Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

We started the trip by flying from San Francisco to Fairbanks via Seattle. At Pike's Waterfront Lodge in Fairbanks we met our guide, Kevin McDermott, and the three other folks who would be joining us -- Cindy and Brian Reid, and Magnus Sprenger. After collecting our rental gear, Magnus, Michelle, and I headed to downtown Fairbanks for dinner and a quick look around. Cindy and Brian relaxed at the Lodge. Kevin shopped for food and packed the shared gear.

Next morning we were driven to Wright Air at the Fairbanks airport, and underwent our first experience with bush-flight logistics. Our landing site in the Refuge was a gravel bar alongside a river, accessible only to fairly small planes. However, we had more people and more gear than would fit in such a plane. So Kevin, Cindy, and Brian, and part of the gear, went in one plane directly to the Refuge. Magnus, Michelle, and I, and the rest of the gear (digitally photographed so we could tell which was ours) were packed into a larger plane along with some other hikers and flown to Arctic Village (an Athabascan Indian town in the Interior). Cindy and Brian had spent time in Arctic Village on a previous trip, and we were thankful for their suggestion to carry reading material and a lot of bug repellent. The small plane shuttled twice from the Refuge to Arctic Village to pick up all the passengers and gear, a process that took around six hours.

Once in the Refuge we were extremely lucky with the weather, and encountered practically no bugs. We saw dramatic scenery, herds of caribou, and millions of wildflowers. We'll let the pictures speak for the experience.

Although we saw few people, we did encounter a reporter, Zack Coile, and a photographer (didn't get her name) from the San Francisco Chronicle doing a story on the Refuge. We're looking forward to reading it.

On departure day we enjoyed our second bush-flight adventure. We waited patiently on the gravel bar for about six hours after the rendezvous time, but no plane appeared. Kevin gave up and used his emergency satellite phone to call the home office. Although the boss was out, the staff told us bad weather in Fairbanks had grounded all the small planes, so we should plan to spend another day in the Refuge. This was definitely a case of deja vu for Cindy and Brian, who had experienced four such "bonus days" on a previous trip with Kevin. But shortly after we had hauled our gear back to camp and started unpacking, a plane landed. It turned out the boss was out of the office because he was engaging a small plane from elsewhere (Kaktovik, we think, but we're not sure) to ferry us over the Brooks Range to Arctic Village. One of the larger planes could make it out of Fairbanks to Arctic Village and take us the rest of the way. There was just one catch: There were six of us, but room in the small plane for only five. So Kevin stayed behind while the rest of us moved on to the next stage of the trip. He made it out two days later, just in time for his next assignment.

To see a larger version of one of the photos below, just click the small version. At the bottom of each large photo you'll find links you can click to take you back to the previous photo, forward to the next, back to this index page, or back to the arden.org home page. (So if you start with the first large photo, you can step through them all by clicking the "Next Photo" links. The link on the last large photo page returns you to this index page.) At the bottom of this page there's a link you can click to take you back to the 2005 Alaska Trip index page.

2005Alaska/010004 2005Alaska/050006 2005Alaska/050008

The Inside Passage

Allen at Milepost Circle. Note the last line on the milepost, then compare with this sign. There's been a little editing, but they match!

Fairbanks

Michelle and Allen at Milepost Circle

Fairbanks

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/050010 2005Alaska/010010 2005Alaska/010009

Sled dog plaque at Golden Heart Plaza

Fairbanks

Wright Air will take us to the Wildlife Refuge

Fairbanks

Kevin (our guide) checking a pallet full of gear before loading a plane

Fairbanks

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010015 2005Alaska/010013 2005Alaska/050019

Inside the Caravan

The Interior

Crossing the Yukon

The Interior

The village proper

Arctic Village

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010016 2005Alaska/010020 2005Alaska/010022

Unloading at Arctic Village, where a smaller plane will shuttle a few of us at a time up to the Wildlife Refuge

Arctic Village

Michelle and Magnus keeping watch on our gear while waiting by the generator shed

Arctic Village

Our plane at last! (A Helio, if I remember correctly) Michelle prepares to load her gear

Arctic Village

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/050025 2005Alaska/050031 2005Alaska/010023

Flying through the clearing rain

The Interior

River ice in the Brooks Range

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Our home for six days - a nice roomy tent in the willows by the Kongakut River

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/050033 2005Alaska/050182 2005Alaska/010026

Mountain Avens

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Toilet with a view

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Kevin making halibut for dinner

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010027 2005Alaska/010031 2005Alaska/010033

Cindy and Brian

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Tendrils of ice fog moving in from the Arctic Ocean

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Looking roughly west, as fog develops over the Arctic Ocean

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010038 2005Alaska/010039 2005Alaska/050037

The Kongakut floodplain and Brooks Range foothills

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The Kongakut floodplain and Brooks Range foothills

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Lapland Rosebay (Rhododendrum Lapponicum)

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/050041 2005Alaska/010049 2005Alaska/010053

Glacier Avens

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Caribou

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Ptarmigan

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010067 2005Alaska/010069 2005Alaska/010073

Michelle, Kevin, Brian, Magnus, and Cindy at the high point of the first day's hike

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Looking over the Kongakut toward Demarcation Bay and the Arctic Ocean

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Looking over the Kongakut toward Caribou Pass and the Arctic Ocean

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010076 2005Alaska/050045 2005Alaska/010079

Allen, Michelle, Brian, Cindy, Kevin, Magnus

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Allen, Magnus, Cindy, and Kevin hiking downstream on the Kongakut

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Shore ice, not yet melted or flushed downriver

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010082 2005Alaska/010084 2005Alaska/010088

Caribou

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Caribou in motion

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Arctic tern

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010094 2005Alaska/010095 2005Alaska/050060

Wolf track

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

In the willows near the riverbed

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Arctic Willow

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/050064 2005Alaska/010097 2005Alaska/050074

Kevin, Magnus, Cindy, Brian, and Allen watching caribou

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Time for breakfast

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Arctic Wooly Bear Caterpillar. Over the winter, these caterpillars freeze solid. It can take them up to 14 years to metamorphose into a butterfly

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010099 2005Alaska/050078 2005Alaska/010102

Magnus with Kevin hauling the raft to the main stream of the Kongakut so we can cross over to visit Caribou Pass

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Kevin sets up the raft while Allen, Magnus, Brian, and Cindy supervise

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Magnus and Kevin preparing to cross the Kongakut

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010105 2005Alaska/010109 2005Alaska/010111

Magnus and Kevin crossing the Kongakut

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Carrying the raft upstream to the opposite ferry point

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Kevin returning across the Kongakut for more passengers

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010123 2005Alaska/010125 2005Alaska/050092

The floodplain of the Kongakut

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Kevin, Brian, Cindy, Magnus, and Michelle at an outcropping on the way to Caribou Pass

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Alpine Azalea

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/050095 2005Alaska/050107 2005Alaska/010135

Alaskan Phlox

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Landsdorf's Lousewort

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Caribou

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010137 2005Alaska/010146 2005Alaska/010148

Caribou and calf

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Looking toward the eastern Brooks Range

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The bend in the Kongakut, with camp in the near distance. Note the shin-high tussocks in the foreground, which make walking on the tundra a little challenging

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010150 2005Alaska/010159 2005Alaska/010161

Caribou

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Caribou preparing to swim across the Kongakut

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Caribou crossing the Kongakut

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/010167 2005Alaska/020020 2005Alaska/050113

Caribou swimming across the Kongakut. Note the leader (top left) shaking himself like a wet dog

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Braided streambed, shore ice, and the route of the Kongakut out to the Arctic Ocean. Camp is barely visible at lower left

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Rock Jasmine

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/050121 2005Alaska/050122 2005Alaska/050123

Wooly Lousewort

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Small-Flower Anemone

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Colorful Arctic succulent, type unknown

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/050125 2005Alaska/050134 2005Alaska/050144

Purple Mountain Saxifrage

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Arctic White Heather

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Buttercup

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/050145 2005Alaska/050153 2005Alaska/050157

Arctic Forget-Me-Not

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Blackish Crazyweed

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Lichen

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/050165 2005Alaska/050171 2005Alaska/050173

Unidentified

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Small-Flower Anemone

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Unidentified

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/020039 2005Alaska/020043 2005Alaska/020044

The coastal plain and part of Demarcation Bay. The remains of an old shipwreck are visible in the bight on the right-hand side of the bay

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Coastal plain, and in the distance the site of Kuluruak on the icy reef that protects Demarcation Bay

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Brian, Kevin, Michelle, and Cindy taking shelter from the wind off the Arctic icepack

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/020053 2005Alaska/020066 2005Alaska/020070

Rafters have come down the Kongakut and are setting up camp

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Young arctic ground squirrels

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Young arctic ground squirrels

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/050181 2005Alaska/020083 2005Alaska/050183

Michelle reading Michener at midnight

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

After a six-hour wait on the gravel, and a satellite phone call informing us that our plane couldn't leave Fairbanks due to weather, we were suprised by a pilot who had been hired to shuttle us to Arctic Village instead. But Kevin had to stay behind!

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Leaving the Refuge

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/050187 2005Alaska/050202 2005Alaska/050207

Old ice on the Kongakut

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Over the Brooks Range

The Interior

Over the Brooks Range

The Interior

 

 

 

 

 

2005Alaska/050216 2005Alaska/020085 2005Alaska/050220

The old familiar runway

Arctic Village

After a few more hours waiting in Arctic Village, a Caravan arrives to take us back to Fairbanks

Arctic Village

Magnus, Michelle, Cindy, Allen, and Brian enjoying a late-night dinner at Pike's Waterfront

Fairbanks

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