Personality Profile: Dan Wetzel - Arctic Guide

Man Made in Alaska

Dan Wetzel is the epitome of the modern frontiersman.

When Dan Wetzel first arrived in Alaska in 1967, he had just endured two years active service in Vietnam aboard the huge aircraft carrier, USS Constellation.

“I saw it all aboard that ship,” said Dan plainly, his eyes alluding to horrific tales he’d rather not share, “…in the middle of the night, in the middle of a bad war….”

No soon as he was discharged from the Navy, Dan made a beeline for Alaska, hitchhiking from San Francisco to Fairbanks, chasing a boyhood dream of wilderness adventure in the high Arctic.

“What I soon came to realise,” he remarked, “was that there were many more perils in remote Alaska than on the deck of an aircraft carrier!”

Hanging around Fairbanks airport looking for work, the 21 year old found a job hauling supplies to a remote outpost way above the Arctic Circle. What he didn’t realise at the time, was that he’d be there for over two years, living with a true frontier family.

“There was mom and dad and four kids living in a five by eight metre cabin. We had a team of huskies, a cat, twelve chickens, a goat and an airplane.”

Dan used this experience to hone his survival and bush skills in an environment that takes no prisoners. To this day, Dan is proud of his ability to stay alive in one of the most hostile locations on earth.”

Not prone to boasting, Dan acknowledges his expertise with a simple; “Hey, I’m still alive!”

It takes some probing, but he admits his scariest moment was falling through a frozen lake with a full team of dogs in the middle of night at forty below. He’s had three air crashes, but apparently they weren’t too bad!

“Then there was the time I was blown out to sea in an umiak.”

Now an umiak isn’t much more than a skin covered kayak. And for how long was he blown out to sea? A week!

Satisfied with his ability to withstand the myriad dangers of the Arctic, Dan went back to school, graduating from the University of Alaska with a degree in biology. This took him on to work with the US Department of Fish and Game as well as an in-demand hunting and wilderness guide. Further qualifications in geology and journalism helped Dan contribute to countless Alaskan travel and field guides as well as assist in an array of research, conservation and scientific projects over the last thirty-odd years.

Chatting casually to Dan in the comfort of a luxury Sydney hotel, his immaculate, slightly greying handlebar moustache frames a mischievous smile. The deep lines around his eyes are as much a result of an almost constant grin as straining against the biting Arctic winds. Everything about him points to a man totally devoted to the outdoors.

Nowadays Dan leads a relatively sedate life, earning his keep by leading expeditions and tours for some of the world’s leading travel companies. His intimate style and immense knowledge of the Arctic environment delivers guests an experience no whistle-blowing tourist herder can possibly emulate.

Dan L Wetzel
Nature Alaska Tours
PO Box 10224
Fairbanks AK 99710

Email: dwetzel@alaska.net