Alaska Tour 2026
- Maire DeCioccio
- Jul 26
- 10 min read
Day 1: July 6th, 2026
We hit the road around 8 AM and headed towards Whittier. We got to a 3 bears to fill the water tank. Little did we know, we needed a hose attachment. Luckily, the water tank kit came with a really janky hose line. It worked but was sloppy. We filled it halfway so we had about 10 gallons in there.
After 3 bears we shot across to Whittier where we paid the toll and crossed through the tunnel. The hike, Portage Pass, was beautiful! Great greenery and beautiful view of the Glacier. However, it was packed full of people. 2 dogs lashed out at Charlotte despite me holding her FAR from them. The hike took 3 hours as mom had a hard time with the elevation.
We made peanut butter and salami sandwiches for lunch and drove out towards Valdez.
I picked two camp spots and should've stuck with my second option. We didn't end up by the water like I had hoped, but that's okay. Maybe tomorrow night.
We attempted a fire, which was started by a guy from Brazil. He came over and gave mom two bowls that he had bought from Walmart in hopes that we could use them. Then he torched the fire for us. Nice guy.
It rained shortly after but we were able to heat up some chicken mom marinated the night before we left. Made wraps and sat in the truck while it poured.
Once that was done, we got ready for bed including several wilderness pees. I beat mom in a game of Uno and read her a chilling Alaska bear attack story.
Day 2: July 7th, 2026
The day started off well. It was sunny so I decided to make a heavy breakfast. We had oatmeal for mom and yogurt for me. Nature called so we picked out our spots behind some bushes as bathrooms were FAR from available. We packed up and left by 8.
We attempted to see the Matanuska glacier but only got a slight view from the road. It had been raining since before we hit Valdez.
We had stopped at bridal veil falls in search of goat trail. I think I had found it but gosh it looked steep as hell, also looked like we had to cross the river, and it was raining pretty heavy. Ugly weather conditions.
So, we decided to drive through Valdez to find something cool. Only thing we found was Homestead trail. It led us to the beach but the water was too high to cross over onto the other parts of the beach. It was still a pretty hike and it was nice and easy compared to our hike the day prior.
After that, we went on a camp spot hunt. My second choice wasn’t the safest. Bears could be hiding in those alders. We went to Valdez glacier lake instead. There were some gravel spots that we decided to chance it on. Set up our hobo camp with a tarp that Chris (my boyfriend) lent us. Cooked up some halibut for mom and ground turkey for me. Played Jenga (which I lost), hangman, tic tac toe, and read mom two short passages from the bear mauling book. Ended the night with some random trivia questions AND, my technician texted me to tell me after 6 months of potty training, countless trial and errors, our kiddo finally peed in the potty! All by herself!! even though the weather halted our plans, it turned out to be a really good day!
Day 3: July 8th, 2026
Today, rainy. Gross. Ugly start. Packed up the tent in the rain. I was up all hours last night and the rain didn't let up at all. The wind made the rain fly go crazy all night.
We had a quick breakfast as the rain put a damper on my mood and our chances of making a nice, hot breakfast without getting everything water logged.
Once packed up, we went searching for a gas station with a bathroom. First stop, unsuccessful.
Then, we found the tour group for our kayak adventure. Pretty cool group from Arizona. Our guide was Jenna. Very knowledgeable and fun to talk to. Super easy going and she kept us safe. The glacier was really pretty up close. This was a 5 hour trek to and from.
Once on land, we headed towards Liberty Falls where we picked the first camp spot we found…right by the river. Beautiful spot. The rush of the river you can't hear anything else. Got a fire going, the sun was out, and I'm in paradise. Cracked a beer from Valdez brewing. Played uno with mom and won a majority of times. Clean bathroom, s’mores, and chicken wraps to fill the evening. Oh! And can't forget a bear mauling story!
Day 4: July 9th, 2026
Rainy morning again. Another wet packup. We started our drive around 730 AM into McCarthy. We didn't get there until around 10. We found somewhere to park, paid, crossed the scary footbridge, and waited 30 minutes for our shuttle. Small bits of the history of the mine. Really crazy how they build all of that. How difficult it must have been to even get supplies over there. After the mine, we chose to do root glacier. I was slightly concerned about how much time it'd take us, but we got it done! The Glacier was incredible. Spread across so much land. There were so many people walking it, they looked like ants. Mom walked further out than I did. She didn't even want to at first.
Our trek back wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Mom did really well on those inclines! No bears thankfully.
On the way back to the truck, I had a mosquito bite on my upper thigh close to my hoohah. Mom said, “it must be a male Mosquito trying to find the spot.” WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!? Lol.
The drive to and from McCarthy wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. It did cause anxiety early AM but the PM part wasn't bad.
After about 3.5 to 4 hours later, we arrived at fielding lake campground. The original overland spot was overgrown.
Paxson, beautiful lush greenery spread so far.
Quick peanut butter and salami sammies, tent setup, and then bed time.
I'm exhausted.
Day 5: July 10th, 2026
The morning was beautiful! Sunny but windy. The tent had time to dry out luckily.
Loaded everything up after some green tea and a peanut butter sandwich.
We met with Donna, my old landlord, at Rustic Blend in Delta. We chatted mainly about men and it's hard to find a good one.
We didn't leave until about noon and got to Santa Claus house around 130ish? It really wasn't anything special. A lot of over priced items that showed creativity, but nothing that felt original to me. So I had to pass on a buy. We got to our bnb. Not anything like what I thought it would be. I was expecting a nice bed. Two foam mats. Might as well just sleep in the truck. Who knows how clean this actually is. I'm a bit nervous about bugs (as usual). I checked everything and it seems okay. But, idk! Even mom isn't sure.
We played domino's after we showered. Mom won majority of times. And the night was over.
Day 6: July 11th, 2026
Today, the morning wasn't bad. We actually got to make a decent egg breakfast. The bnb stay was terrible. The bed was literally two foam mats placed on top of each other and covered with a sheet. I should've just slept in the tent. I probably would've been more comfortable and at least I know it's clean! We set off to find a water fill station. We needed a hose. It was attached to the circle k and there was no way my hose was long enough. After our first attempt at finding a water fill station, we had decided to hit the farmers market. There were a lot of cool crafts. People are super creative! It really is something! Mom bought Cloe (my sister) a sun catcher. It was a really pretty piece made by a local artist. After the market, we ventured off to find the water fill station. I had read online about a spot and thank goodness it was right! Free water off the side of the road. Some guy helped us carry it because that thing was HEAVY even filled half way.
Next destination: Chena hot springs! How relaxing! How peaceful! It felt nice to be in a WARM body of water. I didn't want to leave, I wanted to bake in the sun. But, mom was over it. So, we showered and left. I had some camp spots saved off the side of the road but mom didn't want to stay there. We settled for a campsite instead.
Fire, food, and hopefully GOOD sleep. I'm so tired. I had mom practice holding my gun. She kept moving it and I wanted to make sure she knew how to handle it. She did well!
Day 7: July 12th, 2026
This morning was clear but it had rained all night. The tent was wet and the mosquitoes were vicious! I wanted to make a good breakfast but with the swarms of bugs, it was impossible! We packed everything up and started towards Walmart. We needed more food. Once we were done with that, we went for a hike called O'Connor Loop. It was really overgrown and kind of spooky because it wasn't really well traveled. We finished the hike without any injury minus the mosquito bites! After that we got mom a pair of tuffs - which I secretly wanted another pair anyways. I wanted to make sure she was set for our rafting tour tomorrow.
I then drove us to a camp spot off the highway in Denali. First thing we did was cook up some pork so we'd have some food for the rest of our stay. I didn't even think about it all, and wish I would have, but we should have cooked in a spot different than where we'd be camping. I cooked further away from the truck but near there was fresh bear scat. So, there's definitely bear activity. I'm hoping we'll be okay. I'm kind of nervous about it. Ended the night with Uno and a few more bear stories.
Day 8: July 13th, 2026
We finally were able to have a nice big breakfast! Cooked at, what appeared to be a homeless camp (created by me). We had eggs, ground turkey, and tomato wraps. Once finished, I drove us to our rafting tour! We got all geared up and headed out to our launch spot. The other family we were with were also from Florida (Tallahassee). no animals on this tour, but mom got to experience some rapids! After, we had some lunch overlooking a cliff where the scenic railroad passes through. Mom was able to catch a glimpse of the train as it scooted by!
Savage River loop was on our radar because we wanted to hopefully spot some caribou! No such luck. But, we did see the vastness of Alaska and the green beauty that surrounded us.
Our final stop of the day was our ATV ride. A BUMPY ride it was. No animals on this one either! Mom looked like she had a lot of fun today!
We landed at our camp spot, same area as before, BUT, different site. This site was filled with a handful of nails. Me, being so worried about shit, now will be weary that I'll have a flat sometime soon.
I really hope that we get lucky and sneak by without having to repair a tire 😫
Day 9: July 14th, 2026
I jumped out of the tent quickly and broke it down just in time for the rain. Can't believe how lucky I got with that! I get to have a dry tent!
Mom and I headed out for curry Ridge. It was raining and the parking lot had one family. We decided to take the chance despite the weather and lack of people. It was WET and cold. No view at the top because of the fog and clouds. The rain put a real damper on our situation. But, we finished it. In 2.5 hours. Our feet were soaked and our hands were freezing. It wasn't an easy feat to get changed out of wet clothes in a very small truck lol. But we got it done! Decided to drive back up to Denali because Talkeetna and Susitna were empty.
We went to our previous spot and the same guy was there with his van and his dog. Charlotte did really well with the other doggy and she is tuckered out from the hike. I had decided against putting the tent together because of the high winds. It has not broken at all here in Denali area. 65 MPH wind gusts. We ended the night with Uno and got the cab of the truck ready for sleep.
Day 10: July 15th, 2026
Today was a quick morning gather up since we slept in the truck rather than the tent. Winds all night with little rain. We has breakfast at Rose's Cafe. Super good. Mom got the basic breakfast and I got the country fried steak. Soooo good and soooo filling! After our heavy breakfast, we went to horseshoe loop and finished that with no bear interactions! Phew! Afterwards, we made our way to Savage river loop. The ranger was super nice and took our pictures on the Trail. We saw ptarmigan babies with their parents covered in the bushes. We also saw multiple ground squirrels but no sheep unfortunately!
Pretty easy hikes to end our trip. Once we finished those, we made our way to our cabin. Out in the middle of nowhere in Healy. Kind of hard to find as it doesn't look at all like the pictures. But, we found it and we were able to set up things early. The rain was coming from all angles most of the evening. We were able to make a small fire in the break from the rain.
No animals. We sat up in the loft area where we played jenga and got it stacked to 27! Mom was the one who pulled one and knocked it all down. A few games of Uno and pork chops for dinner.
I was finally able to sleep in a somewhat real bed but charlotte took up all the room!
Can you spot the ptarmigan?
Day 11: July 16th, 2026
Woke up and it wasn't raining. I made us a heavier breakfast especially since we weren't in any real rush to go anywhere that day. Green tea and eggs for breakfast using the propane stove. We hit the road, headed north back into Fairbanks, and attempted Murphy Dome. It was so foggy and rainy, we decided not to go. The views, or lack of, wouldn't make the hike and mosquitoes worth it. We then drove out to white mountain only to be met with the same two factors. We did see a bright orange fox on the way out there though, so that was cool!
We timed it perfect with our BNB stay. A real bed! Thank goodness. I'll be able to get a little bit of sleep before my drive out tomorrow AM.
I am sad to see mom go. It feels like she just got here ): I do miss home and being able to spend time with her. She's too funny and really brings in a certain light to any situation. Her optimism, her joke telling, her view on the world. She really is special.
I couldn't be any happier that she was able to spend this time with me here in Alaska and see some really cool stuff! Not to mention, she had a lot of firsts as well! Including, white water rafting, ATV ride, and kayaking to a glacier!
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