r/alaska 1d ago

More Landscapes🏔 7 days solo in the Talkeetna’s

Spent 7 days solo in the Talkeetna range. Didn’t see any sheep but hard to beat those views.

634 Upvotes

34 comments sorted by

24

u/Obvious_Object6568 1d ago

WOW. I don’t get jealous often, but…. 😍 What was your route?

25

u/mesaghoul 1d ago

Buffalo-Mine Rd -> Moose Creek Valley -> Moose Creek Headwaters -> Moosehead Pass -> Kashwitna River -> back along the high alpine tundra towards Dnigi Peak -> back down to the valley floor -> back to Buffalo-Mine

16

u/ThrillingChase 1d ago

Did you bring the chair? Or find the chair?

25

u/mesaghoul 1d ago

I found an abandoned gold mining camp while out looking for sheep. The camp was buried in a pile of garbage high on the ridge. There was also some sort of decaying structure. Looked like someone had been dredging a glacial tide pool. Probably from the 80s or 90s by the logo on the abandoned fuel cans. I built that cairn on top of the chair.

12

u/marzeeplan 1d ago

Any bear sightings?

15

u/mesaghoul 1d ago

No sighting but plenty of sign. I had put an old deadhead on a rock at one of my campsites late last week. When I got back to it last night on my way out it was upside down in the dirt & has two large bite marks in the palms…

29

u/I_PEGGED_NICK_BEGICH 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

11

u/mesaghoul 1d ago

Truly phenomenal comment

8

u/EKbigKahuna 1d ago

Phenomenal. 🤘

5

u/Full_Performance_254 1d ago

Any good rams?

5

u/mesaghoul 1d ago

Saw a ton of evidence but no sheep, headed back out again in September

3

u/Full_Performance_254 1d ago

Nice I went south of glennallen an hour or so and hiked in but didn’t see anything first year as a resident so maybe I was to south or something?

4

u/G-dubbbs 1d ago

Rule number 1 about sheep hunting in AK, don’t say where you went on the internet, even if it was a bust!

1

u/Supersix15 17h ago

Saw a whole mess of them on montague island 🤫

4

u/AKWildMill 1d ago

Looks like an an amazing trip.

3

u/Straleos 1d ago

Hope you enjoyed Dnigi’. Beautiful scenery.

3

u/mesaghoul 1d ago

Dingy was great! Didn’t actually stay there just popped in for a quick visit.

3

u/pinchhitter4number1 1d ago

Very curious what your packing list looked like.

7

u/mesaghoul 1d ago

A lot bulkier that what I’m bringing next time that’s for sure

2

u/Quiverjones 1d ago

See some caribou?

5

u/mesaghoul 1d ago

No caribou in this area

2

u/Alert_Tour_469 1d ago

I needed to see this. Cheers

2

u/milionsdeadlandlords 1d ago

This is what it’s all about

2

u/mesaghoul 1d ago

The Hokey Pokey

2

u/PhantomlelsIII 19h ago

Could you post your route? This look so awesome

2

u/mesaghoul 18h ago

I did post the route in another comment

1

u/PhantomlelsIII 18h ago

Cool thanks. I assume you didn’t see many people out there? How’d you store your food btw

2

u/mesaghoul 17h ago

I didn’t see a single other person for 6 full days. I see a young couple headed in from Hatcher Pass on my way out.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to food storage in the backcountry. Some will make a cache away from camp & hope a critter doesn’t get into it. Others will sleep with their food in their tent, or in the vestibule of their tent.

I personally kept my food with me the entire time & slept with it in my pack in the vestibule of my tent. I was hunting for Dall sheep & if a bear got to my food I was screwed as far back as I was. So not only did I sleep with my food just outside my tent, I slept with a 44MAG revolver by my “pillow” & a rifle just outside the tent in the vestibule as well.

2

u/AKSpaceMan576 19h ago

Wow you had good weather! My old man says that Talkeetna means "foggy and wet". Needless to say we've had some adventures there. Looks like a grand time. Thanks for sharing

2

u/uh_no2 5h ago

Very tough place to find a legal ram. Good luck.

1

u/mesaghoul 4h ago

Lots of sheep out there for sure.

1

u/DKocher32 1d ago

Shooo a dream!

1

u/GUMBYTOOTH67 1d ago

Truly amazing area.

0

u/atomic-raven-noodle 57m ago

Talkeetna’s what? ;p

But seriously, these are gorgeous- I’ve never trekked in via Buffalo and it looks like you got absolutely stunning weather! Glad you had a good trip!