Pioneer Outfitters was founded in 1924. Chisana is hidden deep within the Wrangell Mountains and is only accessible by air.
It was once the la
rgest log cabin settlement in the state and the site of the last historic gold rush. Old log cabins, gold rush artifacts and flumes, remains of an era gone by are locked in this land for ever.
The world is changing and has been changing for a long time. We here, at Pioneer Outfitters in Chisana, especially those that have been here for a long time know that not everything changes and we would like to share that with you.
Pioneer Outfitters has made its living as horse- outfitters from it’s’ birth. Taking those generations of living in this enormous wilderness and using them to show you all there is to be seen and to help you safely experience all the wonders it has to offer.
Since 1924…When Canadian and Alaskan frontiersmen Lou Anderton & Co. started Pioneer Outfitters with horse trips to the Bonanza Creek to pan for gold and sightseeing and Spring Bear Hunts, they couldn’t have known the legacy they were building. 
Bud Hickethier, Lou’s partner took over in 1957, and Lou Anderton passed away in late 1959. Bud Hickethier became Pioneer Outfitters.
Bud met Elizabeth Overly in 1960 and the next chapter began. Elizabeth was Alaska’s first female licensed Registered Guide. Terry learned from them and worked with his mother and Bud to build Pioneer Outfitters into something more.
Elizabeth decided to move away from Alaska, turning to Terry for Pioneer Outfitters' future. From the time Terry's mother and Bud talked to him at work one day, at a dairy in Palmer, into coming to see Chisana and to live and work with them, it has been his home. After listening to the old timers sitting around Chistochina Lodge, listening to the “Mountain Monarchs”, Guides, like Bill Ellis, Ken Oldham and Ron Hays and more. Talk about guiding and horses and clients, Terry was 15 years old. Pioneer Outfitters has been home to a lot of people over the years, Terry raised his family there, guides that have lived there year round (for 1, 2, some for up to 8 and 16 years), Pioneer Outfitters’ own Manager is raising her family (12 year old son and 4 year old daughter) there, for some, it is the only home they’ve ever known. 
From the last Historic gold rush, to being in the Nation’s largest, most beautiful Park, from the history of the buildings that are still being used today and shoot-outs that took place in them and around them in a time long gone. Natives that were here through it all, one of whom is Terry’s own blood brother, Gillam Joe, who, it is repeated, was sold for a bottle of whiskey and $10.00 as an infant. The stories of the “Man in Black” have created the legend that surrounds Pioneer Outfitters and Terry Overly’s Guides .
Pioneer Outfitters takes you on a Winter Excursion, shares with you the mystical Northern Lights, a Photo Safari unlike any other of its kind, a 10-day cross country horseback pack trip and shows you around the remains of the last historic gold rush. Teaches you to pan for gold, leads you across magnificent glaciers. Climbs with you to peaks above the clouds and you come closer to the great mountain animals than you have ever dreamed. Leading you, on your Alaska Big Game hunt.
Good saddle horses and equipment provide a positive and effective, not to mention, true to the history of the country, mode of 
transportation within the wilderness boundaries of this majestic Park.
The Dall sheep, Mountain caribou, the giant Alaska-Yukon moose, Interior Mountain Grizzly and black bears and Timber wolves all roam freely to be seen, photographed and experienced.
All of our trips are designed with the client’s capabilities and wishes in mind. From day trips to gentle pack trips to glacier walks and cross country roving pack trips…and everything in between. Here, at home in Chisana, you are treated like part of the family, delicious home cooked meals, warm cabins and hot showers, every satellite TV station you can imagine and hundreds of movies on the shelves, and wireless internet are available.
When you are on your trip and away from home we have long established camps to stay at. Waking in the morning and stepping outside to see the morning light on the glacier or watching the sun hit the snow peaked mountains in the evening light. Whichever adventure you choose will be etched in your mind and being forever after. We are in the memory business, let us be part of one of yours.
Master Guide Terry Overly, “The Youngest Old Timer in Alaska”, takes Alaska, Chisana, Pioneer Outfitters, family, his guests and clients to heart. It has been a steadfast basis for us all (Terry's guides and family), being a pack trip guide isn’t just about riding a horse around, being a hunting guide isn’t just about killing…it is the entire trip that counts…the fickle finger of fate and all that.
Summer Trips are photo safaris and hunting is a recipe, with luck, chance and some experience and knowledge mixed in with the spice that comes from pairing the client to the guide; the result is a perfect memory in the making.