STYLE
🌶️ Mild | A little sweat, a lot of views. For those who want adventure without the suffering.
THE WILD
Gates of the Arctic National Park | The ancestral and unceded lands of the Iñupiat, Koyukon, Kuuvaan KaNianikiq, and Denendeh.
JOURNEY
Days: 9 | Group: 4 - 7
Minimum Age: 16
Imagine the earth before humans, and you’re probably close to picturing the real remoteness and stunning awe of the arctic.
Gates of the Arctic is one of the most phenomenal places on earth. It doesn’t have the glacier-clad peaks of Denali, or the high alpine tundra of the Wrangells, but it has something ineffable — a quality of time and space and silence that can only be understood through experience. Being in this place changes you to the core. It has changed me to the core. One of our guests who has travelled to all seven continents and over 100 countries called this her favorite place on earth — the most awe-inspired she’s ever been. On this trip we’ll get to experience two of America’s most remote National Parks. We’ll get to really experience them, with enough time in each to start to feel their rhythms. This is a trip of contrasts, of newness, and of incredible remoteness.
Over 9 days…
experience the surreal beauty of two ancient places… the rhythms of light, the running of caribou, the early-morning yipping of wolf-pups, fresh-picked blueberry pancakes and coffee, laughter in the kitchen tent, time to reflect far away from the madness of the modern world.
Each day we’ll go out for beautiful long hikes and each evening return to a warm meal in camp. Our basecamp will be well-outfitted with great food, excellent tents, and a kitchen tent with chairs to escape any rougher weather.
Each year we change our basecamps to minimize impact — but you can be sure we’ve chosen places you’ll never forget. This trip is brand new for 2025 and we couldn’t be more excited to get to share it with you. We’ll have a trip in spring and a trip in fall. We find the place is most alive in the transition of seasons. We choose our spots based on beauty and accessibility to long exciting hikes. If you’re on a mission to see all the National Parks (or not), this is a perfect way to see these two remote wonders.
MOMENT BY MOMENT, DAY BY DAY
DAY 1
DAY 1
WELCOME TO KOTZEBUE
It’s funny little town and the perfect place to start our epic journey into the Alaska backcountry. Check out the town and the visitor center before meeting up with your guides for a pre-trip orientation at 7pm.
DAY 2
DAY 2
In the morning we’ll board our bush plane for our first flight deep into the Arctic all the way to the Northwestern corner of the park. As the Alaskan saying goes, walk a month or fly an hour. If you’ve never flown in a bush plane you’re missing out on one of the greatest experiences in life, really. There’s nothing quite like seeing Alaska from the sky — breezing over tundra; spotting moose and grizzly; watching the sun glint off rivers braided like lungs; it’s truly special.
Our skilled pilots will put us down on a lake or on the tundra and fly off, leaving us in the bewildering silence and the awe of remoteness. We’ll hike a mile or less to our chosen basecamp and setup our home for the next five days. That evening we’ll just rest and absorb the magnitude of the place. It may be sunny or pouring rain… but it’s always beautiful.
DAY 3 - 6
DAY 3 - 6
Basecamp hikes, delicious shared meals, relaxing evenings, cards, and campfires. Each day will be an opportunity to explore a new place. Our hikes won’t be pre-planned and they’ll all be off trail. This is true adventure. If our group is bigger than six, we’ll have two guides and can hike in two groups each day. Some might chose a slow meditative saunter near camp while others may chose to go as far as their legs can take them. Each day will be a new co-creation with each other, the terrain, and the weather.
DAY 7 - 8
Day 7 - 8
In the morning, we'll enjoy breakfast and break down camp before our bush pilots arrive to fly us west through the Brooks Range to Kobuk Sand Dunes National Park. We'll touch down on the edge of the dunes and make our camp for the next few days.
We’ll spend our days hiking through the dunes, watching caribou or wolves if we see them, eating great meals, and reveling in the sunsets of this prehistoric place. These dunes—the largest active ones in the Arctic—along with the smaller Little Kobuk and Hunt River Sand Dunes, form a 30-square-mile expanse of towering sand that feels more like the Sahara than a location just 35 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
DAY 9
DAY 9
Today is a bittersweet day. You’ll likely be really ready for showers. And you’ll be sad to say goodbye to the wild land that you’ve begun to call home. After breakfast the distant sound of engines will filter in. We’ll pack up camp, load up the planes and fly back to Kotzebue. We’ll share a celebratory dinner before saying our goodbyes.
NOTE
The Alaska Factor
Any expedition in Alaska requires flexibility, patience, and a big sense of adventure. We always try our best to follow our itineraries as written, but rarely do. That’s part of the fun of it! Alaska weather is always changing and shifting and we will always respectfully honor what the weather allows or doesn’t allow us to do. We get the incredible luxury of flying into these beautiful places, but with flying also comes a need to defer to the conditions. Sometimes flights may be delayed for a day or more as we wait for an appropriate weather window. Trip itineraries may also shift due to group skill, pilot availability, or any number of unforeseen circumstances. Please come with an open mind, a spirit of enthusiastic adventure, and a willingness to see where the trip takes you.
WHERE WE SLEEP
Backcountry Camping
-
Backcountry camping can be cozy and comfy.
We like to bring some creature comforts like desert and umbrellas and our favorite coffee press for the mornings. And the best part is opening your tent door to the pinks, purples, and oranges shining on snow capped peaks (or feel super cozy in your tent when it’s raining outside).
And you’ll have the most exquisite bathroom views you’ve ever had in your life.
Backcountry camping can be cozy and comfy.
We like to bring some creature comforts like desert and umbrellas and our favorite coffee press for the mornings. And the best part is opening your tent door to the pinks, purples, and oranges shining on snow capped peaks (or feel super cozy in your tent when it’s raining outside).
And you’ll have the most exquisite bathroom views you’ve ever had in your life.
Basecamp trips afford us some more luxuries than usual like a giant dome tent, camp chairs, and a few fresh food items. The dome tent is a complete game changer for the Alaska backcountry! it could be raining sideways and you'd hardly know it inside the dome. In the words of someone last season: "this thing is a literal godsend."
That being said, other then the dome tent, camp chairs, and some fresh veggies, we pack for these trips the same as for backpacking trips!
That's for two reasons.
Sometimes we need to be able to walk up to a mile away from the landing area to make camp. If our bags are ridiculously heavy this walk become uncomfortable or dangerous.
We access these mountains by small bush planes. These planes have limited pretty carrying capacity. But also the more stuff we bring the more fuel they have to burn (which we want to avoid!)
We ask people to limit their personal gear to 30lbs per person maximum.
““Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” ”
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
“I’ve traveled all over the planet. No place has floored me like Gates of the Arctic has. Jack’s attention to detail and safety made me feel comfortable even in such a remote place.”
“Still months later I can’t forget the sound of the wolf pups yipping in the morning over coffee.”
“Jack was spot on. What the place lacks in big glaciers it makes up for in something hard to explain. I waited a long time to come to Gates of the Arctic and now I realize I saved the best for last. ”
BOOK THIS ADVENTURE
7,450 Per Person | 1,000 deposit to hold your spot
2026 Dates
June 29 – July 7, 2026
2027 Dates
June 29 – July 7, 2027
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Check out the FAQ’s below, or text or call us at 845-661-3008 to talk it through! Or send us an email. We love hearing from folks.
-
Our basecamping trips are the least-demanding trips we offer. If you want to experience Alaska, but don't want to cary a heavy pack every day, this one is for you!
That being said, any remote trip in Alaska comes with challenges. At minimum, you must be able to walk 2 miles off trail with a 30 pound pack. We will have to cary our gear to and from our remote air strips three times on this trip. These hikes will be off trail and may be up steep inclines.
To get the most out of the trip we recomedn you're comfortable hiking 8-10 miles on trail. That will set you up well to be able to go on some of the longer day hikes.
But if you want to stay closer to camp and do shorter hikes that's up to you. We'll have the option to split the group each day depending on how far people want to go and at what pace.
Our longer (optional) hikes will be no joke. We'll leave camp in the morning and be gone all day off trail across scree slopes, over mountain passes, and through the occasional but notorious thick Alaskan alder. If you’re an expert backpacker you’ll still find this to be a rewarding and at times challenging trip.
Guests will be expected to practice excellent self-care, pack and unpack their own packs, setup and breakdown their own tents, and carry a portion of group equipment to and from the airstrip.
All the challenges of off-trail hiking are overwhelmingly worth it for the splendor, the views, and the deep knowing in your gut that you did something powerful and profound.
-
The price includes all bush flights in and out of the mountains, all breakfasts and dinners in the field, all group supplies—cooking equipment, water treatment options, group shelters, bear canisters, toilet supplies, emergency communication devices, maps, GPS, first aid kit, National Park entrance fees, and the support of your experienced and trained guides.
-
The price does not include travel to Kotzebue, accommodations, in town meals, travel insurance or rescue insurance (both recommended), or gratuity for your guide (10-20% of the trip cost suggested). The price doesn’t include personal gear— backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, layers, rain gear, personal bowl, personal eating utensils, headlamp, and personal toiletries. The price also does not include the cost of lunches / snacks. On our trips lunches are really just extended snacking throughout the day.
-
We limit this trip to 7 guests and 2 guides. If your trip has more than 6 guests you will have 2 guides.
-
Meals will be delicious backcountry cuisine. We’ve spent a lot of years in the backcountry and we like to eat well! That being said, we also don't love heavy packs. Our meals strike a balance between dehydrated backpacker food and gourmet fresh — in that balance are delicious meals without crazy weight. We can accommodate most dietary restrictions. Please reach out with questions. We will supply all the breakfasts, dinners, and occasional desserts for the trip. We ask guests to pack their own lunch snacks. On our trips lunch is between when breakfast ends and dinner begins — snack away!
-
Any expedition in Alaska requires flexibility, patience, and a big sense of adventure. We always try our best to follow our itineraries as written, but rarely do. That’s part of the fun of it! Alaska weather is always changing and shifting and we will always respectfully honor what the weather allows or doesn’t allow us to do. We get the incredible luxury of flying into these beautiful places, but with flying also comes a need to defer to the conditions. Sometimes flights may be delayed for a day or more as we wait for an appropriate weather window. Trip itineraries may also shift due to group skill, pilot availability, or any number of unforeseen circumstances. Please come with an open mind, a spirit of enthusiastic adventure, and a willingness to see where the trip takes you. We do not offer refunds or cover incurred costs when trips have to be rerouted or itineraries changed due to weather or other circumstances out of our control.
-
If arriving by plane you will want to fly in/out of Kotzebue Airport with Alaska Airlines. Please plan to book your flights back to Anchorage for no earlier than 8 pm on the final day.
For the smoothest travel experience, we strongly recommend booking your flight home to depart at least 24 hours after the trip officially ends. Bush flights in Alaska are occasionally delayed due to weather or other logistical factors, and having that extra buffer helps ensure a relaxed, stress-free journey home.
-
We have people come on our trips by themselves all the time! There’s nothing like travel through remote wilderness to build community. You'll most likely leave with lots of new friends.
-
Indigo Alpine Guide trips are run by the owner Jack and an awesome crew of guides from all over the country. All the people who work for IAG have over a decade of experience guiding trips in the most remote places on earth, have wilderness medical training and advanced guiding certifications. They are some of the best and most experienced guides you’ll find anywhere.
Our trips aren’t tours. We don’t march the same trail again and again. Your guide may not have done your exact route before — and that’s part of the adventure! We change routes from season to season, sometimes for practical reasons, sometimes just to keep things fresh. People are sometimes surprised by this, but it’s never a drawback — if anything, the journey feels more alive for everyone, including them.
-
If we cancel… we reserve the right to cancel a trip for internal reasons (low signups, guide illness/injury, logistics issues, etc.). If that happens, you’ll receive a full refund of everything you paid us.
Note: We aren’t responsible for additional costs you may have booked separately (flights, hotels, gear, etc.). When possible, we recommend refundable airfare.
If life cancels… Alaska is wild. Trips can be disrupted by things nobody controls: weather delays, wildfire smoke, natural disasters, aviation shutdowns, pandemics, or travel restrictions.
In those situations, refunds aren’t guaranteed — and itinerary changes may be required for safety or logistics.
That’s why we strongly recommend travel insurance that covers trip cancellation, interruption, and delays.
If You Cancel…
60+ days out
You can choose one:
Refund minus a $500 admin fee.
OR100% credit toward a future Indigo Alpine Guides trip (valid for up to 2 years)
31–59 days out
No refund, but you can keep 75% as trip credit (valid for up to 2 years)
Less than 30 days out
No refund or credit
Fully Refundable Within 72 Hours
Book with confidence. If you change your mind, cancel within 72 hours for a full refund. No stress, no risk.
Interest-Free Payment Options
Reserve your spot now and spread payments out over time — 100% interest-free (when available).
-
We always encourage folks to purchase trip cancelation insurance in addition to the mandatory medical evacuation insurance. We require that you have at least $200,000 in medical evacuation insurance. Your insurance policy should cover hazardous sports and we recommend that your policy cover search and rescue. Since we cannot confirm each client’s policy individually, it is your responsibility to make sure your policy will cover you while you participate in your activities of choice on the expedition.
For US citizens, we recommend Global Rescue. You will have a choice of purchasing it with or without the cancellation coverage–so make sure to select the one that gives you the coverage that you need. Other commonly used companies include World Nomads and Squaremouth.
You are welcome to seek out other insurance options, as these are only recommendations. When selecting a policy, please make sure they insure all the activities you’ll be participating in (many don’t include roped climbing, skiing, mountaineering, etc).
-
Yes! Our basecamping trips are a pretty good entry point into wilderness travel.
That being said, you’ll likely have a better time if you have at least 4-5 wilderness trips of any length under your belt before coming to Alaska. If you’re unsure, reach out!
If you want to go on the longer hikes offered, be sure to train by going for lots of long trail hikes at home before arriving.
STILL HAVE QUESTIONS?
Let us know. We’re always happy to chat. No pressure to book.
