, scenery and lighting all makes for a very exciting, fun and memorable event on any Alaska vacation. The Nenana River is an amazing resource to have so easily accessible in our backyards. You can float for almost 40 miles where the Denali National Park boundary is the river and guests really appreciate that experience.
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#traversealaskaguides
As we approach the end of the year, we want to take some time to look back at some highlights from our summer season.
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2024 Summer highlights: May
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Guide training with our incredible team of professional Alaskan guides. We spent time hiking, rafting, learning from local experts (Alaska history, Alaska native culture, guiding in Alaska, fire ecology and more), traveling around the state and visiting some of our favorite spots and business partners. Our friend and professional Anne Beaulaurier/@alaskannie planned and ran our guide training this year, It was incredible. We’re already excited for guide training next year!
#traversealaskaguides #traversealaska
The aurora borealis have been really active so far this winter in Denali!
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Have you always wanted to visit Alaska in the winter and see the northern lights? Contact us for winter trips between Feb-April!
📸 @mollieofdenali
#traversealaskainwinter
We’re continuing with our guide introductions. Next up, Kate Orlofsky, who has been a Denali local for years, and this was her first year guiding with Traverse Alaska.
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Kate is an outdoor professional with more than a decade of experience traversing wild landscapes, as guide for dog sled tours, caring for and training teams of sled dogs, conducting wildlife research in remote locations, and working on trail crews all over the Unites States—across the northeast, mountain west, and Alaska. Kate is a solid professional, and we appreciate her calm demeanor, her strong work ethic, and how detailed and thoughtful she is. We are lucky to have her on our dynamic team of professional Alaskan guides.
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Where are you from?
Maine
How long have you been in Alaska?
I’ve lived in Alaska for 6 years
What do you love about guiding?
I love that guiding lets me focus on building connections - connecting people to the land, each other, and themselves. I love watching people develop a sense of place and sense of self.
What are you most passionate about sharing when it comes to Alaska?
I’m most passionate about sharing reverence for the land & waters and the stories that they hold. The natural & cultural history tell a rich story of interconnection, and I love weaving those pieces together to showcase the beautiful tapestry that is Alaska.
Why do you work at Traverse Alaska?
I work at Traverse Alaska because of the supportive environment and because of the love that everyone on this team shares for the incredible place we get to call home.
#traversealaskaguides
Now that our summer season has come to a close, we wanted to take some time to reflect back on highlights from our summer season.
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Kicking it off with our 6th Annual Swiftwater Rescue Training course with @lucmehl in late May. We are so fortunate to be able to host this safety course to start our summer boating season by practicing rescue skills and start off the season with safety first. Our local community is involved each year as well.
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Thank you @lucmehl @swiftwater_safety_institute and our amazing team of guides and local professionals 🙌
The fall colors have been glorious this year! We had to share some highlights from our adventures in the fall this year.
#privatepersonalcustom #traversealaska
