Teshekpuk Canoe

Meet your guide at Arctic Wild headquarters at 4 pm for a pre-trip meeting where we can check gear and help you get ready for our departure the following morning.

Fly north from Fairbanks across the Yukon River over the Brooks Range and into the Arctic Slope.  We land on a sand bar near the river and unload. After we bid our pilot farewell we are swallowed by the silence.

We have a full day to explore the area and settle into the enormity of the landscape. Walking is excellent here and the diversity of habitats makes for an interesting day of walking, birding, fishing or whatever delights you the most. For those who want, we can strike out to the east and make the long walk to Pik Dunes. But there is lots to enjoy closer to camp too.

With endless daylight we are never in a hurry, but we do have some miles to cover, so today we  assemble the canoes on the shore of the Kealok, discuss river safety and canoe techniques, then off we go down river!

This clear water creek winds northward to Teshekpuk allowing us to travel this wildlife rich area with relative ease, stopping to watch wildlife and exploring the tundra beyond.

We have 4 more days to paddle the 40 something miles of the creek. If the water is up and the wind is down it will be a lazy float with binoculars in hand over two days.

But, with only two feet of drop per mile the current may be insufficient to counter the wind and we will paddle our way north searching for the deeper parts of the creek and hugging the bluffs to duck out of the frequent northeasterly winds.

Regardless of how easy or hard the miles are to cover, we have lots of time to explore the area and to consider it’s wildlife and flora. At 70° degrees north and with no mountains to the north the sun will shine brightly through the night. Birdlife reaches a peak in the long shadows of the midnight sun.

We expect to have one if not two “layover days” when we keep camp set-up and explore on foot.

We will likely hear the lake before we see it, the rhythm of waves on gravel and the cries of gulls and geese carried across the tundra by the wind. At its mouth the Kealok Creek spreads into multiple channels and forms a broad sandy delta dotted with nesting birds. We aim to camp in the delta this night right on the shore of Arctic Alaska’s largest lake.

Teshekpuk Lake! Arctic Alaska’s inland sea bejeweled with floating ice.

We have a full day here at the lake shore to hike, explore, or even paddle out to the lake ice which is typically not too far from shore.

Mid-morning we start listening for the plane. Once it arrives we reluctantly load our gear and ourselves into the plane and wish Teshekpuk a final farewell.

Weather permitting we will be back in Fairbanks around 6 pm. Time for a hot shower!