Last updated: January 24, 2020
Itinerary
What follows is a general flow of events. Expect the unexpected and prepare to be flexible.
Day 1
Take a morning “mail-plane” from Fairbanks north across the Yukon River and the Arctic Circle to the tiny truck stop called Coldfoot. In Coldfoot we meet our pilot and load our “bush-plane” for a 2 hour flight across the snow-capped Brooks Range and out into the Coastal Plain. The plane will land on the gravel near the river. Once we unload and say good bye, we will set up a sturdy, comfortable camp which will serve as our base for the week.
Days 2 - 6
Each day will bring its own surprises. Bears chasing caribou? Calves nursing for the first time? Enormous ice chunks rolling down the river? Thousands of geese flapping through camp? Musk oxen braced against the wind? The first flower of spring?
Each day we will explore this unparalleled wilderness admiring, experiencing and photographing its wonders. The hiking along the river is decent and there are some hills and bluffs to climb, but caribou generally calve north of the mountains so we will admire the Brooks Range from a distance. Your guide will make suggestions of activities, lead walks, and keep you well fed. You will be free to experience the wilderness and the wildlife at your own pace.
Day 7
After breakfast and packing up our camp we turn our attention to the sky and listen for our airplane. When we hear the plane coming we take one last look at the seemingly endless wilderness and prepare for the long flight back towards Fairbanks. We should arrive in Fairbanks in time to shower before dinner.
