Company Values
Our passion is making our guests feel comfortable and connected in the northern Alaskan forest that we call home.
We feel the best..
when we are moving through the country as sustainably and simply as we can. We find that we enjoy travel more when we move through the forests and rivers under our own power, our bodies finding that glorious zone of comfort so we feel that we belong, in even the chilliest of temperatures.
We see more....
when we’re looking for things that we can interact with: dead standing trees for firewood, edible and medicinal plants, tracks, new routes. We hear more when the only sounds we make are the rhythm of sliding skis and trotting paws. We are warmer when we trap and sew our own clothing out of materials that breathe and biodegrade. Our food tastes better if we worked to get it, and eat it out of wooden bowls. Our lives are richer the more days and nights we spend under the stars. These experiences are what we wish to share with our clients.
Our trips are authentic:
You will travel on trails we have cut, stay in tents we have sewn, and use gear that is made from and indigenous to the area we’re traveling in. We guarantee that you will learn, laugh, and experience something unique every day. We operate our business out of our home. Our trips are about experiences more than destinations, because they are rooted in a way of living.
HIGH Quality DOG CARE:
Our dogs are part of our family. Our main goal is to give each of our dogs a high quality of life, nutritious food, and lots of love. We feel strongly about the value of maintaining as small as possible a dog team. The main reason for doing is this is so that each dog can receive as much attention as possible. A small team allows us to be mobile, moving back and forth between our two homes. A small (4-10 dogs) team is consistent with how our Alaska Husky freighting dogs were traditionally used. Feeding and caring for dogs is also fairly resource intensive, so the fewer dogs we have the less fossil fuel goes into their care, transport, etc. We try to keep our human:dog ratio at or under 5 dogs for each person. We care for our dogs ourselves. When our dogs are old, we let them retire which means that they can run along if they want with the team but also can sleep inside, relax and enjoy a nice relaxed retirement. We do not race our dogs. We use them to haul wood, water, food and humans and to go on adventures. If the dogs are not having fun, we stop and re-assess whatever it is we are doing.
Sustainability Statement:
In this complicated and ever-merging world, we strive to live as close as we can to the place we’re in. We hunt, fish and grow much of our food. We strive to provide for our clients healthy, homemade food that is local to our community and produced in a safe manner. We are happy to accommodate special diets including: kosher, vegetarian, gluten-free and others by request. We strive to buy organic food when practical. We have phased out single-use plastic and buy in bulk to minimize packaging. We make our sleds, skis, and snowshoes from local wood with simple hand tools. We do our best to use technology that is cost-effective and doesn't insulate us to any great degree from a direct experience with our environment.
Low-impact Tourism:
We limit our trip sizes and vary campsites to limit impact. We guide trips based off of road-access rather than airplane. When possible, our dogs run on fish rather than fuel or imported dog food. We live in the place we guide, and we want to make sure that it is still just as beautiful and bountiful when we're in the ground and future generations are tromping around.
Homemade Gear
We make the majority of our gear using local materials from our land and surrounding forest and with traditional tools and technologies. Check our facebook and blog on this website for stories and photos of the gear-making process.
TRAVEL: Skis, Snowshoes and Toboggans
Birch is a wonderful tree that provides many things, among them is its lightweight yet strong and flexible wood. We carefully select and harvest straight, clear-grained trees to make our traveling gear. We boil and/or steam long thin boards into ultimate snow-sliding and walking equipment.
CAMPING: Wall Tents & Woodstoves
We sew custom wall tents from tightly-woven lightweight cotton canvas. Paired with a homemade woodstove (we often recycle old steel drums for the metal), spruce bough floor, and caribou hide sleeping pad it will keep you toasty warm.
CLOTHING: Winter Apparel
We want you to be warm- and while we can't dress you head to toe in fur and moose hide we are able to provide most customers with a homemade anorak and some additional warm items like overmitts and Neos overshoes.
We offer a program where you can make your own mukluks and then do a snowshoe trip wearing them!