Last updated: February 4, 2025
Itinerary
What follows is a general flow of events. Expect the unexpected and prepare to be flexible.
June 25
Meet with your guide for a pre-trip meeting at 4 pm in Fairbanks at Arctic Wild headquarters.
June 26
We fly from Fairbanks to the tiny Gwich’in village of Arctic Village where we meet with our bush pilot and then head north into the Arctic Refuge.
June 27 - 29
We spend our time exploring the area looking for caribou and other wildlife. Your guide will lead hikes, share knowledge about the area and make themselves available to educate you about the Refuge.
June 30
A last full day in camp and plenty of time in the morning for a hike before the plane arrives. Mid-afternoon we can start listening for the sound of an engine (perhaps the first we’ve heard all week). Late in the day as the light gets rich and soft we will have the opportunity to explore a bit more of the Refuge with the help of a capable bush pilot. Exactly where we choose to go will depend upon the weather, where we think the caribou might be, and the discretion of the pilot. If large aggregations of caribou are nearby we can fly near them and see the enormity of the herds. If weather is good on the Arctic Coast we might go the the beach and look for eiders and polar bears on the sand spit. Or we could fly into the glacier carved valleys amongst the tallest peaks in the Brooks Range.
We return to camp for a late dinner, filled with awe.
July 1
We say our last goodbyes to the tundra, pack our camp, and then load into the plane for a flight west across the Refuge and into America’s largest oil fields. As the network of roads and pipes becomes ever denser we are able to contemplate the value of conserving the Arctic Refuge. Eventually we land in Prudhoe Bay where we meet a larger airplane and fly back to Fairbanks. Weather permitting we arrive back in time for a late dinner.
