History
About Us
High quality, short- term hiking eco-tours
are our business. In partnership with Meekin's Air Service, we offer decades of experience transporting outdoor enthusiasts into the Chugach and Talkeetna Mountain Ranges. This is your chance to spend a long weekend or
full week hiking in the Alaskan outback. Each trip
begins and ends in the Sheep Mountain Area, a 2.5 hour scenic
drive north of Anchorage. A flight in the comfortable back-seat
of a Piper Super Cub will deliver backpackers to their vigorous mountain escape. A
knowledgeable guide will accompany your team in order to aid in
the safety and efficiency of the trip, as well as enhance the
overall experience. Unguided, drop-off trips are also available.
History
In 1944, Austin and Dorothy Meekin left Wisconsin headed
North to Alaska. The adventurous couple followed the Alaska
Highway until they found their slice of paradise,
Sheep
Mountain Alaska. Very few people inhabited the area just 60
miles north of Palmer, nestled in a gorgeous valley separating
the majestic granite of the
Chugach
Range from the rolling tundra of the
Talkeetna Mountains. The Meekins became one of the first families to homestead in the area, and soon
established Meekin's Log Cabin Camp, commonly called Meekin’s Roadhouse. The lodge became a popular rest stop on the only road connecting Alaska to the contiguous
U.S. Austin Meekin also began to guide outdoor enthusiasts into the vast wilderness of his backyard. “Alaska Wilderness
Trails” was born.
Six children were born to the frontier couple. The third child, Michael, was born in 1952. He grew up exploring the mountains, valleys,
and glaciers on foot and horseback with his family. The Meekin children certainly had a unique upbringing-they did not even have running
water or electricity until 1978!
About this time, Mike married Diane Hall, and together they had
four daughters.
Just like the generation before them, the Meekin girls grew to love this untamed
wilderness of the greater Sheep Mountain area. Inspired by
Grandfather Austin, they decided to share it in the form of
hiking eco-tours. “Alaska Wilderness Trails” was re-born in the form of fly-in
wilderness trips. Our history and experience in this environment is unparalleled and we would love to share it with you.
Mike Meekin established his air service in 1981: moving hunters,
hikers, mountaineers, geologists, gold miners, and
photographers into the un-trod realms of the surrounding
mountains. His safety record is greatly coveted by other
professional pilots. Mike's eldest daughter Samantha (Founder of
Alaska Wilderness Trails) married Matthew Keller of Wasilla,
Alaska. Matt also is an experienced pilot who has been flying
with Meekin's Air Service for several years. Currently the two
pilots operate two Piper Super Cubs and a Cessna 185.
