Last updated: November 25, 2020
Itinerary
What follows is a general flow of events. Expect the unexpected and prepare to be flexible.
July 29
Meet your guide(s) for a pre-trip meeting at Arctic Wild headquarters in Fairbanks at 4pm.
July 30
You’ll be picked up early at your hotel in Fairbanks and shuttled to the airport where we’ll catch a charter flight to the bush village of Bettles in the southern foothills of the Brooks Range. From there we’ll load our gear into a small float plane for the hour long flight across the mountains to the Arctic Divide. Once there we’ll set up a comfortable camp on the tundra next to the lake before heading out to explore.
July 31- August 1
Each day in the backcountry brings something different. We can take day hikes to explore the glacial cirques, nearby alpine lakes, or wander the high ridges. The next day we may stick closer to camp for fishing and tundra napping, or if feeling adventurous, may decide to spend another day hiking and exploring.
August 2
Weather permitting, we’ll say a final goodbye to Amiloyak Lake and the expensive tundra before boarding the float plane for the flight to the Kobuk.
August 3 and 4
Full days on the Kobuk to fish and hike and watch the river slide by. We’ll have a boat to shuttle across the river and our boots to walk the banks and search-out the best fishing holes.
August 5
Weather permitting, we hear the thrum of the Beaver’s big rotary engine. Once it pulls up to our beach we’ll load everything up again and wing east across the southern flank of Gates of the Arctic, arriving in Bettles mid-day. Then we catch the “mail plane” for a hour long flight back to Fairbanks arriving in the early evening.
