Ostensibly, it was not adventurous since it’s a place you can drive a car to . . .  That said, interacting with Alaska, and in a Super Cub, is never NOT adventurous!  Also, everything is an adventure to me.  Plus, this is my website so I get to write about whatever moves me. And this experience moved me.

Seward Mobile Saunas was interested in figuring out wheel plane-accessed spots along water where they could set their sauna for some fly-in rejuvenation. I explored the area and determined that Resurrection River had a number of workable options, but would have to be figured out on the day-of because the location of other vehicles and tents is always changing. On the day-of my friend Cassie joined me and off we went to sauna on the river

Landing itself was really interesting because of the number of vehicles, fire rings, tents, and other obstacles along the river. Objects in motion! I felt like a number of times as I went to line up, a car would have moved to where I wanted to be – definitely an added complication!  As it was, I found a decent spot and taxied over to where they had the sauna set up, which was actually in an area that turned out to be the ideal landing spot.  We ultimately dismantled the few rock fire rings and moved the sauna out of the ideal runway, ultimately finding/preparing a perfect 600 ft strip with a great lineup and clear exit. So in the future, the spot can be more easily utilized because of the prep they can do on the ground and the way we figured out to position the sauna so you can literally taxi up to it. Seriously cool.

Red line is the landing area . . . paced off at a solid 600.’  The river is only about calf deep, so landing on the “island” across the stream likely would have worked too, and avoided car-based complications . . .

The experience of the sauna itself was heavenly. Perched right along the edge of the river, it felt like wilderness and was so stunning. With a cold plunge set up at the river’s edge, a lovely sunny deck to chill on, a warming room to change in, and a luxuriously hot sauna with a huge window… It’s hard to find words for how pleasant the combination is. Sitting in the sauna, we had a spectacular “eagle TV“ show across the river and a great mountain view. The sauna itself is really big as well which is great for a larger group, and really lovely for a group of three like we were.  And we gazed from the plunge toward the Harding Icefield, which made me laugh at so many memories that direction . . .

So many memories in that direction Across the spectrum of adventure!

A mesmerizing view to bake in

I had reached out to my friend Heather, who lives in Seward, to join us and she did! I didn’t give her much information, all I said was to come to Resurrection and meet us to go in the sauna, and I had to laugh because she figured that there would be something far more adventurous and was prepared to cross the river, go for a hike, and a sundry of other ambitious undertakings. I suppose I have somewhat of a reputation for hard things! But the reality is there very little effort involved in this sauna experience!  And it was so rejuvenating

We easily spent five hours between the sauna, plunge, and sitting on the deck. We had lovely conversation, especially because none of us had seen each other in a while, and the three of us had never even hung out collectively! It was such a special evening of being with two women I’ve known a long time, and who know each other by virtue of the Girdwood community, sharing something so cool and unique as this sauna experience along the river. It’s actually really difficult to put into words this experience, which is odd for somebody like me who loves words.

The sauna was so hot that this glacial cold plunge actually felt refreshing!

It would’ve been lovely to camp, and the company will even set up sleeping arrangements in the warming area, though we just did it as a day trip and that was lovely too. The flight home in the late summer light with calmer air than we’d found in the afternoon was really beautiful and the perfect cap, such an indulgent evening.

For days afterwards, the whole experience just felt surreal. I really love what these guys are up to with these mobile saunas, and there’s something really special about what they’ve built. Again, it’s funny to be someone who loves words like I do, and feel so wholeheartedly lacking in finding the ones that can do justice to this experience.

Ciao Seward!

Does summer light ever get old?!?

10/10 recommend

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Getting there: Located across Kachemak Bay from Homer, the trail is accessed by either plane or boat . . . I flew in, and the runway in Jakolof (4Z9) is long and in good shape, and has lots of space to pull to the side as well as fire rings and great camping options.

Once a road, and now a 4wheel trail, the ride from Jakolof Bay to Red Mountain is actually pretty fun and the trail is transport to a super rad area that can be explored more deeply once you’re there!    

The first 5.5 miles are in the woods and pretty overgrown – it’s screaming for someone to go up it with a pair of loppers to clear some alders back!  That said, it rides well and the surface is good, so that’s enough!  There are multiple sections where it’s washed out, but 4 wheelers have ridden a new trail in where necessary, and there’s some really narrow singletrack for those with the gusto to ride it with the exposure!  

This was late September growth . . . mid-summer might be rough!

This is narrower than it looks, and a bit unnerving to ride over the somewhat overhang, and also fun! There’s also a ride-around so this section can be avoided!

The old road is pretty washed out, but you don’t have to get your feet wet to cross!

Once the trail meets the Windy Creek, there’s also wash out sections with massive downed trees, also with 4-wheeler ride arounds that totally work!  They’re a little muddier than the “main” road, but not too bad.  

Wheeler trails offer ride-arounds of the washed out parts – a little muddy, but it works!!

At about 5.5 miles, the trail enters more alpine and the views of Red Mountain open up . . .at about 7.5 miles you reach a bridge over Windy Creek and a lovely valley with incredible views in every direction.  There’s many great camping options here, and a huge metal fire ring to augment any camping adventure!  It would be totally worthy to bike a camp up here and stay awhile to explore the upper valley.  

Trail opens up for the first views of the upper valley

And it keeps getting better!

FIre pit says it all . . . Red Mountain!

Cross the bridge and access the upper trail to the mine . . . it gets overgrown but if you get through that part, the access to the upper valley is good.

The color of the water didn’t get old . . .

The upper trail is just to the looker’s left of the shaded peak . . . the mine is up there too! Super cool valley

Such a rad place!

The trail then continues through some super thick alder, before switching back left and climbing steadily to the mine.  This section was snowed in when I rode in late September, but would be a worthy ride in mid-summer for sure!  Except for the alder section which I’d probably carry my bike uphill to avoid, honestly!  

I didn’t go explore up higher on account of the snow, but you can see the switchbacks up to the mine and pass! Worth a return trip for sure!

The ride down was super fun – the tech sections rode well and it was all pretty fast.  Even in late September I needed gloves to ease the hand-smashing of the alders!  

I rode a Specialized Turbo Levo SL e-bike for this trail – my first time ever riding one!  It was a perfect trail for it, in my opinion!  I made the 1200’ climb up over 7.5 miles in just over an hour, stopping plenty to take pictures!  And the way down was a super fun 30 minutes!  I loved having the power to make the flatter sections more fun, and the bike road super well through the tech!  I’m totally sold on battery-powered to add fun and speed things up!  As it was, I was worried about leaving the plane without a great tie-down, the bears in the area that could be feasting on my bushwheels, and the shorter days and impending cold!  So, I was happy to do the whole recon ride in 2 hours, including time spent lounging in the sun in the beautiful valley surrounded by red mountains  

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Sixmile creek is one of the greatest whitewater runs in North America and is also a pristine natural waterway. Four of the five species of pacific salmon call Sixmile home, and wildlife abounds in the drainage – bears, moose, eagles and more!  Carving its way through the Chugach national forest, Sixmile creek is an amazing Class IV and V whitewater run!

While I’ve packrafted the first 2 canyons at low water levels, I’ve got to say running it in a big raft at big water was a whole different experience – full value!  The canyons are so tight and I’ve never been so glad to have an experienced guide to navigate through – and still plenty thrilling!

I highly recommend going for anyone who’s never been – and I definitely recommend going with Flow AK – they were so awesome!  Tons of stoke, skills that gave lots of confidence, and an overall great time!

The trip starts and ends in the adventurous town of Hope, Alaska so it’s easy to grab some great food afterwards, or plan to stay and combine the trip with some hiking, mountain biking (Hope Point, Gull Rock, and Resurrection are all right there!), and checking out one of the coolest towns around!  And at just 2 hours from Anchorage, it can be done in a day

Bonus points, they even picked us up at the airport – much nicer to fly in than drive!

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Well, if the Augustine and the Hayes put a smile on my face, Iliamna restored my faith in the world and reminded me what it feels like to be happier than I know what to do with.  I honestly don’t think I’ve been as elated upon my return from this trip (in combination with the previous two amazing trips, of course!) as I have been since Aconcagua . . . that kind of joy that makes me feel like I can’t really function in society – I SO LOVE THAT FEELING!!!

Enough gushing, let’s get to the story . . . another random adventure evolved over multiple conversations on skin tracks, talking to the universe, and dumb luck.  Russ was really the instigator for this one, and when we needed a third I invited Phil Hess, who hesitated only slightly before making the life modifications necessary to make this one happen . . . of course, when I left for the Hayes, much of it was still up in the air: where are we flying out of? who’s coming? are we going?  But, as with most things in life, it just took a little faith . . .

Enough gushing, let’s get to the story . . . I had one day to “recover” from the Hayes, so spent it at Alyeska because it was so sunny and beautiful – how could I pass that up?!?

I skied all day with Billy Sullivan, rallying in the sun – SO MUCH FUN, and a happy girl afterwards!

Thursday morning, Phil and I got up super early and met Russ in Kenai at 8am . . . maybe out of excitement for the trip (or nervousness?!?), neither of us could sleep, so we were both on about 2 hrs of sleep as we showed up and jumped into Doug Brewer’s (Alaska West Air) Bushhawk to be transported to the 600′ level on the Umbrella Glacier.  Our goal was to ski as much of the mountain’s fall line as possible, and much lower than that was just a gently sloping slog to Chinitna Bay and Cook Inlet.

View of the Umbrella Glacier flying in – our landing strip was just out of sight in the lower left corner

Of course, just before we landed, we saw our first huge grizzly of the season, so it was pretty compelling not to leave anything at the runway!!

Phil and I rigging up to drag stuff to our base camp

We decided to take everything to the 2000′ level on the Umbrella, setup a base camp from which we could ski around after we’d skied the peak, and then setup an advanced base camp that afternoon . . . In retrospect, it’s possible to do in a day from the landing strip (9400′ climb), but we had absolutely no beta on the route so figured we should play it conservatively lest we lose our window completely.

Holy smokes, did I mention how tired I was from not sleeping the night before – soooo nice to relax!

Our base camp . . .

Then it was time to continue onward and upward – Russ and Phil – our camp was just at the base of the couloir-ish section in the rocks

Phil and I . . . making progress

Phil and Russ

It was a scorcher – amazing how hot it can be in the direct sun, reflecting off glacier!

Russ and I making our home for the night . . .

 

Really rough living – gotta say it was super nice to be up there at 9pm in direct sunlight!

Nothing like a room with a view – super nice to fall asleep to

The next morning dawned clear, and we were off to see what this lovely volcano had in store!  Starting off with a booter up the couloir outside of camp, we transitioned to skins for about 3k between 6-9000′ – back to boots and crampons once we hit the rime up high.  Overall, a pretty straightforward and efficient climb . . .

Phil and I – the Umbrella Glacier below

Me, and the mountains of the Aleutian Range

Chinitna and Iniskin Bays in the background – so cool to have views of the Inlet while climbing!

A rare moment ahead of Russ!

happy climber

Up top, we roped up as we encountered some bridged crevasses – Phil and I, with Chinitna Bay behind us, and Augustine just barely visible in the distance

And we’re a back to a steaming world – this one had a slight “rotten eggs” odor, but nothing horrible

Almost there!  Phil and Russ with the summit cone above

And then we were there – gotta love volcanoes for being the highest thing around!!  The views were stunning, on a summit big enough that some argue you could land a SuperCub on . . . I’d really like to see that!!

Russ and me – and Cook Inlet

Me, with enough inspiration to last a lifetime

Oh, hello lovely Augustine!  This is the aspect that we’d skied just over a week before!

Phil on the edge of the world

And then it was time to ski!  All things considered, the ski was pretty good – where we’d been climbing on rime ice, we were able to traverse over and ski neve . . . the sastrugi was reasonably kind, and the corn in the final couloir to our advanced camp was awesome!!

Russ

Phil

Me

Pretty sure this is Phil

Pretty sure this is me

me

Russ incoming – our steam vent and/or the clouds moving in – glad we were on our way down!

Me and Phil, proud of our quickly broken-down camp, and sweet corn turns above!

 

Phil incoming – our lovely volcano behind

 

Helluva way to spend an evening – while I love gourmet dinner, gotta say that the just-add-water dehy program left a lot more time for chillin’ out and enjoying

The next day greeted us stormy, but we still managed to get out for a ski . . . nothing epic, but we skied good corn in a decent couloir-ish line.  No complaints!!  Arriving back reasonably early, I found myself engrossed in a book like I haven’t in a long time – makes me realize I can’t do anything halfway – was up til midnight until that damn thing was read!!!

Phil in the milk

Russ and Phil . . . looking downglacier at the zone we explored the following day

So, what I gotta say about day 3: I love bonus days.  There is something so wonderful about that day you have to explore, already having done what you came to do, when everything is just bonus – nothing left to achieve, to prove, to try for . . . but yet, we skied harder/longer/more on this day than any other!  We had eyed a line down valley that we called “the gunsight” and based on the map, we figured it would have an unobstructed view to the sea . . . sounded like a good enough reason to head that way – plus, it looked so close

 

But first, we took the chance to do some fishing for water – lovely not to have to melt water for the day, and nothing like the “taste” of clear glacier water!!

Russ, heading down glacier with our lovely volcano behind

 

Russ, heading up toward the “gunsight” – as it turned out, we toured up the valley to the right, and then came back and went up to the col in the sun on the left valley . . .

The area ended up being 4 miles down glacier and a loss of about 1000′ –  the travel was good early . . . somewhat nervous it would get rotten by the end of the day, we figured we’d cross that bridge when we got to it and got down to exploring.  As the area unfolded, there was an insane amount of ski terrain.  South faces were pretty burnt, but the options were pretty inspiring for a potential future return trip, especially since the terrain was super varied – everything from meadow-skipping to holy-shit-this-is-the-scariest-thing-I’ve-ever-skied.  The best part for me was that, after the Hayes, I was prepared to be pretty underwhelmed by this area, but I experienced the exact opposite!  Silly me

Anyhow, we toured up to the gunsight line in crushing heat, and when we topped out, there was a sneaker couloir that took us to the backside and allowed us to wrap around to the peak, and the high point on the ridge.  From there, our views were simply stunning – indescribable really.  We had a clear view of Chinitna Bay, Augustine Volcano and Iniskin Bay . . . and even out to what we later decided must be Kodiak Island.  Sitting on a grassy knoll under warm skies – looking S to our ski line on Augustine and N to our ski line on Iliamna, and surrounded by inspiration, I felt a deep sense of joy and gratitude . . .

Our objective – we ended up toping out on the high point – super stoked on the mellow sneaker route up the backside!

Me slogging in the heat, Iliamna partially obscured by clouds in the distance

Phil and me

Lip smackin’ bootpackin’

Me

 

“Hey, looks like we can sneak higher – can I go check it out?!?”

The views did not suck – hello Augustine!

Me

Russ

Phil

Happy camper

Our ski was great – corn turns off the top, then powder turns seemlessly transitioning to corn as we neared the main drainage (back to mashed potatoes!) . . . Russ eyed a super sweet little coolie, so we got to ski some spicy jump turns to keep things festive!

Me skiing off the top

Phil incoming off the top

Pow pow here we come!!

Russ gettin’ ‘er done!

From there, we decided to tour up the glacier line we’d passed before . . . another lovely skin to the col, and a slightly different take on a great view!  The wind had whipped up, so we didn’t stay long . . . some family style skiing down the glacier, and we were back at the creek!

 

Russ taking it in . . .

Slightly different take on the same view: Augustine, Chinitna (near) and Iniskin (far) Bays

Mike Wiegle’s heli skiing comes to Iliamna!  Russ and Phil gettin’ stylie!

 

Headed down to the mashed potatoes-filled valley!

From there, it was a slog back to camp, but we made it in just over an hour . . . with plenty of time to enjoy one last meal of dehydrated food, amazing views, and quality mountain time!!

Me on the slog . . . at least the views were still awesome!

For the long days we skied, we definitely had some great camp time too!!

Our last night was clear – great for lovely views and a good freeze to re-create a solid landing strip below . . . a charmed trip until the very end!  We got up early, loaded sleds and packs and skied down just as Doug was landing . . . loaded up, and we were outta there.

Russ skiing down, weighed down by his fully-loaded drybag!   We were thankful for the re-freeze so as to have a nice supportive crust to ski on!

 

Iliamna and the Umbrella Glacier from our flight out

The views on the flight out did not suck – this area is inspirational!!

Tuxedni Bay on the N side of Iliamna

Overall, an amazing trip – one of my all-time best for sure.  Many thanks to Russ and Phil, as well as Alaska West Air for the safe transport!!

 

 

 

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So, on the back end of Augustine, I had a day through Anchorage and then it was off to the Tordrilllos with Paul, Erin, and Corky . . . My friend Max and his 2 childhood friends from Argentina wanted a quintessential Alaskan experience, so we invited them to come along and share base camp as well.

The crew: Corky, Paul, me, Erin

With amazing luck, our fly-day was sunny . . . so I flew with Jake in the Beaver over to the Tordrillo mountain lodge and then out to scope our runway in the SuperCub . . . it was good to be back in a bush plane again, and I loved scouting the area!!

looks like there might be some ski terrain here . . .

Jake the pilot, and the super cub

The beaver landing with the crew

We spent the rest of that day styling out camp: cook tent, Arctic oven drying/sleeping tent, bathroom, walkways, etc. and doing some z-pulley setup and crevasse rescue practice.   From the outset, it was clear that we would not be suffering – luxury camping, amazing food, and plenty of it!!!

home sweet home!

Next day dawned blue, so we took off in search of good snow – we headed up toward Mt. Gerdine and a peak which looked pretty climbable from below . . . long slog, super deep and steep trailbreaking, and HOT HOT HOT temps/sun reflection, but we made the high point we’d been gunning for and were greeted with a stunning run to start out with!  We’d all intended to start out on mellower terrain, but we’d had good pit results, no indication of instability on the climb, and were able to start mellow and ramp up as our run went . . . so we gave it a shot . . . we ended up skiing “the shoulder of awesome” that we’d all eyed from camp that morning – we were stoked!!

Heading up glacier, roped for our first day as we got the lay of the land

Steep and deep trailbreaking, compliments of Paul

Erin coming up the ridge

I couldn’t decide if I love or hate that views like these have become “normal” in my life . . . it was stunning!!!

Erin making it look easy

Me, loving the blower powder we’d found – wasn’t expecting that!

Day 2 we decided to check out a nearby cirque I’d drooled over on the scouting flight . . . another day of amazing snow in super fun terrain – by the time we were done, there were 8 lines down it and not much remaining untracked real estate – another amazing day under blue skies with more stable snow!  We named this the “bowl of delight” . . . for obvious reasons!

Looks like more good snow!

Corky creating a superhighway . . . our playground above

Me, Erin, and Paul

Erin and Corky at the top of the line – our mountain from the day before in the background

Paul and I at the top of run #1

Corky incoming

Our work here is done . . . super fun, super festive skiing in amazing snow – we win again!!

So, let’s just say we did not suffer in the dinner/camp department – Erin put together some amazing meals, and I brought tons of veggies to add . . . we had coconut curry, sun dried tomato/pesto/pine nut/smoked salmon pasta, moose filets and veggie mashed potatoes, salmon filets and veggie cous cous, chicken mole with fried polenta, and a spicy veggie curry . . . best food I’ve ever eaten on glacier, to be sure!!

Our third day was a “storm” day, but since it wasn’t really accumulating, Paul and I decided to head out with Max/Sacha/Joaquin in search of a couloir they’d seen on their previous day exploring . . . so off we went into the abyss!

I clearly think storm skiing is funny . . .

Off into the abyss . . . hope this one works out!

Sacha showing us the way it’s done . . . kind of like Christmas Chute on a storm day, but longer, further away, and a little different

Day 4 was an iffy weather day, but it cleared late in the day, so we were blessed with sunshine yet again.  We decided to head up to an area we’d begun to call “The Argentine Spines” since it was Max and company that had skied them on day 1.  I feel like a broken record at this point: amazing views, insanely good snow, lusciously curvy terrain . . . incredible pinch-me-I-must-be-dreaming skiing . . .

Looks like we might get a good day after all . . .

Erin and Paul headed up glacier

Paul enjoying himself

Corky with a little slice of paradise above him . . .

Paul ripping . . .

Me hidden in the powder cloud

Our last day dawned blue again, so we headed back to the “shoulder of awesome” zone from day 1 . . . we had some unfinished work to do, out skintrack was still in, and we had high confidence of finding more amazing snow . . . so off we went!

Me and Paul . . . going up up up

Corky and more horrible views . . .

Ready for run #1

Paul ripping the line Corky had eyed

Paul

Chilling out before leaving the sun back to our shady camp . . . the Lotus 120’s slay it again!  Love these skis

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Cook Inlet mud flats from the air – super awesome!

Twin Lakes – we had hoped to land here, but the only cub strip we could find was not suitable for the winds we had

Idyllic Port Allsworth

SUP exploring on Lake Kontrashibuna – about 3-4 mi from town up a super nice trail, with Tanalian Falls on the way!

Idyllic sunny day SUPping!

After our lake SUP, we decided to head down Tanalian River to Lake Clark . . . some folks had told us that “the kids raft it every summer” so we figured, how bad could it be?!?

Tanalian Falls – hence the portage

Nearing Lake Clark, after the “harrowing” section of Tanalian River – glad to know we made it through alive!!

Headed for the lake, calm enough to stop for pictures!

Whew!  Relief

Happily lake-side, adding the larger fin for flatwater efficiency

We flew over Tanalian River the next day – I think this was the roughest bit – a little intense for our 3rd time on SUP!!

Overview of Tanalian River – such a cool day!

Next stop: Telaquana Lake

We hiked a few miles upriver to SUP down Telaquana River down to the lake

Bobby, with a view toward the lake

Me headed down Telaquana River

Me on Telaquana Lake – super beautiful night – we totally nailed the weather!

Our super beautiful camp site!  Was a great place for a big fire later that night

View of the section of Telaquana River that we SUPped, as well as our flight path toward home – stunning area!

Tordrillo views did not suck!

Looking down on the Triumverate Glacier – badass!!!

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So, off we went . . . Paul pretty much followed the weather, and of course knows the area better than anyone, so we ended up in a pretty sweet ski area in the Granite Range.  These pictures didn’t load in order, and I lack the fortitude to re-organize, so enjoy the smattering of images from a wonderful mountain getaway  Ski on!!!

This was ultimately our last day – we had wanted to ski that couloir, but we got up part of the base of it and were greeted with nasty windslab, so bailed

Me putting on skins in camp – the views did not suck!!

The famed turbine otter, on our arrival day . . .

Lance on the way up right outside of camp

This was a super sweet N face that was ultimately our best ski run of the trip . . . I ended up skiing pretty much 360 degrees of this peak throughout the trip . . . pretty sweet!!

Kevin in our megamid kitchen!  Luxury camping  Lance had gone pretty all-out on food too, so we were not suffering!!!

Not all days were sunny days . . . but couloirs aren’t bad in low vis either!

Those lines right outside camp were sweet . . . super steep near the bottom

This was a great south facing run Kevin and I ended up skiing – super satisfying!!

Me on the top of our first run of the trip  . . .

The one scary part of this trip was that cornice breaking below my feet and sending a large chunk off the other side – welcome to the mountains . . .

Our final run – we actually had a miscommunication and Paul came earlier than we expected, so we were halfway up this face when he arrived . . . free trip back to camp, and ended up being good luck that we got out that day, as the actual pickup day was gray and likely not-flyable . . .

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Then we headed out to Backside Lake on the lower Ruth Glacier after exploring the Ruth Amphitheater with planes . . .

Nellie and Matt

me

Bobby and his plane

And a few days later, we headed out to Mt. Susitna for an evening mission It was a bit longer mission than we planned on, but super great to be out there and super fun to ski on a mountain we look at all the time from Anchorage!

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Is it really a year later and I’m just now writing about this? I guess so, but such is life . . . I guess that means it’s been a good year full of interesting things to distract me The group consisted of Bobby and me in his plane and Matt Harper and Nellie Love in Matt’s plane – the two had been introduced before this trip, then spent some plane and mountain time in the Brooks on the trip, which turned into a romance and now engagement . . . so yeah, a lot can happen in a year!

When we got off the face, we still had all that bare glacier to navegate . . . being a skier, and a lazy person, I had no desire to crampon back down, so suggested we keep the skis on . . . it wasn’t that steep after all and it was smooth enough to navegate . . . and so we did I’m not gonna lie, it wasn’t all pleasant, but it did have that feeling of ridiculousness that made us roll our eyes and laugh, glad that we could do it!

Day 2 of the float was about the coldest I remember being – I made Bobby promise me we could go to Chena Hot Springs when we got to Fairbanks, feeling like the only way I could handle the cold is if I knew there would eventually be an end in sight!! Given all the rain, we had the river at flood stage, which made the canyon section pretty festive!!! The wave trains were super big – when Bobby went before me, he would disappear in the troughs The cool thing was that it was just big waves, but no holes or other scary river features, so it was a fun section. Just after the canyon, as we reached the last mountain before the North Slope, we decided to stop and camp with the hopes that the weather would be nice enough to get a hike in the next day before we had to leave the beautiful country . . .

Bobby in camp

Off ice in the river . . . I guess this is the arctic after all!

The next morning, I woke up super sick, but was eventually able to get moving and paddle the 4 miles into Kaktovik – it was a nice flatwater paddle in no wind, right along the pack ice – pretty cool actually. We arrived to find the plane there and waiting for us, got adopted by a native man the drove us around town behind his 4-wheeler and took us to the general store, and generally enjoyed Kaktovic on the rare sunny day we had been blessed with! From there, it was a flight through Kavik camp to gas up, then to Anaktuvuk for a bathroom break, and on to Bettles for the night before flying back to Anchorage via Fairbanks . . . definitely a long flight!!!!

 

I guess it’s really hard to capture a trip like this in a blog post, but I guess that’s the beauty about things like these

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