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In Search of a Partner for an EcoLodge
Boreal Wilderness Alaska – Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

WANTED: An established adventure travel agent/operator as equity partner in an extraordinary ecolodge development. Facility perched on the Nizina River bluffs on a 45 acre private inholding in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park-Alaska. Solar power, Alaska DEC Class C (24 persons) commercial water and wastewater systems, commercial kitchen. Accessible by an 8.5 mile double-track trail from McCarthy or 2200 ft adjacent airstrip. Countless wilderness adventures in the largest protected wilderness in the world. Download PDF files at www.AlaskaEcoLodge.com or contact

Boreal Wilderness has been constructed over the past seven years. The objective: to operate as a unique facility targeting the most active adventure traveler.

However, to efficiently enter the market, partnering with a vendor with an established “active” clientele is the solution. Currently, there are multiple vendors that bring their guests to the Park, yet only stay briefly due to an Alaska touring configuration. Wrangell-St. Elias Park is a huge wilderness park with many adventure activities that make it an attractive Alaska destination in itself. A week or more stay at Boreal Wilderness that includes fly-out activities can easily captivate. The Alaska summer visitor season is about 100 days. Potential exists for February and March winter experiences. Since installing guest units prior to committing to a commercial operation would be unwise, the units have been designed only. The lodge has had a few private visitors and been occupied seasonally by the developer.

Overlooking hundreds of square miles of wild park lands is Boreal Wilderness Alaska. “It’s an extraordinary site and facility at the center of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. Certainly among the best I’ve seen in 30 years of guiding river trips across the North” says Frederick Dure. “The Park is wild and spectacular. It’s the largest national park and virtually all wilderness.” In 1979 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Kluane National Park (Yukon), Glacier Bay National Park, and Tatshenshini-Alsek National Park (British Columbia) were proclaimed a United Nations World Heritage Site. At 24 million acres it’s the largest protected wilderness on earth. In summer; hike, raft, bike, climb, kayak. In winter there is skiing, snowshoeing, dog sledding and gazing at the Northern Lights.

The Park and facility is perfect for the most active adventure traveler who seeks multi-sport activities in a wilderness environment, and wants to return to a comfortable and unique lodge. Most areas of the Park are less than an hour flight from the adjacent airstrip. Kennecott, a National Historic Landmark, is managed by the National Park Service and is 12 miles away.

Fred and his wife Ann stumbled on the private in-holding in 1995 while mountain biking the old mining trails from the community of McCarthy. “We biked into the site of this beautiful log home overlooking the Nizina River. Fifteen minutes later, the owner invited us inside. We noticed a real estate agent’s business card on the table and asked about his future plans, then left with a verbal agreement to buy his property. He moved all of his belongings out the following month and met us in Anchorage to close the deal.”

Developing the facility in the wilderness was no easy task. McCarthy is reached by an eight hour drive from Anchorage, three of which are on the adventurous McCarthy Road. At road’s end, you cross the Kennicott River on a modern footbridge to travel 5 minutes into McCarthy. Then, you cross another footbridge and continue 8.5 miles on an abandoned state road (a double-track trail) by ATV or mountain bike. The result; an unusual wilderness location accessible by ground. Moose, lynx, coyote, wolf, black and grizzly bear all inhabit the boreal forest.

David Arkin and Anni Tilt of Arkin-Tilt Ecological Planners and Architects of Berkeley (CA) took the lead on the design of the ecolodge along with a Fairbanks architect. The result: a unique passive and active solar facility that reflects the historical look of the Wrangell Mountains copper and gold rush of the early 1900s. The lodge is an attractive blend of log, log slab on frame, timber frame, and straw bale. Historic artifacts and photographs adorn the walls.

Sustainable and resourceful building strategies come natural in wild, remote places. The lodge (a major expansion to the original home) used local spruce logs. The hardwood floor came from the long abandoned hospital at nearby Kennicott. Beetle kill spruce from the Copper River Valley was sawn by local sawmills and used for log slabs and board & batten. The Great Room scissor trusses were hand milled from 75 year old 18 x 24 Douglas fir beams that were salvaged, stored on site in the 70s and protected from the elements. These beams were originally bridge decking and supports for the abandoned Nizina River Bridge which led to the gold fields south of the river in the early 1900s. The straw bale component of the lodge was constructed with oat straw from interior Alaska. March of 1998 involved freighting 300,000 lbs of material, 450 straw bales, 40 solar panels (3KW), 40 L-16 batteries (1750 ah/48v), 5.5 KW inverter and ultra-energy efficient kitchen appliances.

Transporting seven 40 ft trailers along the McCarthy Road in winter, and then opening an ice road (along the old mining trail) another nine miles to the site was a feat. Other than almost losing a trailer with the solar panels, it went without a hitch.

The major construction took place in 1998 and 1999. Concerned about the impact, we chose to spread the project over several years and do much ourselves while using short bursts of small crews when needed. We also thought timing was important in bringing the ecolodge to market, and quickly completing the project was not advantageous. We first installed the commercial water/wastewater system and azimuth tracking solar arrays the summer of 1998. Only 4 other workers were on site with us that summer, and then for just four weeks. In 1999, the main lodge was constructed using a crew of 4 for 100 days. That summer we poured the first concrete floor in the “bush” in the Great Room; our passive thermal mass for the south facing facility. The floor was then stained dark brown to increase solar absorption. Our straw bale specialist and musician from Austin (TX), Frank Meyer of Thangmaker Construction, lead the construction of the bale walls and our unusual straw bale back-up generator building.

The years 2000-2005 involved finish work, handcrafting a log kitchen island and bookshelves, outbuilding construction, landscaping, installation of satellite broadband and more. The self-sufficient wilderness compound (that consumes 10-20% of the power of the average American home) is complete with a large shop and hardware “store.” 2005 model ATVs, snowmachines, and other vehicles and equipment, furnishings and appliances are part of the venture. A-frame guest units have been designed, but are awaiting the commitment to open as a visitor facility before they are installed. Site visits are by appointment in July and August 2006. Stop by for lunch and take in the view. It’s awesome!