Thursday, June 16, 2016

Well, when in Alaska, one must be flexible and willing to change plans based on mother nature's whim, especially in the arctic. Last week, northeast Alaska endured a large snow storm dropping as much as 8 inches of snow. Our pilot, Kirk, informed us that the pass we were hoping to go over is likely impassable. We considered having Kirk drop us off on the north/Jago side and spend the 11 days playing around up there. However, Kirk informed us last night that weather on the north side continues to be unstable to the point he doesn't feel he can get us there. With only a few hours until boarding our flight to Arctic Village, we were juggling a couple of options:

- We spend a few days in the village until weather improves, get dropped off and picked up on the Jago.
- Kirk drops us off as far north on the Sheenjek as he's willing to go then, if weather improves, he'll pick us up mid trip and fly us to the Jago (would add to the final price of the flight.)
- Kirk takes us somewhere completely different where he's noticed better conditions. 

Since Matthew has done six trips in the ANWR and Kirk has been flying around there for decades, we decided to leave the decision up to their good judgment. Unfortunately, they'll be hashing out the plan in Fort Yukon while three of us are in Arctic Village without cell reception or internet access so we won't know the decided plan for a while.

We woke around 4:00AM and couldn't fall back asleep. It is noticeably more bright at night here than Anchorage. Eventually, 6:00AM rolled around and we got up to pack. Said goodbye to Kristy then took off for some coffee, picked up Rob from his hotel, and drove to Wright Air in Eastport airport on the south side of Fairbanks international airport. We checked in by 8:00AM. We could check firearms as luggage, bear spray had to be claimed. We weren't allowed to fly with isobutane but white gas was OK. 

Rob and Kalyn waiting for the flight to Arctic Village

Just before 9:00AM, the pilot rounded us all up and got us in the plane. We had about eight people on the plane, including the pilot. Since it was an 8-person plane, the pilot had me sit copilot since I was the shortest, which was awesome! The skies were practically clear so the views were fantastic! It was interesting to see that the pilot didn't touch the steering wheel at all except on take off and landing. A GPS kept us on track, even when flying through a few clouds. The neatest part was seeing our landing on the strip from the copilot seat.

Kalyn gets to ride co-pilot

Beautiful patterns left by meandering rivers

Coming into Arctic Village at the base of the Brooks Range

Fortunately, we didn’t need to stop at Fort Yukon or Venetie villages so the flight lasted only 1.5 hours instead of the expected 2 hours. We landed in Arctic Village around 10:30AM and unloaded. A little village of 150 very nice people, a little visitor center right there on the runway. The town itself was about a quarter mile away. There were no buildings on the runway except for the visitor center. We talked with the locals and hung out in the sun. They told us the Gwich'in Athabascan people get together every other year at different villages and this year it's taking place the last week of July at Arctic Village, they're expecting 400 visitors! 

Arctic Village Airport/Visitor Center

We didn’t know if Kirk would be coming at all so we set ourselves up for a long wait. Another plane came and dropped off more people. The village dogs came out and laid on the runway so the plane couldn't leave. Another plane landed and was starting to load people when Kirk's little 4 person plane landed! He told us that he was able to fly Matt, Matthew, and Krista out to check out the pass and Jago valley by air, then they decided to be dropped off at the original landing strip in Sheenjek to try our original route. We loaded up and took off.

Kirk's plane, our ride into ANWR

Mat rides co-pilot in Kirk's plane

Kirk was really funny and nice. What a beautiful flight into the mountains! We landed on the tundra runway in the Sheenjek river valley, bumpy but rather fun. The rest of the group was waiting for us there. Another group with their own plane had set up camp at the landing strip for bear hunting. After a little celebration (we're finally here!!) we repacked our backpacks and started walking at 1:45PM. 

Reunited in the Brooks

We saw a blond grizzly way in the distance, which the hunters set out for, and many caribou and some Dall sheep, all very distant dots on the opposite hill. We made about four miles before taking our first break, where everyone promptly fell asleep (no one slept well the night before). We hiked a few more miles before we reached a flat alluvial fan where Matthew had camped a few years before. We set up camp next to a runoff creek a bit out of the wind blowing down the valley. As we set up the bear fence and our tents, a couple of young caribou came in close to check us out. Matt and Matthew took off to look at some sheep across the valley. I hit the sack and was fast asleep before Mat crawled into the tent.

Heading up the Sheenjek River valley

Setting up camp

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