Join us for an amazing trip to the most remote and least visited national parks in the US! We'll take a scenic flight into the heart of Arctic Alaska's Central Brooks Range, passing the jagged spires of Arrigetch Peaks, landing in the headwaters of the Noatak River, where Mt. Igikpak gives birth to Alaska's longest Wild and Scenic River. Gates of the Arctic includes more than 8 million acres, most of it designated as wilderness. We explore the wild upper Noatak valley in Gates of the Arctic National Park, with day hikes to explore beckoning side valleys and hike the ridges overlooking spectacular valleys.
The Noatak River's mountainous headwaters are part of the summer and fall territory of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd. Thousands of caribou migrate through the Noatak valley on their way to and from summer ranges north of the Brooks Range. With luck, we'll see small bands of caribou crossing the tundra or swimming the river.
Small numbers of muskoxen have moved into the region; we usually see one or two along the river. Dall sheep inhabit the mountainous headwaters; we are likely to encounter wolves, moose, fox and grizzly bears. If the chum salmon are spawning on one of the side streams, we have an opportunity to observe bears fishing in the creek.
We paddle Ally folding canoes through a broad U-shaped glacial valley ringed by rugged mountains and weathered tundra foothills. Our Noatak paddle through Alaska's Brooks Range is one of the Far North's classic "life-list" river trips. We begin "in the shadow" of the tallest peak in Gates of the Arctic, and traverse a region with outstanding scenery, great day hiking, and superb wildlife viewing opportunities. After several days on the river, we are picked up by bush plane and flown south and over the Kobuk River Valley to the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes.
During the interglacial period between the Kobuk and Ambler glaciations, glacio-fluvial deposits on river bars and outwash plains were broken down by wind. The down-valley movement of large volumes of silt and sand created dune fields off the river(eolian deposits). This is the largest dune complex in arctic North America, covering 25 square miles. Some of the dunes reach 200 feet above the surrounding taiga. Evergreen forest encroaches in some areas; in other spots, the dunes are blowing over the ground vegetation, covering the trees. Kavet Creek provides a natural boundary to one edge of the dunes. We camp here and have a couple days to explore the duns--their wind-created patterns, animal and bird tracks, small ponds, animal dens, wildflowers, and slopes that just beg for playful sliding.
We designed the trip for people who have expressed a desire to visit all the national parks in the U.S; this is a great adventure for anyone who wants to see some beautiful wild country and visit two of the least visited national parks in the US.
For additional information about Kobuk Valley National Park and its natural features, check out these sites.
You have a choice of using a packraft, an inflatable kayak, or a tandem inflatable canoe. We can teach you all the basics of packrafting. The Kobuk is a perfect introductory river to the Brooks Range and Alaska's subarctic boreal forest.
