Last updated: August 11, 2018
Itinerary
What follows is a general flow of events. Expect the unexpected and prepare to be flexible.
June 17
Pre-trip meeting with your guides in Fairbanks at 10 am at Arctic Wild headquarters. Then fly to Arctic Village. Arctic Village is a small Gwich’in Village on the edge of the Arctic Refuge on the southern slope of the Brooks Range. The Gwich’in people live a predominantly subsistence life and rely on the caribou that calve on the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge for their nutrition. The Gwich’in culture is tied to the survival of the caribou and the Gwich’in have been strong advocates for the protection of the calving grounds for decades. We will spend the day and the night in Arctic Village where we will have the chance to meet with and learn from local leaders and get a small taste of life in a remote Alaskan village.
June 18
June 19 - 23
We’ll paddle and hike our way down the Hulahula River, allowing time for hiking and exploring each day. We will likely spend our first full day on the refuge camping near to where we landed. There is a mountain behind camp we can climb which affords views of our route ahead and a stunning overview of the Arctic Refuge. When we paddle we encounter a wide variety of conditions from steep canyons to expansive plains. Each day is an adventure as we travel north across the refuge and wildlife is a possibility at anytime.
June 24
Awake this morning at the northern edge of the continent. Weather permitting, we get a quick flight to the Eskimo Village of Kaktovik and then a longer flight back south across the Brooks Range, the Arctic Circle, and the Yukon River to Fairbanks arriving late in the day. Time to change your socks!
