Meet your guide(s) for a pre-trip meeting in Fairbanks at 4 pm at the Arctic Wild World Headquarters.

Fly 200 miles north from Fairbanks, across the Yukon River and the Arctic Circle to the Gwich’in Athabascan village of Arctic Village. From there, we board a smaller plane and fly through the Brooks Range to a river bar alongside the Kongakut River.  We’ll likely paddle a couple of miles to a perfect campsite. Tonight, take a hike, and settle into your surroundings.  The sun won’t set!

Here we are, in the mountainous headwaters of the Kongakut River!  It’s not a big river at this point, but it will get bigger and bigger as water is carried into it by a dozen tributary valleys. The grey cliffs and emerging leaves are brilliant in the spring sun and the willows are full of bird song. This is the Arctic at it’s best.

On rafting days we’ll spend about 5 hours traveling with frequent stops to watch animals, inspect a curious site, or if cold, just to warm-up. We’ll also take a nice long lunch stop and often we take a short stroll after lunch to explore. Or if we explored under the mid-night sun the previous day, we may enjoy a nap on the soft tundra in the mid-day sun.

As we travel, we see the many faces and moods of the Kongakut.  There are areas where the river course narrows and the river swings from valley wall to valley wall, cutting rugged bluffs.

Sometimes we pass through great fields of auf eis (ice that builds up as the river freezes layer upon layer during the winter).  In the spring the river carves through the auf eis and we float past frozen blue walls of ice five to ten feet high.

We run fun Class III rapids on several different days.  The water is very cold, and our boats are heavily loaded, so we avoid the holes and waves.

When we have traveled far enough we scout for the next camp with a view and settle into our new home for a night or two.

From each camp we can explore our surroundings – quiet cottonwood glades, small waterfalls, flowery willow forests, and jutting outcrops above the river make for great hiking destinations.

We will plan to enjoy three layover days on this trip. At each camp, we have choices of easy climbs or harder, longer, higher hikes. The activities for the day are tailored to your desires and interests. With a small group and knowledgeable and attentive guides each hike/ stroll is a unique adventure full of learning, challenge and with luck wildlife sightings. The last layover day, we will be able to hike to a sweeping view of the Arctic Coast and the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean stretching off to the curved horizon.

Weather permitting, our bush plane will arrive around noon to fly us back to Fairbanks. We’ll re-cross the Brooks Range, the Arctic Circle and the Yukon River.

If you are continuing downriver on our Kongakut to the Coast trip, spend the day hiking and preparing for the next leg of our adventure.