Western Arctic Packraft

Meet your guide(s) in Kotzebue for an evening preparatory meeting at 6:45 pm

We fly north from the Chukchi Coast at Kotzebue across the Noatak Valley and into the DeLong Mountains. Following the Kugururok River from above, we assess water levels and choose the optimal starting location for the trip. Once the plane is unloaded and has departed, we are alone in the vast wilderness. Then we can set up a comfortable camp, and enjoy the solitude.

Water levels vary dramatically in this part of the world. Flooding one week and gin-clear a week later, so we can’t predict either where we will start the trip nor what condition the river will be in. We will start as high on the Kugururok as we can to take advantage of the mountain hiking and scenery.

Starting in the headwaters is wonderful, but it could mean that we need to carry packs and boats a few miles downriver to where we gain a tributary and there is enough water to comfortably paddle our boats. They don’t need much water, but they do need water.

Expect the first day to involve some carrying of gear, some skootching over gravels and some nudging boats through the shallows. We aren’t in a hurry and it is all part of the adventure.

After the first day of getting used to the packrafts and negotiating the shallow upper reaches of the river we gain our stride and begin the float in earnest. We have 5 full days on the Kugururok to bask in the beauty of the Brooks Range. We have about 50 miles to cover so we have plenty of time to day-hike into the hills, explore the tundra or walk the river flats. Instruction for packrafting will be provided and the Kug is a good place to hone your skills. As we head south on the river the mountains recede and the floodplain grows broad.

We will have one or two layover days when we won’t break camp but can explore on foot instead. There is no end to the places we can explore!

The Kugururok flows smoothly into the Noatak and forms a lovely big eddy and a broad sand bar. We can camp here and await the plane due to arrive the following day. Or we can paddle down the Noatak to see what is around the next bend.

Pack-up and take a final stroll down the gravel bar in search of wildlife. Take a few more casts for a record Dollies or examine the mud-flats for fresh tracks. Mid-morning our pilot will return for us (weather permitting) and will fly us three at a time down the Noatak River and into the village of Kotzebue where the trip concludes and you can take a shower.