Packer Expeditions — Attraction in Alaska

They were our tour company for our Denver Valley Wilderness Hike excursion via Celebrity Cruises.

Our tour guides picked us up at the dock. You could tell right off the bat that we were gonna have an awesome day.

The 11 or so of us boarded a motor coach for a 30 minute ride into British Columbia territory. Along the way we were lucky enough to see a mama black bear with her two cubs just walking through the terrain. Super cool! We got to the White Pass rail station and had about 35 minutes to enjoy the majestic, cool & crisp scenery. The mountains are gorgeous with their high, ice-capped peaks. The pine trees are beautiful. There are restrooms and a cool stamp for your passport.

We boarded the train for our 45-minute ride to the hike site. We got the caboose car which was awesome because of unobstructed views and the spacious deck on the back. The guides set up a sandwich making station, with fresh breads, ham, turkey, cheese, hummus, and PB&J. They had hiking packs for us filled with water, peanuts, almonds, Snickers and Kit Kat. The views along the way were so awesome and picturesque. Amazingly beautiful!

We arrived at our hike site where there was an outhouse, and a lockable box to put belongings in. The hike was about 5 miles in total and took about 4.5 hours including a 15 min lunch break with a view of the raging river. The hike I'd say was semi-strenuous. We never had to cross the river and never saw bears or moose. The Tongass forest was beautiful. The hike trail was very spongy and easy on the feet & knees. The guides explained about the parts of the forest we were in, and the history of the area, what happened in the past and what will happen for the future. We got to eat 2 varieties of berries, including a delicious blueberry. I wanted to try a mushroom but nothing in edible condition could be found. Unknowingly, my partner found the toy alligator that was hidden by the wildlife preserve guys. We re-hid it for the next group of people to find. We didn't find the gnome though. It's a game in conjunction with the tour guides. Fun stuff!

We emerged from the hike about 10 minutes before the last train of the day. The ride into town too about 15 minutes. We had a brief 10 minute stop at the border.

We were back in Skagway and had about 45 minutes to spare, so we walked into town and had some beer at the Red Onion Saloon.

OVERALL: Drop dead gorgeous scenery, awesome tour guides and a great hike. Highly...

Sawtooth Mountain Hike & White Pass Railway We had an absolutely great time with some VERY knowledgeable guides and a challenging but doable hike for a couple of out of shape but otherwise healthy adults. Bring bugspray and maybe wear pants.

We went on this excursion as part of a Norwegian cruise excursion. Karissa met us at the port and along with another group and we traveled to the train depot by van Karissa answered questions from everybody and gave us a lot of great info about Skagway and the area around it. Fitz met us at the train where we took a lovely but short (5 mile) train ride on the White Pass railroad into Tongass National Forest. We were dropped off at Denver Valley while the rest of the train moved on. Fitz and Karissa led us on a short hike (4-ish miles) through the valley along the east fork of the Skagway River. My husband and I are used to walking that distance at home on a flat green way and this trail definitely had move elevation change than were used to but not an unmanageable amount, just enough to make it a bit of a workout. Plenty of opportunities for breaks and pictures along the way. Some hikers were a bit more in shape so the group did split to let them get a ahead and go a bit further than us so we did end up splitting time with both guides. Karissa shared a lot of her knowledge about local plant life, including some of the uses of some of the plants. It was super interesting and I may have bought some Devil's Club salve at a shop at the next stop. Fitz apparently normally leads kayaking, and participates in a lot of other activities in the area like skiing, camping and hiking, so we got a lot of info about other things to do around the area if we come back. We hiked out and back on the same trail and met the train for a short ride back to Skagway for some more touristy in town activities on our own.

Summed up, very lovely scenic hike, more difficult than just walking down the street but not necessary to be a frequent hiker. Great and knowledgeable guides who know a lot about the area and great specific information about local plants...

My son and I booked the Laughton Glacier Hike with Packer Expeditions. Was an amazing day. Our guide Austin was great in all aspects from our meet in the morning to the return train ride in the afternoon. Providing snacks/lunch, equipment needs and his great knowledge of the area. Both my son and I counted this the best excursion of our two week tour of Alaska. This excursion had all we could ask for. Riding the White Pass and Yukon route railroad, the actual hike to and from the glacier and then standing on the glacier. Packer expeditions looks to keep the group size very small which only adds to the quality of the hike. The hike itself was a manageable continuous climb for an average 70 year old infrequent hiker like myself. Definitely recommend Packer Expeditions for this or any of their excursions. Top...