This is truly the most beautiful, wild and remote trek we've ever done. The landscape is unique and frankly bizzare; where else can you see fresh brown bear footprints on an ash dune with a glaciated peak in the background?

To state the obvious, this is an extremely remote hike where little to no assistance will be available with numerous hazards including murky water crossings and extreme, ash filled wind! Please file a trip plan with the rangers before heading out, check the weather beforehand with a particular focus on wind, bring a satellite SOS system, be extremely careful with water crossings which can be extremely deep due to the soft ashy terrain. Rangers can also provide key information including the depth of crossings and any known hazards.

To get to the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes we flew from Anchorage to King Salmon (on Alaska Airlines points!) then paid ~$500/pp round trip with Katmai Air to fly to the Brooks Camp. The backpack day starts on the group tour bus from the Brooks Camp which you can reserve and pay for ahead (~$100/person). You might wonder how it takes ~2 hours to cover the 20 or so miles one-way to the visitor center. In our case, we got stuck behind an extremely large and slow moving brown bear who ambled up the road at her own pace. The bus is thankfully unable to rush or approach the bears, so we simply crawled along behind her.

Right before the visitor center, the bus tour lets any backpackers off at the overgrown trailhead on the right side of the road. In our case, we were the only backpackers in the entire valley for the whole duration of our trek. The start is a gradual descent through overgrown brush until you emerge into the ashy riverbank. The first waypoint is crossing the Windy River. Before leaving, we geotagged the coordinates of the crossing that the ranger recommended. At our spot it was only knee deep given it was late in the season and no problem at all (we brought water shoes but not neccessary).

Once crossing the river, we ascended the far bank and worked our way into the valley proper. The ground starts shifting here from the low bushes to open rocks and ash as vegetation struggles to grow with the wind and shifting ash. Throughout the trip there is very interesting rock spotting for the geologically inclined!

Then the main portion of the hike begins: following the Lethe river up the valley. There is a bit more of a tail here but you can't really get lost as it's sandwiched between the deep, steep canyon on the left and steep mountain cliffs on the right. After a few miles the river moves a bit away from the cliffs and the trail opens up onto what look like sand dunes. We were lucky enough to see Mt. Griggs across the valley here and Mt. Mageik started peeking out as well. The views are out of this world and spectacular both near and far.

This is the beginning of the highly exposed section. With a tailwind, it is easy going. With a headwind, it might be literally impossible without goggles and head to toe coverage given the wind picks up the ash particles and even small light volcanic rocks and throws them against you. It stings even through pants!

In anything approaching these conditions, there are very few places to camp, basically only the small valleys cut by seasonal streams into the mountains. 6 Mile is the largest and a good place to fill up on water (make sure to walk up a bit above where the ash starts to avoid clogging your filter). We decided to make it a bit further to where we camped behind a big dune which provided good shelter.

Overnight we had several visitors! We saw a lynx or wolf footprint that came right up to our tent and bear prints further down the valley. The valley is full of life even though it may appear barren so exercise bear safety! We even saw a huge moose in the middle of the valley on our way back.

Our plan was to continue on to Mageik lake and then cross the Lethe and try to make it all the way to Novarupta which was the source of the eruption. We camped and hoped for a clear morning day but instead got a massive rainy headwind so we decided to turn back before the wind turned after heading a bit closer to the mountain for some spectacular views. Progresss with a tailwind was possible but stingy, with a headwind we cannot emphasize just how difficult it can be. Also the valley floor was filled with a visible sandstorm that looked terrifying (you have to cross to get to Novarupta).

Pickup is via the bus or walking the 20+ miles to camp, so be ready to camp at least an extra night if there is a bus breakdown or other issue that cancels for a day. It's hard to get parts to service the vehicles so this is not uncommon. There is an emergency shelter at the visitor center to the extent it is absolultely required.

The visitor center is very cool and worth checking out while you're there. There's also a short path down to the river which the day visitors do which is worth checking out as well.

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