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The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska is located in northern Alaska
between the Brooks Range and the Arctic Ocean, just east of Prudhoe Bay. This
undeveloped, natural area has a varied topography, from the coastal plains to high,
snow-capped mountains. A friend and I planned to drive from Fairbanks to Deadhorse,
charter a bush plane to fly us to the headwaters of the Canning River, canoe as far
as the Ignek Valley, and then hike from there to the ocean. A map showing our route
is provided here
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| Dalton Highway.
The Dalton Highway starts just outside of Fairbanks and goes up to Deadhorse
(Prudhoe Bay). This (relatively) well-maintained dirt road follows the Alaska
Pipeline. The major hazard is from big trucks that travel at warp speed, with a
cloud of baseball size boulders behind them. When you see one coming, the best
defense is to pull over as far as possible to the right, stop and pray. Our
damage - only two cracks in the windshield. In places, the gravel on the road is
fairly sharp - we had one flat tire. If possible, two spares is a good idea. There
are minimal services along the road, so its best to gas up, etc. at each possible
opportunity. The scenery along the road is often quite impressive - on my next trip
I plan to spend 3-4 days and take a very leisurely drive to fully appreciate the
scenery. There's also lots of potential for interesting side hikes.
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| Food Fight.
We came across these two long-tailed jaegars in the middle of the road. At first
we thought that they were fighting over the mouse (?), but after 15 minutes of
watching, we decided that they were cooperatively trying to dismember the beast.
Our presence did not seem to bother them at all, although we did stay in the truck
so we wouldn't frighten them away. Not being able to use a tripod, this was my only
photo that was reasonably sharp.
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| Loading the Airplane.
We chartered a Cessna 172 to fly us from Deadhorse to the headwaters of the Canning
River. There were only two of us, but our gear managed to fill the plane to the
gunwales (does a plane have gunwales?). We had an inflatable Metzler canoe, two
90 lb backpacks, paddles, lifejackets, bearproof food containers, and approximately
three weeks of food - not to mention my usual overburden of camera gear. It all fit
with a minimum of leftover space. The plane had large balloon tires - mandatory for
landing in the wilderness. At the Arctic Ocean, the "runway" consisted of baseball
size rocks on the beach.
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| At the Canning River.
It was approximately a one hour flight from Deadhorse to a convenient landing spot on
a gravel bar near the headwaters of the Canning River. It was late June, and the
wildflowers appeared to be at their peak. The fragrance from the wildflowers was
overwhelming. After the plane left, we were on our own for three weeks.
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| First Campsite.
This is our first campsite. After the tent was set up, there was nothing else to do
but enjoy the peace and quiet.
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| Packed Canoe.
The next day we loaded up the canoe with all our worldly possessions. It was a tight
fit, but eventually we got everything crammed in. I had never used an inflatable
canoe before, however, I found it very stable. Even going through rapids, it felt
almost as good as a normal hard sided canoe.
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