Original subtitles

Escape with us as we travel through one of the world's

greatest landscapes aboard the ultimate sightseeing train.

We're crossing America's largest and remotest state

on a journey packed with majestic panoramas,

and larger than life characters.

Tap her in snug.

And we're ready for some sap.

We'll venture into the wilderness...

You could just go for miles and miles.

..hurtle above forests...

..and fly deep into the mountains.

You're going to feel like

I'm trying to fly you through your kitchen door.

We'll meet the people that live and work along the line...

This is not your average nine to five job.

..as we make our way to its very end,

and the edge of one of the world's great wildernesses.

24 hours of sunlight.

Why can't we fish the whole day?

This is no ordinary railway journey. This...

..is one of the most scenic railway journeys in the world.

Alaska.

Our journey begins in Anchorage.

Framed by the Chugach Mountains,

Anchorage is very much a wilderness outpost.

The nearest major city, Vancouver, is more than 1,000 miles away.

It's 8:00 in the morning.

At Anchorage Depot,

passengers are checking in for a journey on the

Alaska Railroad's flagship service, the Denali Star.

It's a very special train, with a boarding procedure to match.

Nobody sets foot on the platform...

All aboard!

..until the call is given.

Good morning. Car C. It's going to be in to your right, upstairs.

Our train, powered by two 4,300hp

diesel electric SD70 MAC locomotives,

pulls away right on time at 8:20.

It's the beginning of a 356 mile odyssey that will

take us to the very heart of Alaska.

From Anchorage, we'll head north and inland,

travelling the Knik Arm, before running parallel

to the Susitna River, as far as Talkeetna.

Next, we'll cross the breathtaking Hurricane Gulch Bridge on our way

to Denali National Park,

home to North America's tallest mountain.

Then we'll make our way via Nenana, a town drenched in railroad history

to Fairbanks, Alaska's second city,

and the gateway to the state's vast interior.

Our journey begins beside the sea.

Beyond Anchorage, we travel along the Knik Arm,

a vast inlet that stretches northeast from the city.

At its widest, it's more than five miles across.

We're travelling on one of the Denali Star's

double-decker gold star carriages.

As head conductor Ian explains,

it's the Railroad's blue ribbon class.

We don't offer commuter service.

It's more of an experience on board with the guest services,

the comfort.

There are very few trains that offer the splendour that we can offer.

Downstairs on the dining level,

a leisurely breakfast is being served.

Upstairs, it's all about the views.

More than 13 feet above the tracks,

the windows are high enough to see above the trees,

while a domed glass ceiling means everyone gets

an unimpeded 360 degree panorama.

Did you have lunch?

There's also a bar...

..and an open air viewing platform.

So this gives you a view of travel

that you're not used to anywhere else.

The service, the scenery, it all adds up.

As we leave the Knik Arm behind us and head inland,

there's plenty of time to take it all in.

Such is Alaska's scale that we'll travel

more than 100 miles before we make our first stop.

More than a third of the state is covered in woodland,

an area of more than 230,000 square miles.

It's mostly coniferous,

but one deciduous tree is the source of something very special to Alaska.

In a forest, a stone's throw from the tracks,

an unlikely array of tube work betrays the presence

of the planet's biggest birch syrup operation.

It's Michael's brainchild, and it accounts for 20%

of the 5,000 gallons produced globally each year.

But when he started his business in the 1980s,

all he wanted to do was spend more time outside in nature.

And why not?

I always liked being in the woods, fishing and hunting.

It was a dream for me, and I got land in '80,

and built a cabin in the woods,

raised a family, and we had all these beautiful birch trees

and we decided, let's try tapping them

and see if we can make syrup and make a living out of it.

So, here we are 31 years later, still tapping birch trees.

Birch syrup is made from sap,

the thick, sticky fluid in which trees

store nutrients and minerals.

It's harvested in early April,

when temperatures start to rise after the fierce Alaskan winter.

It's not as simple as just drilling a hole wherever you fancy.

There's an art to it.

Look around the tree for a good spot where there's no other holes nearby.

This is a good spot right here.

We want to drill.

When we drill, it's important to be straight in, straight out.

We don't want to wobble it because we don't want air leaks.

Put the tap in the hole,

keep the drop pointing down.

Tap her in snug.

And we're ready for some sap.

Some sap is still collected the old-fashioned way, in buckets.

But most of it is sucked out mechanically

with a submersible pump.

Even though only 10% of a birch's sap is collected,

on average, each tree delivers 12 gallons

over the three-week harvest season.

Every 100 gallons makes one of birch syrup.

First, its water content is evaporated.

Then, the remaining concentrate is gently boiled,

caramelising the sugars and creating birch syrup,

which, Michael insists, is a world apart from maple syrup.

The flavour is completely different.

It's not as sweet on the tongue, which is kind of nice.

There's all kind of descriptors -

wild flower honey, berries, tart cherry.

It's like a fine wine that's, you know, been sitting around

in a bottle for 100 years.

Birch syrup can be used to flavour everything from ice cream to salmon.

Michael likes to introduce it with a tasting.

Think of him as a syrup sommelier.

They all got little grey labels on them, or leaf stickers.

First run, mid run, late run, out there on the shelf.

And that's your first sample.

This is the star of the crop right here.

Nice and light.

Good flavour. Poured straight on your pancakes or waffles

or ice cream, or whatever you like.

It's just pretty special stuff.

And so are Michael's birches.

I'm not a religious person,

but spiritually, this is as good as it gets.

You're in the forest, you're connected to the Earth.

These trees are growing.

They provide you with sustenance.

It just doesn't get any better than that.

It's what chills our souls.

Soon we'll be back on the train,

and approaching the adventure hot spot of Talkeetna.

We're 70 miles into our epic journey on the Alaska Railroad.

As the Denali Star continues its stately progress northwards,

on board supervisor Daniel is making sure everybody's

enjoying their journey.

How are you doing today?

Everyone doing all right?

Is everyone all set there?

All right.

With more than 15 years of railroad experience,

he's one of the most important members of the train's crew.

An on board supervisor's job is basically just to make sure

that everything goes well on the train.

We do everything from helping passengers out

with their seating assignments...

How are we doing, guys?

We deal with mechanical issues on board the train.

We do stocking and pretty much everything else.

This is not your average nine to five job.

But it's not without its perks.

I try to sneak out here any chance I get.

How could you not?

I travel through some of the most gorgeous parts of Alaska.

We get to see sights out here that you wouldn't normally see,

from bears and moose and bald eagles,

it's always unique.

We're approaching our first station.

Ladies and gentlemen, and we are pulling into the Talkeetna depot.

Thank you for arriving in Talkeetna,

and thank you for riding along on Alaska Railroad.

Talkeetna wouldn't even exist if it weren't for the railway.

In 1915, the Alaska Railroad built its district headquarters

at what was then a small gold mining outpost.

And a small community blossomed around it.

Today, tourism is the town's biggest earner,

but its original pioneering spirit remains.

Here, adrenaline junkies can go off-roading, pedal the trails...

Sit back in that harness.

..or take to the trees.

Just lift your feet and go.

SHOUTS OF DELIGHT

Just outside Talkeetna, you can add a little wildness

to your wilderness, with a zip line tour of the forest canopy.

Course manager Morgan is the man with the numbers.

We have nine zip lines.

We have two double platforms, a rappel,

and three sky bridges, all encompassing about

a mile worth of lake all together.

It'd be cool if it was one long stretch,

but it's still fun when it's broken up into nine individual ones.

With platforms up to 63 feet above the ground,

it's enough to get any thrill-seeker's blood pumping.

But it's the surroundings that make this course stand out.

Zip liners get a unique view of a boreal forest -

a high latitude ecosystem, where freezing temperatures occur

for up to eight months of the year.

They've got both deciduous and evergreen trees,

so we've got combinations of spruce trees, pine trees,

birch trees, cottonwood trees.

Of course, the acid test

is what visitors make of the experience.

And it would appear...

That was cool!

..they rather like it.

Back on the train, we're heading deeper into Alaska's interior.

For the next stage of our journey, we'll travel another 40 miles

along the Susitna River,

before crossing the iconic Hurricane Gulch Bridge.

We'll stop near Cantwell for a canine encounter,

and then travel through the stunning wilderness to Denali Park.

Beyond Talkeetna, the line takes us far from any roads

for the first time.

Now, it's just our train,

and swathes of wild, mountainous country,

a reminder of Alaska's vast scale.

It is insanely big.

I don't think people really, really realise

how big it is until they see just this vast wilderness.

I think that's when it slowly starts to sink in.

But no roads doesn't mean no people.

Every once in a while, we pass a homestead.

For the occupants of these off-grid dwellings,

our train is a vital lifeline.

I like to call it the bus service of the wilderness.

You have a lot of folks that are practising

a subsistence way of life out here in the Alaskan wilderness,

and they depend on us to get them back into town,

or back out to their cabins,

and we'll pick them up and take them where they need to go.

Taking advantage of this unique service are Christin and Nathan,

who boarded at Talkeetna.

They're taking their children and dog for a break

at their family's off-grid homestead.

We have 80 total acres out there,

so it's a lot of land to just go and roam and hike

and just be a part of nature.

It's just a release when you step off into the wilderness.

You get off the train and there you are,

in remote Alaska.

Christen and Nathan arranged for the train to stop near their property

when they boarded.

It takes a few minutes to unload their supplies.

But, with only one northbound service on any given day,

nobody's worried.

With the drop off done, we bid the family farewell.

A train will stop and pick them up again

when they're ready to head home.

In the meantime, weeks in the wilderness lie ahead of them

as they join the tens of thousands of Alaskans

estimated to live off grid at least part-time.

Ahead of us, some 50 miles north of Talkeetna,

one of the jewels in the Alaska Railroad's crown.

All right, folks, so here in just a little bit,

we're going to be coming up to the Hurricane bridge.

Hurricane Gulch Bridge spans 914 feet.

Its arch contains almost 1,000 tons of steel.

It was built in 1921,

and 100 years later, at 296 feet,

it's still the tallest bridge in Alaska.

Down below us there, you're going to see Hurricane Bridge,

and here off to the left is the Chulitna River.

It's one of the railway world's most spectacular sights.

To make sure we enjoy it to the full,

our train slows to a crawl as we cross.

We're now travelling parallel to the Alaska mountain range.

On a sunny day, North America's highest peak, Denali,

dominates the horizon.

Today, though, its 20,000ft are hidden behind a blanket of cloud.

If you're willing to change mode of transport,

you can get almost within touching distance of Denali.

The Americans call it Flightseeing.

We're travelling into the Alaska Mountains

aboard a ten-seater propeller plane.

The weather is looking fairly reasonable,

so we're just going to keep working our way up.

We're in good hands.

Patrick has flown this route more than 1,000 times.

Well, I've been up here for nine seasons,

probably in the neighbourhood of

about 3,500 to 4,000 hours out in the range.

It's magical.

There's so much grandeur and tranquillity up there.

I mean, it's just an amazingly beautiful place.

Formed by the collision of the North American

and Pacific tectonic plates,

the Alaska range is the world's highest

outside of Asia and the Andes.

It's home to some of the harshest weather in the world.

But, when conditions are good, the views are spectacular.

We're just going to simply fly over what's known as the Great Gorge.

It's called the Great Gorge because if you get rid

of all the ice in that gorge,

the gorge would be about 10,000 feet deep,

or roughly twice as deep as the Grand Canyon.

We're now deep into the interior of the range,

and Patrick is giving us the full benefit of his piloting expertise.

We're going to drop into the Great Gorge

through a pass we call 747.

It's big enough to fit a 747 through,

but you're going to feel like

I'm trying to fly you through your kitchen door.

You're surrounded with peaks that rise above you, 6,000 feet.

It's kind of just mind boggling.

People in the back, you hear their amazement kind of come out.

It just kind of captures their breath.

It's like, "Wow, look at this place!"

But we're not just looking.

Thanks to our plane's hydraulic skis, we're landing.

Our runway, the Ruth Glacier,

ten miles south-east of Denali itself.

And we finally have our view of Alaska's signature mountain.

We're at about 5,500 feet.

If you look up just above that little layer of clouds,

is the very peak of Denali at 20,310 feet tall.

Denali is not the only special sight.

From the top of this vast natural amphitheatre,

our view down the glacier covers 40 square miles.

It's a landscape that impresses those who see it

in very different ways.

Some contemplate it in awe.

Others commune with it.

LAUGHTER

Patrick might not be rolling in it,

but even after hundreds of visits, these peaks still move him.

I get the comment all the time,

you have the best office in the world,

and I believe that. I really do.

You don't get a chance to see this stuff

unless you do it by an airplane.

So, pretty spectacular.

Yeah, it never gets old.

We're now six hours into our journey.

Next, we sample Alaska's official sport

as we continue our journey into this great state's vast wilderness.

We've reached Cantwell,

the halfway point of our epic journey into the Alaskan wilderness.

For those out on the viewing platform,

the temperature is pleasantly warm.

But, in a few months' time, it'll be a very different story.

Winter out here is very cold.

It's cold, but it's absolutely beautiful.

All this greenery that we're seeing here,

just imagine this completely white.

Nowadays, the railway and roads make winter journeys

relatively straightforward.

But decades ago, if Alaskans needed to travel through the snow...

..they'd turn to their four-legged friends.

All right! Good dogs!

Real good.

Good dogs.

Richie and Emily are taking their Alaskan huskies

out for a training run,

using a powered ATV as a summer substitute for a sleigh.

They're professional mushers -

dog sledders to you and me.

Good dogs!

Many years ago, it was how Alaskans travelled in winter.

It's still the state's official sport.

Ritchie reckons the dogs love it every bit as much as he does.

Running makes him happy.

This isn't something they're made to do or forced to do,

or even taught to do,

This is something they're born ready to do.

They come out like, "Let's go!".

The mushing lifestyle is a major commitment.

Like any parents, Emily and Richie's life

centres around their 35 strong brood.

We raise these dogs from the moment they're born,

and we watch them grow up.

They're counting on you.

You have to get up and take care of them and run them and feed them.

Hup hup!

Oh! What have you got?

The canine commitment has a higher purpose.

Richie and the dogs are regular participants

in Alaska's biggest mushing races.

I love racing.

It's a blast, and it's a great way to get out and see Alaska

and cover vast distances.

It's a serious business.

Alaska's most prestigious race, the Iditarod,

covers 1,000 miles and takes over a week to complete.

100-mile days are pretty average, like, in the racing world.

I've done as much as 120 miles.

To cover those distances,

competitive sled dogs need to be able to run for six hours at a time.

So, summer is all about getting the pack in shape.

To make ends meet,

Richie and Emily have turned their training runs

into a tour business.

We go out for a run and we bring people

through this beautiful scenery.

They leave here with a wealth of knowledge and, you know,

feel good about the dogs and what they're doing here.

All being well, visitors also leave with a greater appreciation

of the sport's joys.

It's pretty hard to not get stoked

when you see the dogs all fired up, tearing up the ground.

For me, mushing is freedom.

Beyond Cantwell, the railroad enters Denali National Park and preserve.

This protected wilderness area covers almost 9,500 square miles.

An area bigger than Wales.

It's a must-see for visitors to the state...

..and the railroad had a role in its creation.

So here we go over Riley Creek Bridge here.

Over 900 feet in length, Riley Creek Bridge

was one of the most demanding structures to build

on the whole of the Alaska Railroad.

At its peak in 1917,

the railroad employed more than 4,500 construction workers.

Hundreds were stationed here.

Park expert Jodi picks up the tale.

The river played a pivotal role

in kind of bringing people to the area.

It was railroad workers and then, of course, market hunters

came in to get meat to support all of the workers for the railroad.

Conservationist Charles Sheldon

realised the local wildlife needed protection from the hunters.

His lobbying led to the creation of the park in 1917.

Denali National Park really was set aside and protected

by the federal government, not because of the natural beauty,

which a lot of people think because of Denali and the mountain range,

but as a wildlife preserve.

Today, Sheldon's brainchild is served

by a dedicated stop on the Alaska Road.

It's America's third largest national park.

And it's justly famed for its vast wild expanses.

There's just one road in Denali National Park.

It's 90 miles long, and we're on that road right now,

the Denali Park Road.

Private cars are only allowed 15 miles into the park.

But you don't even need to go that far

to get a sense of its scale.

It's just phenomenal - phenomenal scenery

that you can't find anywhere else.

Could just go for miles and miles.

You put on your backpack, you get your permit from the park,

and you go hiking in the backcountry,

and that's an amazing experience.

Back on the train, we're getting closer to our destination.

Soon we'll reach Fairbanks, gateway to Alaska's wild north.

We're eight hours and 250 miles into our epic trip across Alaska.

We're following alongside the Nenana River here.

This is actually one of the most scenic parts of our trip.

We're now into the final leg of our journey.

From Denali Park, we're following the Nenana River north

to the town of the same name.

The railway then heads east and, after a total of 356 miles,

we'll reach our destination, Fairbanks, gateway to the wild Alaskan north.

The Nenana's rapids make it a popular destination for rafting.

But it's not just fast-flowing. It's cold, too.

Much of its volume is made up of meltwater from glaciers.

As they slowly move across the landscape,

they pulverise rocks and boulders,

and all that fine sediment gives it the muddy, murky look.

At the end of the river, we reach the town of Nenana.

Here, our train briefly runs alongside another river, the Tanana,

before crossing it on the Mears Memorial Bridge.

The bridge was the final piece of the Alaska Railroad

to be finished - an event marked by the first ever

presidential visit to the state.

On July 15th, 1923, President Warren G Harding

drove a ceremonial final spike at its northern end.

There's more railroad history on offer at Nenana Depot.

Station Master Brian will be only too happy to show you his wares.

We've got here a semaphore signal for the depot.

This one is the last remaining semaphore here

on the Alaska Railroad.

Our organisation was able to use I don't know how many cans of WD40,

and we are actually able to move the semaphore signal

into its "go" and "stop" positions.

They're heavy.

All right.

Don't worry, this isn't a working depot,

it's a museum lovingly renovated by Brian

and a team of fellow railway enthusiasts.

A lot of people come up from all over the world

to ride on the Alaska Railroad,

but they don't always get to fully appreciate the history behind it.

And that's our goal here.

They've created a time capsule

that shines a light on what it used to be like to run the railroad.

These 12 boxes represent 12 points on the Alaska Railroad

that this depot in particular would be working with on a daily basis.

And if you heard a bell come through,

that means someone along the rail belt

is trying to communicate with you.

They send an electrical pulse,

and then you would pick up your phone.

Hello, hello?

For Brian, spending days immersed in railroad history

is a dream in itself,

but sharing it with others is even better.

As a train nerd,

it's quite exhilarating to be able to have the opportunity

to spend a lot of time here and work with it on a daily basis,

being able to share it with visitors and people coming through.

It's always exciting to see their inner train nerd blossom,

even if they haven't been on a train in 25 years.

We're into the final hour of our journey.

In our gold star railcar's downstairs restaurant,

dinner is coming to a close.

Out on the viewing platform,

passengers are savouring the scenery one last time.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end.

We're approaching the end of the line.

And it's so far north that, even though it's eight in the evening,

we're ending our journey in bright sunshine.

Welcome to Fairbanks.

After 12 hours, we've reached Alaska's great frontier city.

Fairbanks began life as a gold rush town

at the turn of the 20th century.

100 years later, the city styles itself

as the gateway to Alaska's untamed interior.

One way to get a taste of the wilderness

is by travelling the Chena River.

It snakes its way east of Fairbanks for 100 miles.

And it's an angler's paradise.

There you go. That's it.

Give it a little flick and it should go right out where you want it.

Perfect.

Local fishing guide Ray spends as much time out here as he can.

Fishing is a big part of Alaskan life.

I fish probably three, four or five times a week.

24 hours of sunlight.

Why can't we fish the whole day?

Keep right in the middle of the river.

There you go.

That's a perfect cast, Claudia.

All right, cast about ten o'clock.

There you go.

Perfect.

What you get in Alaska fishing here,

you get to fill your freezer rather quickly.

We have a lot of large fish here, both saltwater and freshwater.

I've never been skunked, let's put it that way.

But hooking a catch isn't really what this trip is all about.

Fish or no fish,

there's nowhere else Ray would rather be

than deep in the Alaskan backcountry.

It is beautiful here.

I love this river.

I love floating it.

I can think of no better way of spending an afternoon,

a morning, an evening.

It gives the soul a place to go to.

Or, as Ray's friend Lee puts it...

The weather is wonderful.

Company's good.

And when you sit out here and I'm quiet for a minute,

and you hear nothing.

And the phone hasn't rung and the boss hasn't called.

With a fishing rod in your hand,

you can't beat anything better than that.

You really can't.

Or perhaps...you can.

There we go. Now he's got a fish!

That's a nice one there.

That's easily 12lbs.

Tell my wife.

We've travelled through one of the world's

great untamed landscapes...

..tasted the bounty of its forests...

..and learned its traditions.

We've soared through tree tops...

..and over mountains.

And we've done it all in the comfort

of one of the world's great luxury trains.