Final Update from Alaska!
July 1, 2024
Our final hello from Alaska!
These past few days have offered us our last tastes of adventure all together, as a group. After our backpacking section, we unpacked our backpacking bags and packed up our dry bags for a quick turnaround to the Matanuska River to go white water rafting/float. We jumped right in by paddling down some class 4 rapids! We screamed and laughed and some of us got soaked in the frigid glacier waters. It was some of the most exciting white water that any of us had ever seen! After an exciting morning section down the river, we stopped for lunch, changed our clothes, got some hot chocolate, and loaded back on our rafts for an easy-going float down the river to our river-side campsite. Once at camp, we layed in the warm sun playing card games until dinner. Our rafting guides prepared us a delicious dinner of enchiladas with chips and salsa. To our surprise, our guides also baked us a comically big chocolate cake, complete with icing and Mint Oreo crumbles. We ate the entire cake. The next morning, we hopped back into our rafts and began our float down to the take-out. Wills and Brooks took their spots on the guides solo boats for a float experience that more so resembled a chariot ride. After giving our dry bags back to our river guides and re-packing our personal duffels, we hopped on our charter bus and started the drive over to Talkeetna where we were going to go explore the town and take a flight tour of Mount Denali. After the long journey, we set up camp and walked over to the air taxi service to meet our bush plane and pilot. After a quick safety briefing we climbed into the plane, put on our head sets, and took off. As we flew towards Denali, it quickly became clear how amazing this land truly is. There was not an angle or view point that did not offer a chilling beauty. As we flew closer to Denali, the mountains began to surround us on all side. We saw glaciers that stretched for miles and mountains that made us feel microscopic. It was truly an unbelievable experience. Once our plane landed, we hopped off and walked over to the charming town of Talkeetna to find a place for dinner. We ended up at the homiest pizza restaurant. It had a massive wooden porch adorned with paintings of wildflowers, colorful prayer flags, and a blue grass band playing in the back. Charlotte, Kate, Alison, Lucy, and MC took advantage of the music and got up on the floor to dance and laugh with some of the local kids. After a filling dinner, we walked back to out camp and shared our last moon-up. It was long, very heart felt, and full of love – just as our summer together was. We then hit our sack for the very last time. The next morning, we packed up our camp, packed our bags for the airport, took a quick shower (much anticipated), and then walked back into town to find the perfect souvenirs and trinkets before heading towards the airport. We also shared one last meal at a local restaurant, followed by ice cream of course. After we left Talkeetna, we hoped on a charter bus and made our way to the airport.
We had done it! We had successfully finished one of the most challenging trips of our lives! It has been an incredible 3 weeks with some of the best kids that we have ever had the pleasure of meeting. We cannot thank you enough for sharing them with us and allowing us to get to know them and learn from and through them. I can say with confidence that I have never met a group of young adults as capable, inspiring, positive, and strong as MC, Kate, Wills, Lucy, Brooks, Charlotte, and Alison are.
To our kids:
Thank you guys for being the incredible people that you are. Each of you are so special and talented and influential and you have changed all 3 of our lives forever. We mean that. We’re scouting out a good town that we can all move to one day so we can cook our dinners together once again. We’ll let you know what we find. Until then, keep being the remarkable people that you are and learning from new experiences. We love you.
With gratitude,
Grace, Vann, and James
Update from Alaska!
June 29, 2024
Hello again!
These past 8 days have flown by and we can’t wait to tell you all about it! It’s unbelievable that our time in the backcountry has come to an end. We’ve already begun longing to be back in the comfort of the wild. We headed out into the Talkeetna mountain range on the first day eager, willing, and carrying 8 days worth of food and gear on our backs. Although it was challenging, we made it to our first campsite, Hick’s Lake, and quickly set up camp and nestled lovingly in the foothills of some of the most awe-inspiring mountains that any of us had ever seen. We saw beavers, birds, a red fox, and even a moose out in the distance. The calm lake, towering mountains, and gentle wildlife seemed to be a warm welcome from the Alaskan wildness that we had been anticipating for so long. After the most well deserved sleep of our lives, we woke up ready to start another long day of hiking. We made some breakfast, packed up camp, and said goodbye to our sweet lakeside camp. The trail seemed to challenge us further by presenting us with never ending mud pits, steep hills, and endless creek crossings (with which we eventually decided to “fully commit” and walk straight through). However challenging it felt, our group remain more positive than anything – it was truly inspiring. We also adopted the idea that the only thing asked of us was to walk, find comfort in each others company, and enjoy the beauty that surrounded us on all sides. We got so lost in our trail conversations and the rhythm of the hike that we made it to the next big campsite a day earlier than planned! This campsite was called “the airstrip” which is actually a working airstrip high in the mountains used by bush planes on occasion. The airstrip is complete with a dirt strip for planes (perfect for laying out in the sun), a clear view of the mountains around us, and the most beautiful, orange excavator tractor (left behind many years ago). We declared the excavator to be our kitchen/living room area and set up tarps and crazy creeks all around it. Some of us even used the operators seat as a sort of recliner. We decided to take a zero day here as a reward for making it ahead of schedule. The next day, we lounged in the sun, made delicious meals, and listened to music on our trusty speaker. A few of us went on a scouting mission to see what the next stretch of hiking would look like and returned with the news of endless beauty ahead. After our rest day and a good nights sleep, we packed up camp and headed back out. We bushwhacked for miles, practicing our best bear calls and forging our own path before reaching our furthest campsite yet. On this 4th day, we decided to camp at the base of Chitna Lake and scout ahead to see if we could complete the pass over one mountain, into the valley behind. After deciding that it was too snowy, we made the decision to turn back the next morning and make our way back to our beloved airstrip. Despite not being able to complete a loop through the mountains, we felt satisfied and wildly accomplished with the work and progress that we had made. It was the furthest point of the entire route and it was an incredible feeling to know that our legs and our friends had taken us so far. We felt lucky to be standing where we were. “Are we thankful?!” followed by a whole hearted “YES!” was our motto and we lived by it. After waking on our fifth morning, we began to make our way back out of the mountains. This was the day that we all noticed that our packs were getting lighter and our legs a whole lot stronger. We zoomed through the hills and made it to the airstrip in just a few hours. It was a special day because for the first time we had returned to a place that was familiar and that felt like home. It was also the day that marked the true halfway point of our backpacking section which brought with it a new wave of energy. After another good night’s rest, we said goodbye to the airstrip for the last time and headed back towards Hick’s lake – another patch of familiar ground. We hiked for hours, but to us, flew by. On our sixth day, we hiked to a new campsite called “The View” which was much closer to our trailhead than Hick’s Lake was on that first day. The View was just as it seems. It was located on a steep hill that overlooked some of the most noble looking mountains that we had seen thus far. Charlotte, Kate, and Vann decided to take a trail to the top of a neighboring mountain to get an even wider view of the Talkeetnas while Lucy, MC, Wills, Brooks, and Alison decided to soak in the sun and enjoy the calm of our last full day in the back country. After enjoying some brownie scramble and recounting events from the past 6 days, we went to bed in the Talkeetnas for the last time. On our final morning, we woke up early and walked out of the wildness. Once picked up by our friends over at NOVA, we drove straight to the nearest pizza/ice cream shop and ate a celebratory meal (ice cream first, of corse). Incredible doesn’t even begin to describe it. To add to our day, we even got to take a hot shower for the first time in 19 days! The little things that we often take for granted in our day to day lives have become so special to us all.
We’re now back at our NOVA base camp and are gearing up for the next grand adventure, white water rafting! It has truly been a life changing past 8 days – days that we will never forget. So, are we thankful? YES! We are thanking our lucky stars every second for the challenges we’ve overcome, the family we’ve made, and the life that we’ve been able to live out here in these Alaskan hills. We’ll talk to you all soon and send light and love back home!
With gratitude,
Grace, Vann, and James
Having a Blast in the Backcountry of Alaska!
June 29, 2024
Hello again!
These past 8 days have flown by and we can’t wait to tell you all about it! It’s unbelievable that our time in the backcountry has come to an end. We’ve already begun longing to be back in the comfort of the wild. We headed out into the Talkeetna mountain range on the first day eager, willing, and carrying 8 days worth of food and gear on our backs. Although it was challenging, we made it to our first campsite, Hick’s Lake, and quickly set up camp and nestled lovingly in the foothills of some of the most awe-inspiring mountains that any of us had ever seen. We saw beavers, birds, a red fox, and even a moose out in the distance. The calm lake, towering mountains, and gentle wildlife seemed to be a warm welcome from the Alaskan wildness that we had been anticipating for so long. After the most well deserved sleep of our lives, we woke up ready to start another long day of hiking. We made some breakfast, packed up camp, and said goodbye to our sweet lakeside camp. The trail seemed to challenge us further by presenting us with never ending mud pits, steep hills, and endless creek crossings (with which we eventually decided to “fully commit” and walk straight through). However challenging it felt, our group remained more positive than anything – it was truly inspiring. We also adopted the idea that the only thing asked of us was to walk, find comfort in each other’s company, and enjoy the beauty that surrounded us on all sides. We got so lost in our trail conversations and the rhythm of the hike that we made it to the next big campsite a day earlier than planned! This campsite was called “the airstrip” which is actually a working airstrip high in the mountains used by bush planes on occasion. The airstrip is complete with a dirt strip for planes (perfect for laying out in the sun), a clear view of the mountains around us, and the most beautiful, orange excavator tractor (left behind many years ago). We declared the excavator to be our kitchen/living room area and set up tarps and crazy creeks all around it. Some of us even used the operator seat as a sort of recliner. We decided to take a zero day here as a reward for making it ahead of schedule. The next day, we lounged in the sun, made delicious meals, and listened to music on our trusty speaker. A few of us went on a scouting mission to see what the next stretch of hiking would look like and returned with the news of endless beauty ahead. After our rest day and a good night’s sleep, we packed up camp and headed back out. We bushwhacked for miles, practicing our best bear calls and forging our own path before reaching our furthest campsite yet. On this 4th day, we decided to camp at the base of Chitna Lake and scout ahead to see if we could complete the pass over one mountain, into the valley behind. After deciding that it was too snowy, we made the decision to turn back the next morning and make our way back to our beloved airstrip. Despite not being able to complete a loop through the mountains, we felt satisfied and wildly accomplished with the work and progress that we had made. It was the furthest point of the entire route and it was an incredible feeling to know that our legs and our friends had taken us so far. We felt lucky to be standing where we were. “Are we thankful?!” followed by a whole hearted “YES!” was our motto and we lived by it. After waking on our fifth morning, we began to make our way back out of the mountains. This was the day that we all noticed that our packs were getting lighter and our legs a whole lot stronger. We zoomed through the hills and made it to the airstrip in just a few hours. It was a special day because for the first time we had returned to a place that was familiar and that felt like home. It was also the day that marked the true halfway point of our backpacking section which brought with it a new wave of energy. After another good night’s rest, we said goodbye to the airstrip for the last time and headed back towards Hick’s lake – another patch of familiar ground. We hiked for hours, but to us, it felt like minutes. On our sixth day, we hiked to a new campsite called “The View ” which was much closer to our trailhead than Hick’s Lake was on that first day. The View was just as it seems. It was located on a steep hill that overlooked some of the most noble looking mountains that we had seen thus far. Charlotte, Kate, and Vann decided to take a trail to the top of a neighboring mountain to get an even wider view of the Talkeetnas while Lucy, MC, Wills, Brooks, and Alison decided to soak in the sun and enjoy the calm of our last full day in the backcountry. After enjoying some brownie scramble and recounting events from the past 6 days, we went to bed in the Talkeetnas for the last time. On our final morning, we woke up early and walked out of the wildness. Once picked up by our friends over at NOVA, we drove straight to the nearest pizza/ice cream shop, and ate a celebratory meal (ice cream first, of course). Incredible doesn’t even begin to describe it. To add to our day, we even got to take a hot shower for the first time in 19 days! The little things that we often take for granted in our day to day lives have become so special to us all.
We’re now back at our NOVA base camp and are gearing up for the next grand adventure, white water rafting! It has truly been a life changing past 8 days – days that we will never forget. So, are we thankful? YES! We are thanking our lucky stars every second for the challenges we’ve overcome, the family we’ve made, and the life that we’ve been able to live out here in these Alaskan hills. We’ll talk to you all soon and send light and love back home!
With gratitude,
Grace, Vann, and James
Hello from Alaska!
June 19, 2024
Hello family and friends!
Since the last time we checked in, we have done some pretty incredible things. After leaving Whittier, we drove to Anchorage for a quick resupply stop and then to Glacier View, where we landed at our new home base (NOVA) for the next 4 nights! Once we got here, we quickly settled in and enjoyed a quick and filling dinner of sub sandwiches and snacks, then hit our sacks to rest up for our next adventure.
The next day was our first day of ice climbing! We slept deeply and woke up ready to go. Our outfitters set us up with all of our ice climbing gear, which included mountaineering boots, harnesses, helmets, and two different sizes of crampons. We then piled into a van and headed for the Matanuska Glacier! On the first day of ice climbing, we learned all about glaciers, safety, and the basics of ice climbing. After a few rounds of practice using our ice axes at the base of the wall, we started to climb! We all quickly got the hang of it and were flying up the routes with ease. Brooks brought along his camera in hopes of capturing the magic of the Matanuska Glacier. Wills ascended and rappelled down the first few routes while remaining cool and collected, and Lucy, Alison, Kate, Charlotte, and MC crushed multiple climbs while cheering each other and everyone else on (our morale and support queens!). After a successful first day of climbing, we headed back to camp where our cook crew made an incredible dinner, which we followed with an incredible moon up.
The next morning, we woke up a little earlier for an easy-going start to our day and then headed back out for our second day on the ice. Our guides told us that we were going to a spot on the glacier further back than where we had been the day before. To get to our new spot, we rafted across the Matanuska River in groups of five and then hiked through the woods until we reached the far side of the glacier. It was such an adventurous and fun start to our glacier day! We blasted music as we hiked, shared some great trail conversations, and had smiles stretched across our faces. Once we arrived at our new routes, we got climbing! Instead of climbing up the ice wall and then rappelling down like we had done the day before, we rappelled down a wall of ice into a water-cut ravine and then climbed back up to the top. The morale was high, and everyone climbed our routes multiple times. It was amazing how still and beautiful the ravine was once at the bottom and how meditative the climb back up could be. After hours on the ice, we trekked back out, crossed the river, and drove back to our campsite – not before stopping for ice cream on the way back, of course!
Once back at “home,” we enjoyed some nice downtime together talking, reading, listening to more music, and making dinner. We finished out the day with a heartfelt moon up and went to bed for a well-deserved night’s rest. These past few days have been undeniably enjoyable, and the group has really started to feel more like a little family. As we prep for our backpacking section tomorrow, we send light and love back to our families and friends and look forward to what lies ahead of us. We’ll talk to you all soon! For now, we go into the wild.
With gratitude,
Grace, Vann, and James
Paddling Party in the Prince William Sound!
June 17, 2024
Hello from Alaska!
It has been an incredibly beautiful, challenging, rewarding, and awe-inspiring past 5 days out here in the Last Frontier. On opening day, we spent lots of time in the airport welcoming our new crew and slowly getting to know one another. We quickly fell into conversation and picked up a game of hackey-sack while waiting for the rest of us to arrive. After a long day of traveling, we successfully made it to our first campsite where we did a quick “moon-up” and went to bed. We woke up bright and early the next morning and travelled to Whittier where we prepped for sea kayaking and explored the very small and charming town that is Whittier, AK. The town’s marina, coffee shops, piers, tunnels, and views kept us company while we waited for a lecture from our guide, Natalie, on the basics of kayaking and LNT (leave no trace). After our lesson, we headed back to camp where we packed up our gear and food and made a delicious dinner. Alison, Lucy, and Brooks took the role as heads chefs!
The next morning we woke up early once again, packed out personal gear into various dry bags and headed for the ocean. We were excited, a little nervous, but mostly very grateful for the sunny weather and the grand adventure ahead of us in the Prince William Sound. Once we packed our kayaks and suited up in our rubber kayaking suits and boots, we headed out to our first campsite! We kayaked 8-plus miles to “Decision Point”, stopping on a rocky beach along the way for a quick lunch. Charlotte laid in the sun like a lizard on a rock and everyone quickly followed in her footsteps. Once getting to our camp, we really couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. We were welcomed by a long, sunny beach, unimaginable views, and an almost whimsical campsite (complete with tent platforms and soft mossy trees). Wills and Mary Claire were our first LODs (Leaders of the Day) and guided us through our first real moon up on a giant rock next to the ocean. It was truly special. The next morning we enjoyed a breakfast of eggs, sausage, and hash browns and quickly took off for our next kayaking stretch. On this day, we went around 10 miles to our next campsite, seeing lots of amazing things along the way. We kayaked past an old, wrecked barge boat and a mooring buoy topped with sunbathing sea lions. Kate’s excitement for the wildlife was contagious and we all watched as the sea lions interacted with each other while we paddled by. While our kayaking day was longer, spending our time out on the water was starting to feel more natural and relaxing. We were starting to get our rhythm down. Once we landed on our next campsite, we set up camp and enjoyed lots of time on the beach in the sun. Once again, we couldn’t believe how beautiful the views were. From our campsite beach, we could see towering mountains, two glaciers, passing icebergs, and beautiful blue water.
On our third day of kayaking, we were excited to get to explore on the water all day and get to come back to our same campsite. With lighter boats and a good nights sleep, we took off to go get a closer look at the two glaciers in the near distance. We first paddled out to Blackstone Glacier where we sat staring for what felt like hours, but also didn’t feel nearly long enough. We then paddled over to Beloit Glacier where we admired it just the same. The glaciers were particularly active on this day and so we were able to paddle through lots of icebergs and get a close look at the beautiful, almost artistic floating ice and listen to the sounds of the slowly creeping ice. We all agreed that it sounded like thunder but it was also as though we were being sung to by the giant mass of ancient ice before us. Once we had thoroughly enjoyed our first glacier experiences, we headed back to our beloved campsite where we made dinner, listened to some music, and shared in some more serious and thoughtful conversations. After a well deserved rest, we awoke the next morning with excitement as we headed out for our last stretch of kayaking. The water on our last day was glassy and calm and the sun was shining brighter than ever. Once we made it to our pick up spot, we unloaded our gear onto the beach and waited for out water taxi to come pick us up. We enjoyed a beautiful and really rewarding boat ride back to Whittier and unpacked all of our things into our van. We immediately treated ourselves to some ice cream and lunch at various local restaurants and walked over to meet our bus to get on the road for the next section of our trip, ice climbing! We can’t wait for our what’s to come!!
With gratitude,
Grace, Vann, and James
SHOUT OUTS:
Charlotte: WHAT’S UP GUYS?! I miss y’all and I’m having the best time! See ya in 2 weeks
Lucy: HEY FAM!!!! I miss y’all so much! I am having so much fun, Dad happy fathers day I’m so thankful for you!!!! love you all more than you know! I can’t wait to tell you all about this. Lastly thank you fir this experience. Loveeeee yallll
MC: Heyyyyyyy! Alaska is so great and beautiful and my group is amazinggggg. I hope everything is great at home and French is having a blast on PNW. Happy Father’s Day dad, and Happy birthday Lilly and Coleman!!! Thank y’all for letting me come:)
Kate: HEY!!! Alaska is AMAZING and I am having the best time. Happy late birthday Annie and happy Fathers day Dad!! Love and miss y’all!
Alison: Hiiii mom and dad! Been having a great time with great weather in Alaska! I’ve made some good friends and I can’t wait to tell y’all about it! Tell everyone at home I say hi, happy fathers day dad! Love and miss y’all!
Brooks: Wussup fam! Alaska is pretty freakin awesome. Idk about y’all but the guy with two thumbs is having a great time. Happy fathers day swell. Hope the dogs are doing well. Tell Tay I’m doing great and can’t wait to see her. Talk to y’all soon!
Wills: Love and miss you all, Alaska is really cool and I can’t wait to show you pictures. Only 2 weeks till I see you again. Happy fathers day Dad.
Safe Arrival in Anchorage!
June 12, 2024
Hello Northern Lights Families!
We heard from our leaders this morning that the group has landed safely in Anchorage! The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure.
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
