This Blog

Ok, folks. This is a learning experience for us!! We want to share with you what is going on in our lives. As remote as we are, the purpose is to let you know first who we are, where we are and what is going on here. The history of Pioneer Outfitters is interesting enough, but seriously, now, is what really interests most of the folks that have commented, emailed and even called me! Pioneer Outfitters started as a hunting outfit, and quickly became more. The Survival & Guide Training came from the necessity of having well rounded guides, not only for ourselves, but the Professional Outfitters of Alaska. The Fall Photo Safaris evolved from all the non-hunting companions wanting to bring their families back for another trip to watch the Alaska-Yukon Moose in the rutt, and many of our Pack Trip clients wanting to come later in the season. The Spiritual Retreat was born out of the realization that not only is Chisana a very special place, but a thinking and healing place. The door opened for me again, after so many years, by a young girl that I was blessed to have come into my life. When that door opened, it didn't just open this time, it was blown off the hinges. In this world today, it seems that we need as much "Survival" enlightment and preparation as we can get. This is a good place, a special place and we want to share it with you all.

A note from one of our authors...

Chisana is and will always be home. I have not lived there for sometime now but I live there in my heart. Most of my favorite memories are when I was staying in Chisana.  I started going to Chisana when I was about 15. I grew up next door, (80 miles down the Chisana River, 35 minute flight in a Cessna 206) in Northway Alaska. When I say next door, I am saying a 35 minute plane ride next door. I use to work at the local lodge in Northway. There were no phones in Chisana at that time and Terry and Amber would come to the lodge to make their business phone calls.  I would go out there on weekends and then in the summer time to help out some, cause some trouble and to just be out there with what to me is family.  Most of us only dream of going to a place like Chisana and you can have your dream come true by going on one of the incredible number of choices that is offered by Pioneer Outfitters, all year round. The trips are a trips that you will never regret taking. You will find something for yourself no matter who you are. You will find your strengths and they will surprise the heck out of you. You will find that inspiration you have been looking for. Life will reignite itself and you will return to you home and do things that you had been putting off. Your friends and family members will look different to you, in a good way. COME out and go on a trip, Don't wait for someday, today is the day to sign up to come HOME next summer, to our home and have the trip of your life. You really are missing out, the longer you put it for tomorrow, next week, next month, next year. If you are a writer and need inspiration you will get it. You need sleep, you will get it.  You need to feel the ground under your feet, nature aroundyou, you can do that. You come up with the dream of what you want to see and do and Pioneer Outfitters will work with you to have it happen.

I always know that there is a place for me and it is Chisana. Home is where the heart is and my heart is and will always be in Chisana. Once you experience what Chisana and Pioneer Outfitters has to offer you may find yourself leaving a piece of your heart there too. ~KR

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly are the Pioneer Outfitters Extreme Pro Team Guides.

Pioneer Outfitters Extreme Pro Team Guides are Professional Guides in the truest sense of the words. They are the ones that no matter how bad things get, (and there are days they can get pretty bad... and then they can get really bad) can keep you going, keep you safe and later, when you are finally at the end of everything, your patience, your endurance, you just put on your last pair of dry socks and stuck them into a puddle of water- in your boots ~kind of "at the end", can build a big fire, feed you till you burst and make you laugh at everything you just went through.

The Pro Team are the Guides that live in Chisana year round, cut the fire wood, haul the water, take care of the range horses, clean, fix, oil, patch, mend, trap, and wait for the next guest to take them where the guest's dreams may lead them.  No matter what the temperature is, what the weather is up to, time of year it may be, they are the ones that can handle it all. All the interior mountains of Alaska may have to throw at us, the Extreme Pro Team Guides are prepared and capable.

There is a downside to the Extreme Pro Team Guides... this would be "The Ugly" part of the name they were given so long ago that there are numerous stories where it came from. The downside, "The Ugly" is the bragging rights. All Professional Guides have it, and use it, but the Extreme Pro Team Guides revel in it, enjoy it, write about it, talk about it, share it.... and most of the time, it's all on film, so they share it, world wide. "If you live through it, you have bragging rights" I grew up into a Professional Guide hearing this mantra, believe me, it is a fact. Now, I can tell you, we have never lost a guest or even severely damaged one.

There is so much more going on here in Chisana than people know. This is where we'll show you just exactly what is going on and who's up to what and where. 

"My name is Terry Overly. I’m an Alaskan Master Guide and have been personally and fully active in the Big Game guiding industry for many years now.

My history goes back many decades. As a young man, I had the honor to have known and flown with some of Alaska’s best of the monarchs – Bill Ellis, Bud Hickethier, Ron Hays, Ken Holdem and Ray McNutt, just to name a few.

Many times I have sat around the campfire with these men, telling stories of hunting big rams on the peaks and sky-lined ridges, or hunting brown bear or grizzlies; 70” plus bull moose; book caribou; polar bears out of Kotzebue; and of course, beautiful women everywhere… a trophy is a trophy.

We had many a good meal and sipped fine ale gathered around some of these fires, with a beautiful woman sitting on our knee – fanning us and feeding us grapes. Well now, that sounds almost too good to be true… but you know what? It really happened that way sometimes!

Most of the time you couldn’t get more than three or four of almost any of these men together at any one time or place without worrying about a fight breaking out. But, that’s the way Alaska was back then. The land was our land and it was free. The Country was wild and open for all. We were proud to be who we were.

Oh God, Thank you for letting us see and experience then… then; and for not letting us know then how screwed up now was going to be!!

Okay now Boys, you have to understand that right now IS the “Good Old Days” for you. This is as good as it’s going to get. It’s up to you to perpetuate our heritage… Big Game Guides. Outfitters. Hunting and fishing and freedom.

There will be more campfires to sit around; more fine ale to sip; more stories of rams, moose, grizzlies, browns, caribou and flying; an occasional fight; and if you’re really lucky, you might even get some pretty girl to sit on your knee.

But, this is what we have now and we must work within the ever-changing system and bureaucracy. We WILL meet all the challenges!!"

WEATHER PERMITTING
Way up in Alaska wherever you are,
If you’re headed out close or you’re headed out far
And you’re going by plane you can add (and it’s fitting)
I’ll be there Good Buddies,
Weather permitting.

It could really care less what you’re planning or doing;
An operation, oration, a wedding or wooing.
When you go to the airport, you may need your knitting,
For you’ll only be flying,
Weather permitting.

I’ve fretted and stewed, I’ve stomped on the floor,
I’ve shouted and screamed and I’ve started to roar,
But you’ll always face this, it’s
Weather permitting.

So don’t get disheartened in the far golden north
If you suffer delay as you sally forth.
Just learn to relax without fretting or quitting.
You can depend on one thing, it’s
Weather permitting.

When the rich folks come with their clothing so fine,
With their high fashion wardrobes and fine French wine,
They’ll stop for awhile then continue their flitting,
Go on with their jet setting,
Weather permitting.

The Next Generation

Whether you’re working or playing around
Flying through the mountains or over the sound
In what kind of season your travels are hitting,
I will guarantee this, it’s
Weather permitting.

It gets in your blood wherever you go.
So I said to my Sweetie how I love you so!
She said I adore you, come close where I am sitting
And I’ll do what you want,
Weather permitting.

When the grim reaper comes,
I can see it all clear.
I’m alone in my shroud, happy heaven is near.
I’m coming Saint Peter, this old world I’m quitting,
I’ll be along soon,
Weather permitting.

Doing what you really don't think you can...

Pioneer Outfitters has been providing horse pack-trip, sight-seeing, photography, winter excursions and hunting excellence since 1924. As a professional woman in a field that is still mainly enjoyed by men, I am sitting here today writing you this letter. The women I’ve met since becoming an Alaska Guide have shared so much with me, taught me and enriched my life. I’d like for more women to come with us and see all there is in this unspoiled wilderness. Wildlife photography, glacier walks, winter excursions, horseback riding (no experience necessary) and hunting…with experienced guides helping you every step of the way.

You have to do it, it is what you do.

The first sign there is null going on...
your guides smiling this much,
first thing in the morning!

                                                                                
Raising a family here in Chisana, surrounded by "real life living legends" as my son put it when he was little, is a little tricky. No day care, no pre-school, just as rough and tough as they come mountain men. The guys, if you were to see passing on the street, you may  feel the slight need to keep your eyes adverted, make yourself just a little smaller to avoid notice, these are the scarey dudes teaching my babies to talk (oh my!), humoring them by letting them tag along, keeping an eye on them while I'm doing whatever it is that needs me.  This beautiful land. These beautiful, strong, honorable, professional men are part of our family. My kiddos have never known any different. Flying in Papa's Super Cub to check camps and clients while I am out in camp myself. Knowing and understanding knives, guns, animals, hunting, trapping, butchering, hauling water, cutting firewood and all the things that make up our lives. The people that come into our lives, our guests, from all walks of life, different ideas, thoughts, professions, history, they have all touched our lives, and the children's lives. We are truely blessed.

There has been an outstanding increase of girls and women in hunting since the early 1990’s. If you teach a man to hunt, he goes hunting. If you teach a woman to hunt, the entire family goes hunting. Likewise for getting the family out into the wilderness, to enjoy and share what this beautiful land has to offer us all. Women and young people are, as in everything, a critical part in the future of hunting and fishing and we here at Pioneer Outfitters are committed to teaching and encouraging this tradition.

With Pioneer Outfitters at your side every step of the way, your safety and pleasure are our first priority, always. Whether you leave Chisana with a new confidence or a revitalized one, when you share it with the girls and women in your life the experience multiplies, as does the pleasure.

I hope I can continue to be part of these experiences, and share them with you. I would love to help you plan your trip to Chisana, for a Summer Pack Trip, Hunting Trip or Winter Excursion. Please feel free to call or email, we will do our best to answer any questions you may have.

-Amber-Lee Dibble

Spiritual Retreat

Daybreak comes

softly and slowly moving through the woods

yawning, as it's rays slowly stretch

reaching down, branch by branch

Branches that are encased in a glimmering frost

Daybreak comes

Crisp and cold with a cleanness in the air

awakening my mind and body with a rush

I look up and watch as the light chases away the dark

to bring a new brightness, a fresh day

Daybreak comes

knowing and understanding healing will continue today

surrounded by beauty no ugliness can mar

comfort no bruises can take away

surrounded, protected and comforted by the stillness

Daybreak comes

gently without force or shock, the fullness again of heart

carefully stepping out, into the light, bright

with all of my new and carefully mended scars

bracing, with FLEE in the front of my mind

Daybreak comes

with it, morning. I wait and give all that's around me thanks.

Praying that I will be ready again.

To stand and be strong again.

Aching for that part of me that is gone.

ald

Their heart and strength. Carrying us over icy waters, unending bogs, through brush so thick it's terrifying. Carrying unbelievable weights for us, so that we can have all the comforts. Tents, stoves, real dishes, real food; no backpackers food, just boil water and eat it in a bag. Packing the heavy weight of comforts so that we don't have to do without.  Climbing higher and higher to save us the steps.  Fighting through and over endless bogs.  Bulldozing, pushing past, squeezing through, breaking thick walls of willows and brush taller than a man seated in the saddle. Bringing us safely, without fail or delay, home in the black of night without moon or stars, through the shadows, the wind, the rain and snow.

ald

In our individual search to reach out to, come to know personally or to reconnect with our Higher Power and our own Spiritual growth, at times the world around us feels too close, nature and the glorious gifts we have been given, too far away. To be surrounded by the enormity of the world as far as you can see. Untouched, unspoiled, the raw beauty of this great land we call home. The immensity, the unbelievably endless space, here on earth, that enfolds us, the quiet.  And yet, the air itself can be heard as it breathes, alive. The stars are brighter than any city's lights. Being so completely alone and small; to feel so completely protected, nestled against and nurtured by something so powerful and immense.

Horse Pack Trips

Pioneer Outfitters

Summer Horse Pack Trips

Fall Photo Safaris

Spiritual Retreat

Pioneer Outfiters offers a wide range of outings, pack trips, Spiritual Retreats and rafting excursions for you to choose from.  We use horses on all of our summer and fall excursions. There is something for everyone to enjoy and experience in Chisana and this great National Park, the Wrangel St. Elias National Park and Preserve. With each guest, each group of people that come into our lives, we have another opportunity to share this beautiful place, all the interesting history, magical spots and the blessings of the life we were given to share. 

 Day rides, overnight pack trips, photography excursions for Dall sheep, Mountain Grizzly and Black Bears, Alaska-Yukon Moose, Mountain Caribou, Timber Wolf, fox, wolverine, lynx, coyote and all kinds of small critters ‘n such!  Gold panning the old placer claims, glacier walks, mountain climbs or just jump on your horse and ride around in circles if you wish.  Go fishing for Lake Trout, Arctic Grayling and Ling Cod.  You get rained on, snowed on, mosquito bit, saddle-sore, sunburned and maybe even bucked off old Twister.  What the heck, that’s just part of what goes with the territory.  Now, all joking aside we really have some good stock, something for everyone.  For those mellow people we have mellow horses, for those spirited people we have spirited horses and for those people who would rather not ride horses we have horses that would rather not be ridden.  At the end of the day you’ll sit down to mouth-watering meals.  Ranch style home cooked meals at the lodge or sitting at your camp fire, there’s no freeze dried food served here.  We invite you to the unspoiled, accessible only by air, wilderness experience you will never forget.  Comfortable cabins nestled in the Chisana Valley of the Wrangell Mountains...Terry Overly 

Our Pack Trips vary in length and with your interests in mind when you are our guest.  You may want to visit the old gold claims to pan for gold or hike up to the top of an 8000’ peak just to look around. Maybe ride horses over the foot of the Chisana Glacier, where you may see caribou on the river bar or Grizzly bears digging ground squirrels on the hillside.  We may just pack up and ride the old Chisana Trail for a day or two.  There is wildlife everywhere. Dall sheep are seen on almost every mountain, caribou roam the tundra and across the riverbeds.  We may even spook up an old bull Alaska Moose around 

almost any bend in the trail, and of course there is the Grizzly bear.  You can run into one of them critters most anywhere. This is a wild untouched place. 

Chisana 

“Shushanna” 

 Chisana is located in the remote South Wrangell St. Elias National Park / Preserve.  This is some of the most beautiful and majestic scenery anywhere in Alaska. For someone who wants to get off the beaten path and away from the mainstream of tourism, this is the place for you.  Our facilities are located on 80 acres of private land and are totally surrounded by magnificent wilderness on all sides.  There are no roads into Chisana at all.  The only way in is to fl y in. We are truly one of the most remote and scenic areas in Alaska.  You will be right in the middle of it.  Although secluded, as we are, the facilities here at Pioneer Outfitters are very comfortable, clean and with a kicked back atmosphere.  Pioneer Outfitters has been owned and operated by the same management for over five decades.  We treat you like family here because when you are with Pioneer Outfitters, you are family. 

…..Arrive in Chisana