Packing and re-packing in Fairbanks, AK!
Boarding our Wright Air flight from Fairbanks to Bettles.
Tom helped us unload at North Gaedeke Lake, and then it was just us in the Arctic Tundra.
Gaedeke Lake, our drop-off location, completely iced over and unfit for landing.
Claw marks on the walls of a cabin at Gaedeke Lake. Along the bottom, the wood had been split where something (we suspect a bear) had ripped pieces clean off.
Inflating my raft with our handy-dandy pump sacks. There’s a little bit of technique to it, but it’s a quick process once you get used to it.
Out on the lake! Bring on the river.
The very beginnings of the Alatna River. The water was pretty low here, we thought we were going to have to walk our rafts right away.
And eventually we did have to walk. The Alatna was too small and swift to navigate while sitting in the rafts.
Taking a little break from walking and drinking in the view.
It’s hard to convey the majesty of this area at the top of the Alatna. The mountains on either side of the valley are colossal in size, with a vast flat plain in between.
Camp night two! We used one of the rafts as a windbreak for our gas burners.
Happy campers!
Giant sheets of ice still lined the banks of the river, due to a late Summer
You can see the ice melt running off of a sheet of ice in this shot. This was everywhere.
Happy that we finally had enough water to paddle. No more walking!
The rock that tipped John’s raft on day 3, and gave our pots and firestarters to the river. Damn rock.
Waking up, ready for the day! Or going to bed… The sun is always shining in the Arctic Summer so it’s hard to know which.
Flowers in the Arctic.
I was paddling ahead when John shouted behind me. He was jumping out of his raft as fast as he could, so I panicked and did the same. I thought something was wrong. He’d seen his water bottle that had floated away the day before. Unbelievable luck! Didn’t see any pots though.
Big fellas on a big day of paddling!
The Alatna rose about three feet overnight and was torrenting through the valley. The swells were easily three-feet high and 50-foot pine trees were careening down the river.
What had been a nice gravel bank the day before, swallowed whole by flood water.
Drying my clothes out with Mother Nature’s amenities.
This is where I was the night before, peacefully sleeping, when I heard the rising water lapping at the edge of my tent.
No firestarters, no problem. MSR burner did the trick!
To measure the water level and see if it was rising or receding, we used rocks to mark the edge of the water. The rock in the very bottom left is where the water reached its peak.
The beginnings of Ram Creek in the distance.
We’d been following the social trail for a couple of hours up Arrigetch Creek, seeing boot prints all over it, before we finally reached the group responsible. You can see them here, set up at what was easily the best camping spot of the trip.
Our German friends. They were a very friendly group and even gifted us a pot to replace the one we had lost earlier in the trip!
An example of a creek crossing. These things could be easy or downright dangerous.
Packed up and ready to hit the trail again.
Wooaaah, we’re half way there!
The Arrigetch Peaks
What do you mean we’ve only walked 2 miles?! Checking the GPS to see how far we hadn’t moved turned into a hobby of ours.
Arrigetch Creek down below.
The closer we got, the further away they felt.
Trekking trekking. We were staying vigilant for bears, as there had been sightings in the days prior.
Our German friends were camping down by the creek, but we wanted to be up in the mountains so we pressed on.
The hike up into Aquarius Valley. At this point we’d completely lost the social trail so the hiking was much tougher.
What could possibly improve this view?
A cold beer, of course!
Setting up camp and laying all of our wet gear out to dry. We were blessed with an absolutely beautiful day of sun for our first day at the peaks.
Wet second day in the mountains. Rugged up while we got breakfast cooking.
Up close and personal with these peaks in the fog and rain. There were waterfalls running down the mountains and on the left you can see the path of an avalanche that we witnessed.
Achievement shot!
Hiking up yet another creek to reach Aquarius Valley proper.
This photo doesn’t do anything at all to show just how beautiful these lakes were. The blues were so vibrant, and the reflections so perfect. We spent a long time just chatting back and forth with our echoes.
Perfectly still lakes in Aquarius Valley.
Look at all those chickens! Taking our time on the hike back down to camp.
The views on the way down were spectacular. And the weather had eased up over the course of the day. Perfect for some inner monologuing.
More flowers from the Arctic.
No bluetooth speaker, no problem. Use a bear can!
This is where we went to get water every day in Aquarius Valley, and the water was crystal clear. At this point we’d completely forgone the water purifiers.
Heading back down the valley, to the Alatna.
Nature’s tap!
More images of Arrigetch Creek.
Ready to get back on the Alatna and knock out some miles. The sun was shining, but it looked like a storm was brewing in the distance.
Within a couple of hours of being back on the river, we were drenched in rain and surrounded by lightning. Cheers Alaska!
Little waterfalls came off the rugged mountains on all sides, and pine trees grew on any free surface they could find.
Consulting the GPS on our way down the Alatna. We didn’t want to miss our stop at Takahula Lake.
Raft porn.
A beautiful log cabin on the edge of Takahula Lake.
Muddy evidence of the struggles that we had faced traversing the 1000ft gap between the Alatna and Takahula. But we were so close to the end that we couldn’t stop smiling.
Pulling up at our pick-up location.
A little beaver dam, across one of the two outlets of Takahula Lake.
This was the closest that we got to a sunset in our whole time in Alaska.
Takahula Lake was a perfect mirror.
John waiting for our plane to come and get us, and hoping they hadn’t forgotten about us.
Packed and ready to go!
Our pilot Tom coming in for the landing. We were jumping and shouting!
11 big days out in the Alaskan Wilderness. As we stepped back into that plane for the ride out, we were a little lighter, wiser, hungrier and happier than we had been on the way up. Above all, I was proud that we’d been able to accomplish such a massive trip and come out unharmed on the other end.
John pointing out our drop-off and pick-up back at the National Park center in Bettles.
Getting a bit of love from some Alaskan sled dogs back in Bettles!
