It was about the time a wolf ran over the crest of a small hill about 50 metres away from our camp and locked eyes with us that we realised we were truly and surely… in the backcountry.

A few days early, down in a warm and cosy cafe in Seward, we caught up with three young lads from Utah who were exploring Alaska in their 4×4. Bronte and I were planning our journey out to McCarthy, when the pending “doomsday” weather forecast for the south-east gave us reason to explore other options. The weather up in Denali was looking surprisingly sunny, and the boys were headed up there for a few days backcountry hiking. Bronte and I looked at each other, thought about all the gear we absolutely did not have, and decided that a couple of days in the backcountry would be a great idea.

Now, I’ve done…