All guests need to arrive and stay in Anchorage (at your own expense) today, so that you’re ready to be picked up from your hotel for the sea plane flight to the lodge tomorrow morning.

This morning we’ll meet up in Anchorage and head to the sea plane, which will fly us all the way from Anchorage to our hosts’ remote mountain lodge. We’ll arrive at about 11am and receive a warm welcome from the entire friendly team. After a formal safety briefing, there’s time to settle into our rooms, then we’ll be given a tour of the historic lodge and property.

At about 1pm, we’ll gather in the cookhouse for a sit-down lunch, and when the tables are cleared, out come the maps so we can get a sense of where we’ll be riding in the week ahead. Then it’s time to meet the horses! We’ll be matched with our mounts and saddle up for a ride to the top of Lookout Hill, 600 feet above the lodge, where we’ll be rewarded with incredible views of the Cathedral Spires (a huge, jagged cluster of near-vertical peaks in the Kichatna Mountains) and the Ptarmigan Valley. Riding down the other side of Lookout Hill, we’ll forge our own trail through dense brush, getting familiar with what our ‘all-terrain vehicles’ can do! Down on the flats, we’ll pass the airstrip and perhaps see a fox den or two before reaching the lodge.

After unsaddling the horses and turning them out in the corral, we’ve got some down time, and plenty of ways to spend it. There are canoes, paddle boards, kayaks, zodiac boats, shooting sports, archery, lawn games and volleyball, not to mention the option to simply nap, read a book, snap some photos, sip some wine, or observe the daily cocktail hour before dinner at 7pm. Finally, we’ll head to Buckey’s cabin for an on-site museum tour. Buckey has been a guide here since 1964 and has more than a few good stories to tell! At this time of year, it’s light for almost 24 hours a day, but we’ll likely be ready for bed by now!

After breakfast at 9am (no alarms dictate the pace here!), we’ll get packed for the 5-night journey ahead. This first pack takes some time, as the team ensure the horses are loaded up evenly and fairly and that everything is 100% prepared. Still, when the sun doesn’t set, there’s no need to hurry! It’s an easy 3 to 4 hour ride up the Ptarmigan Valley to the cabin at Halfway Lake, with some off-trail excursions for game viewing if the opportunity arises, and lunch enjoyed en route.

At around 250 square feet, tonight’s cabin is quite small, but comfortable, nonetheless. Its strategic location offers 360-degree views for up to 5 miles around, with the potential to sight bears, moose, caribou, and even wolves. After we’re settled in, if the weather is good, we might ride over to Happy River for some evening game viewing, or off the trail as needed, if game is spotted and photo opportunities beckon!

Our hosts will cook a hearty dinner at the cabin, dished up with some more crazy back country stories, then we’ll slip on our eye masks, snuggle into our sleeping bags and get some shut-eye.

Waking up to the smell of coffee, or perhaps the sizzle of bacon and eggs, we’ll enjoy a relaxed breakfast and perhaps some morning game viewing. Then it’s time to break camp and ride to the cabin at Sheep Lake, with lunch along the way. Over 3 to 4 hours’ riding, we will cross the Happy River between 15 and 20 times. By now, we’ll have realised that around every single corner is another postcard-perfect view – but it never gets old!

In the afternoon, we have a few options for rides out from Sheep Lake, including a 3-hour ride into Goodman Pass or Carly’s Way. With such long daylight hours, there is no rush, and our guides encourage stops with glassing periods of up to an hour (spotting wildlife from a distance through binoculars), as this is the best way to see all the fascinating creatures that inhabit this remote area. Plus, the horses get a rest, too.

Back at the cabin, we’ll sit back with a drink and watch the shadows slowly shift across the valley. Dinner will be cooked either on the grill outside or on the stove inside, depending on what the weather and the cooks have in store for us.

Today we’re heading to Marsh Strip with a 4-hour ride involving a little more brush and scrub to push through with our surefooted horses, some swampy areas (hence the name ‘Marsh Strip’!) and a few more crossings of the silvery Happy River.

Tonight’s cabin sits above a dry riverbed (yes, they actually exist in Alaska) about 25 miles from the main lodge and 145 miles from the nearest town. It’s a great location for spotting moose and bears as they cross the wide expanse of the Ptarmigan Valley below, and there’s the option to ride into the valleys behind the cabin for potential bear, caribou and Dall sheep sightings. The front deck will hold a strong lure, though, with its beautiful outlook and the promise of cold drinks and hot food!

This morning, we’ll saddle up for a longer day’s ride (about 7 hours) back around Sheep Lake and up into the higher alpine zone to reach Rainy Pass Lake, where our next cabin awaits.

Arriving in the afternoon, the horses will take a rest while we fish for dolly varden trout in the lake, take a hike to explore this new ecosystem, or just relax on the deck with binoculars or a good book. Surrounded by rolling mountains, with the lake shimmering beneath the moody sky right at our feet, this is a landscape we won’t forget in a hurry.

You can’t ride all the way up to a mountain pass wihout seeing what’s at the top, right? So after breakfast by the lake, we’ll do exactly that. It’s a short ride to the top of the Rainy Pass, where we can take some happy snaps, explore on foot or on horseback, and have lunch overlooking the stark, wild peaks of the Alaska Range.

From here, we’ll make our way back to Sheep Lake, to the cabin we started out from on day 4, with a glassing break at ‘The Notch’ en route. It’s our last night out in the wilderness, globetrotters, so be sure to make the most of the serenity!

After breakfast at Sheep Lake, we’ll pack our gear one last time for the 5 to 6 hour ride back to the lodge. No doubt we’ll be taking our time, with glassing breaks and plenty of wildlife-spotting, river-crossing, bush-bashing detours!

Arriving back at the main lodge, we’ll turn the horses out with a grateful pat (and maybe a tear or two!) before reuniting with our extra luggage, basking in a hot shower, and regrouping by the lake for appetisers. Our final dinner will be a big celebration complete with a video presentation of our trip (courtesy of our hosts), some raucous games of horseshoes out on the lawn, and a generous supply of beer, wine and cocktails.

This morning we’ll enjoy one final unhurried breakfast in the beautiful Alaskan wilderness, say goodbye to our incredible hosts, then board the sea plane for the scenic flight back to Anchorage.

Please ensure your flight home departs no earlier than 4:30pm.

Seaplane transfers between Anchorage and the ride location are included in the price (on day one and day eight).

You will need to arrive and stay in Anchorage at your own expense the night before the ride begins so that you’re ready to meet the group and be shuttled to the airport in the morning.

On day 1, the seaplane flight departs at around 10am, arriving at our hosts’ lodge at around 11am.

On the final day of the ride, the seaplane flight departs at around midday, arriving in Anchorage between 1-2pm. Please ensure your flight home from Anchorage departs no earlier than 4:30pm.