Abstract The pyroclastic deposits of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (VTTS) lie within Katmai National Park, 450 km southwest of Anchorage and 170 km west of Kodiak (Fig. 1). The only convenient access is by boat or amphibious aircraft from King Salmon to Brooks Camp on Naknek Lake; scheduled commercial service is available during summer months. Brooks Lodge offers a daily commercial shuttle by bus or van to the Overlook Cabin, perched on a scenic knoll near the terminus of the VTTS ash-flow deposit, at the end of a 37-km dirt road from Brooks Camp. Cabins, meals, camping, and National Park Service programs are available at Brooks Camp, but the Overlook Cabin and the Baked Mountain Hut (a day’s walk up th VTTS) provide no amenities other than primitive shelter from the normally foul weather. The distal part of the ash-flow sheet can be reached in an hour’s walk by rough trail from the Overlook Cabin, but anything more than a brief visit demands a backpack, boots and sneakers, high-quality rain gear, a sturdy tent, warm clothing, maps and compass, water bottles, food, an ice axe or staff, goggles for ash storms, a rope for fording streams, and a plan (or philosophy) for dealing with brown bears-which are commonly encountered with little warning. High winds, rain, bears, icy streams, and remoteness make the VTTS a true wilderness, exhilarating but dangerous, occasionally glorious, usually uncomfortable, and never to be trifled with. Information can be obtained by writing to the Superintendent, P.O. Box 7, King Salmon, AK 96613. U.S. Geological Survey 1:62,500 topographic maps, Mt. Katmai A3, A4, B3, B4 , and 135, cover the VTTS and several neighboring stratovolcanoes, and the Mt. Katmai 1:250,000 sheet provides a desirable regional perspective.

Abstract The pyroclastic deposits of the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (VTTS) lie within Katmai National Park, 450 km southwest of Anchorage and 170 km west of Kodiak (Fig. 1). The only convenient access is by boat or amphibious aircraft from King Salmon to Brooks Camp on Naknek Lake; scheduled commercial service is available during summer months. Brooks Lodge offers a daily commercial shuttle by bus or van to the Overlook Cabin, perched on a scenic knoll near the terminus of the VTTS ash-flow deposit, at the end of a 37-km dirt road from Brooks Camp. Cabins, meals, camping, and National Park Service programs are available at Brooks Camp, but the Overlook Cabin and the Baked Mountain Hut (a day’s walk up th VTTS) provide no amenities other than primitive shelter from the normally foul weather. The distal part of the ash-flow sheet can be reached in an hour’s walk by rough trail from the Overlook Cabin, but anything more than a brief visit demands a backpack, boots and sneakers, high-quality rain gear, a sturdy tent, warm clothing, maps and compass, water bottles, food, an ice axe or staff, goggles for ash storms, a rope for fording streams, and a plan (or philosophy) for dealing with brown bears-which are commonly encountered with little warning. High winds, rain, bears, icy streams, and remoteness make the VTTS a true wilderness, exhilarating but dangerous, occasionally glorious, usually uncomfortable, and never to be trifled with. Information can be obtained by writing to the Superintendent, P.O. Box 7, King Salmon, AK 96613. U.S. Geological Survey 1:62,500 topographic maps, Mt. Katmai A3, A4, B3, B4 , and 135, cover the VTTS and several neighboring stratovolcanoes, and the Mt. Katmai 1:250,000 sheet provides a desirable regional perspective.