Equinox Wilderness Expeditions offers hot springs base camp and backpacking trip to a unique island wilderness in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. Stretching southwesterly 1,300 miles from the Alaska Peninsula nearly to Kamchatka in the Russian Far East, the Aleutian archipelago rises as a string of volcanic islands amid the North Pacific and Bering Sea. Pelagic seabirds, waterfowl, eagles, and a host of marine mammals all make their home here, along with a few hardy pockets of humanity. Lying in the most remote and mysterious corner of Alaska, the islands are part of the circum-Pacific "Ring of Fire," geologically one of the most unsettled regions on Earth. Tectonic forces clash as the Pacific plate pushes under the North American plate in the Aleutian Trench. High peaks rise mythically out of the sea, and volcanoes keep scientists busy predicting their cycles of dormancy and activity.
The focus of our exploration is the geothermally active Umnak Island. In Here, volcanoes rise abruptly, intersected by eroded valleys and huge expanses of black lava moonscapes. Most recently, in 2008, Okmok Volcano erupted. Emerald green slopes and wildflower-filled meadows contrast with the stark black rock of recent volcanic activity. In almost every direction, there is the sea--the Bering Sea to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. Precipitous cliffs and rock ledges alternate with boulder-strewn beaches, scalloped bays, and pocket beaches full of treasures. Here is a truly remote, spectacular coastline, little-known, even less visited.
Participants fly 800 miles from Anchorage to Dutch Harbor/Unalaska. From here, we fly to the Aleut village of Nikolski on the Bering Sea, where less than 40 people live. We take a boat charter to a unique bay near a highly active region of hot mineral pools and geysers. We'll take time to soak in the hot springs, then head out along the coast, and across the grassland tundra to explore the fascinating geology of the island, its birds and wildlife.
One last soak in the hot pools, and we'll head back to Dutch Harbor, where we take time to explore the fascinating history and prehistory of the largest island in the Aleutians. One of the most important archeological digs in Aleutians history has taken place in recent years on Unalaska. House design details and material culture gleaned from the site are rewriting our knowledge of Aleutian history. We will visit the dig and the Museum of the Aleutians, as well as the World War II Museum of the Pacific.
After a night in Dutch Harbor, we head back to Anchorage.
