The Castors are fans of the Tetons, Leann wanted to head back to Alaska and all I wanted was to visit some place warm. Ed and Anita headed off to the Tetons…
AND I DID NOT GET SOME PLACE WARM!
Leann did some research on potential trips in Alaska and found a company that does guided trips to the Artic National Wildlife Refuge. We had never done a guided trip before but if we are going to ANWR this might be the time. We signed up for a trip with Arctic Wild. The logistics with multiple bush flights can be a real challenge. It was nice to pay someone to worry about that so I didn’t have to.
Two things: this is a really big refuge and it is way up North
Wolverine is the hardest of these animals to see in the wild. We have not seen one, maybe some day
Our bush flights for the backpack trip started in Fairbanks. We did a quick hop to Fort Yukon (2), then Venette (3) and another hop to Arctic Village (4). The first 3 legs were on the plane on the right then we got on the small plane. And yes we are backpacking North of the Arctic Circle
This is the little airport, next stop no airport
We got on a little plane for our hop across the Continental Divide. Not everyday do you see your pilot sitting on top of the plane filling the gas tank. The suspension on this plane has a lot of movement, coupled with the “TUNDRA” tires makes landing on gravel banks and tundra possible. The Alaska divide separates the watersheds draining into the Arctic Ocean from those draining into the Bering Sea
Leann sat up front and was having a good time sitting next to the pilot who happened to be young, tall and very good looking.
As we got closer to our starting point I was trying to figure out where he was going to land. There are places that pilots know where rocks have been cleared and you can land safely (yikes). Pretty amazing to experience it for the first time.
This was the route we took for the trip, itineraries are not written in stone since weather can throw you a curve ball, definitely happened to us.
Due to group size the planes dropped off the first group and then went back for the rest. Leann and I were in the first wave. When the plane left the solitude and quiet is something I learned to love about the arctic. We realized early into the trip that we would go back
Our first view of the artic
Camp 1: No crowds here
Day 2: continue up the valley, we did not have a lot of miles to do each day but our guide wanted to get in a few extra miles today just in case. Good call
Two words come to mind as I think back on the trip: vast and quiet. Rule of thumb for Alaska: cut your miles in half. If you can do 10 miles in the lower 48, 5 is a good day here. I doubted that but became a believer.
Camp 2
We got to camp early and the guide suggested a day hike
You lose all perspective on distances since there are no trees to block your view. The arrow is pointing to our tents.
Goats!
Leann doing the hiker pose.
This was not it but apparently the Caribou migration is spectacular, thousands of Caribou stretching from horizon to horizon.
Day 3 was a right turn after camp and up the next valley
We didn’t see another person the entire time we were backpacking. You sure can’t say that about the lower 48.
Grizzly bear prints were a common sighting although we did not see a bear. Grizzly bear and Brown bear are the same species, the only difference is their diet. Grizzly live inland and mainly feed on fruits, grubs and the occasional caribou. Brown bears live on the coast and their main diet is Salmon which is high in fat. Brown bears usually weigh twice as much as a Grizzly
Guide told us to leave our headlights at home, the sun never set. The number one question we got from friends before we did this trip: will you see the Northern Lights, nope
Camp 3
For this trip we decided to splurge and buy a HIlleberg tent. This tent is bomb proof and you can set it up in the rain without getting the inside wet. The inner tent is connected to the fly and the poles are on the outside. Spread out the tent, drive stakes into the four corners put in the poles and you are all set. More stakes complete the job. Also very easy to set up in high winds, I speak from experience. The tent is heavy at 7 pounds but I would not go to Alaska without it. I will not spend another night with the tent hitting me in the face due to high winds (reference first Alaska trip).
Clouds were moving in as we went to bed.
I woke up at 3:00 am, what is that noise?
Welcome to the Artic, snow and 19 degrees
I learned the value of this “cook tent” in the cold and snow. This is a great place to hang out when the weather turns to crap. We all gathered here for breakfast and dinner. With all of us in the teepee, drinking hot coffee and with the stove going it was very comfortable. Guide said we were going to take an extra day at this location.
Since wood is scarce we did not have a fire. So we spent the day on day hikes to get warm, back into the tent or teepee for reading, repeat.
This is what we do on vacation, what is wrong with us?
Blue ski is trying to break through, will it get colder?
Look back into camp on one of the day hikes. We had to take it easy hiking because you don’t want to sweat and get your clothes wet, that would make you even colder. All in all it was a good day, finished one book and started another. My kindle is one of my favorite pieces of gear. Load it up before a trip and you don’t have to worry about having something to read.
We are headed to Gilbau Pass
I know it’s cold and there is snow but the scenery is hard to beat.
Around this corner we would make the final push to the pass. As we got closer to the pass Dory asked everyone how they felt and if we should keep going. We all said let’s go for it. She said no and we made camp below the pass. That was a great decision. Getting over the pass was not a huge issue but getting to someplace to camp was way farther. It would have been a killer day if we had kept going.
Day 5: up and over the pass and a long hike to get out of the snow
Camp below Gilbeau Pass
Snow is melted in the cook tent, I liked this idea so much I bought one when we got home
Leann and Dory, 2 very strong hikers headed to the pass.
Whytes at Gilbau Pass, little did we know the easy part was done. After the pass we ran into a section of deep snow. Take a step and sink into your knee or mid thigh, this is called post hole-ing and is very low on the fun factor scale.
I voted for someplace warm????
Looks like tire marks but is actually a Caribou Highway, The Caribou follow each other and wear paths in the tundra.
OK, this is about to get challenging. I learned a valuable lesson in this section, just follow the Caribou tracks since they know the best way down. It worked
I was very happy to get out of the snow and on flatter ground. We took a long break here and just relaxed with the sun on our faces.
We set up the cook tent well away from our tents just in case the smell attracted visitors.
We did have a few visitors after dinner
They don’t look very scary though
Next to last day, down the valley and hang a left, camp is near the “airport”
Nest 2 pictures are of Aufeis.
Here is good detail on the phenomenon at Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aufeis
The Whytes on Aufeis
I looked at this picture many times and just noticed the bush plane in the top left.
Last camp of the trip.
Last day: day hike and then pack up and head to the airport.
At the gate waiting for our flight, didn’t take us long to get through security. You can see the landing lights (rocks) on the right.
Leann standing by the tundra tires
How many women can smile after a week in the bush with the cold and snow. I am a lucky man.
We loved our first trip into the Arctic and we didn’t even see a National Park, We must be slipping. It is nice to know we are not totally obsessed and are open to other experiences. Hmm, can we combine the arctic with a National Park? Stay tuned.
HAPPY TRAILS, STEVE