In the Wilderness
Alaska by motorbike
from 23 June to 7 July
“I’ve decided I’m going to live this life for a while. I can not give up all this freedom and simple beauty”… so wrote Christopher McCandless, or the Supertramp of the famous book “Into the wild”… and that’s inevitably how it feels to be faced with the power and splendor of nature that in the Alaskan Wilds is expressed in all of their being. A boundless panorama that will upset us for the immensity of its nature.
1 day: Sunday 23 June Italy – Anchorage
Departure from Italy with scheduled flight operated by Lufthansa. Arrival in Anchorage early afternoon. Processing of customs formalities. Meeting with the local assistant for the transfer to the hotel. Overnight.
Day 2: Monday 24 June Anchorage – Copper River
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure from our hotel for the pick up of the rented bikes. Start our adventure “in the wild”. First stop is the crossroads of Copper River to the West where we will arrive in the afternoon visiting, reaching along the road, the Matanuska Glacier, whose glacial tongue 43 km long makes it the largest glacier in Alaska. Arrival at Copper Mine where gold fever still leaves its traces. Accommodation and overnight at the hotel.
3rd Day: Tuesday 25th June Copper River – McCarthy – Copper River
Free breakfast. Easy dirt road. We go into the unspoilt nature of Alaska along the 60 miles dirt road that take us to McCarthy small country of miners and gold miners still intact that takes us back to the days of the real wild Alaska, the gold diggers. Return to Copper River in the afternoon. Overnight.
4th Day: Wednesday 26 June Copper River – Valdez
We head back south to Valdez through Elias National Park and Preserve, the largest UNESCO World Heritage Site and biosphere reserve in the United States. We will cross the Thompson Pass, defined as one of the most panoramic passes in the world, where the view is lost on the magnificent glaciers. Arrival in Valdez, one of the most important ports of Alaska.
5th Day: Thursday 27 June Stop in Valdez
The Valdez Oil Terminal is the southernmost point of the pipeline known as the Alaska Pipeline. Day of rest with the possibility of a mini cruise through the ice of the Columbia Glacier in the Strait of Prince William. Overnight.
6th Day: Friday 28th June Valdez – Paxson
Breakfast at the hotel. We return north along the US 4 that took us to Valdez, until we arrive in the heart of the Alaska Range in Paxson. From Paxson we take the Denali Hwy for about 40 km to the shores of Lake Tangle. Overnight.
7th Day: Saturday 29 June Paxson – Alaska Range – Fairbanks
Free breakfast. Continue north through the incredible landscapes of the Alaska Range of gintesque volcanoes with altitudes ranging from 3,557 m in Mount Russel to 5,304 m in Mount Foraker. The road takes us to the edge of the Arctic Circle, to Fairbanks via the Richardson Highway, Alaska’s oldest and most scenic road. Arrive in Fairbanks, the gold mining town, with a visit to the University of Alaska Museum or take a cruise on the Chena River aboard the classic Sternwheeler. Free meals. Overnight in Fairbanks.
8th Day: Sunday 30th June Stop at Fairbanks
Breakfast at the hotel. Free day available. We are on the edge of the Arctic Circle where Alaska’s second largest city lies at the foot of the White Mountain glaciers, the main hub of the Gold Rush. We can visit the Museum of the North, in the University of Fairbanks, whose purpose is to catalogue and preserve the cultural and natural heritage of Alaska and the Arctic Circle. Or visit Gold Dredge Mine #9, with history of the gold rush unfolding aboard a steam train. From here also begins the legendary Dalton Highway that runs to the North Pole… Or relax and enjoy the Chena Hot Spring Thermal Waters an hour’s bike ride from Fairbanks. Overnight in Fairbanks.
9th Day: Monday 01 July Fairbanks – Denali Ntl Park
Breakfast at the hotel. The route proceeds along the scenic Parks Highway where you can make several stops. We arrive in the afternoon at McKinley Chalet Resort, along the Parks Highway, just at the edge of Denali National Park where you can see the majestic Denali Mountain (formally Mt. McKinley) and admire brown bears along the banks of the Susitna River. Overnight.
10th day: Tuesday 2nd July Denali National Park
Free breakfast. We dedicate the day to the visit of the largest Alaska Park where we will have the opportunity to admire the beauty of animals such as Brown and Grizzly Bears, Wolves and the famous White-Headed Sea Eagle symbol of the USA. Return to the hotel in the afternoon. Overnight.
11th day: Wednesday 03 July Denali – Seward
Free breakfast. We continue south along the Parks Highway through Talkeetna, a trading base when a gold deposit was discovered on the Susitna River. Continue on the Road along one of the most important roads in the world, the historic US 1 southwards towards Seward, until you reach Kenai Fjords National Park. As you proceed along the picturesque Turnagain Channel you can see out the sheep From climbing on the rocky cliffs, elk, bears and eagles or …whales in the sea. Free meals. Overnight in Seward.
12th day: Thursday 4th July Seward – Homer
Free breakfast. For our penultimate stage we go to the southernmost point of the nation where you can get by road, Homer, whose nickname is precisely “At the End of the Road” from which we could enjoy the spectacle of the Kenai peninsula with its peaks and glaciers that extend to infinity. Overnight.
Day 13: Friday 05 July Homer – Anchorage
Breakfast at the hotel. Departure from our hotel to return to Anchorage, the final stop on our road trip to the Wild Lands. Arrival and return of the bikes in the afternoon. Return to the hotel and rest of the day free. Overnight.
14 day: Saturday 06 July Anchorage – Italy
Breakfast at the hotel. Airport transfer and departure to Italy with flight operated by Lufthansa
15 day: Sunday 07 July Arr. in Italy
Arrival in Italy in the afternoon