ben and i headed up the haul road to the brooks range. the brooks range is remote and farther north then the farthest most tree(no i didn't take a pic of the sign). farther north than the Arctic Circle at mile 130, see map below. most of the brooks range is only accessible by plane, unless you start your hike from the haul road. we did the drive north for my birthday to go camping and hiking, it was another amazing trip. the picture above is on the dirt haul road at Galbraith Lake, we camped near Atigun River Gorge on our second night.
Atigun River Gorge goes into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, hiking up the gorge is a must if you come to the Brooks Range.
the start of Atigun River Gorge. there is a waterfall 4 miles in.
there are no trails, you just head out with your map, here is a giant tussocks on the sponge like wet tundra that makes hiking slow going.
ben, pella and i up the Atigun River Gorge on night two.
the light was great in the late evening and we did some fossil digging because this area used to be under water before the Brooks Range was formed.
the Yukon River, 3rd largest river in North America and empties in the Bering sea, we stop here to visit Jeremy and Dorthy whom Ben photographs for his haul road work. they make local jewelry out of birch bark and porcupine quills.
ben at Finger Mountain near the Arctic Circle late at night (click for a larger view of the mosquitoes) . this was the longest day of the year, and the Arctic Circle is an imaginary line around the Earth above which the sun does not set until August. pretty cool to spend solstice north of the Arctic Circle.
lunch near the Koyukuk River.
north of the Brooks Range, near the Sag river confluence, mile 292.
hiking up the river at Galbraith Lake.
of course we saw the usual moose with calves, fox, grizzly bear, dall sheep....but this time we saw a musk ox! i can't believe these guys still roam the tundra, they are so prehistoric and cool looking. above is my poor picture, it is the brown dot in the middle.
we also had a hail storm on the Elliot on the drive home. we packed a lot in this weekend and plan to do a big backpacking trip in the Brooks Range after dialysis.
ben and i headed up the haul road to the brooks range. the brooks range is remote and farther north then the farthest most tree(no i didn't take a pic of the sign). farther north than the Arctic Circle at mile 130, see map below. most of the brooks range is only accessible by plane, unless you start your hike from the haul road. we did the drive north for my birthday to go camping and hiking, it was another amazing trip. the picture above is on the dirt haul road at Galbraith Lake, we camped near Atigun River Gorge on our second night.
Atigun River Gorge goes into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, hiking up the gorge is a must if you come to the Brooks Range.
the start of Atigun River Gorge. there is a waterfall 4 miles in.
there are no trails, you just head out with your map, here is a giant tussocks on the sponge like wet tundra that makes hiking slow going.
ben, pella and i up the Atigun River Gorge on night two.
the light was great in the late evening and we did some fossil digging because this area used to be under water before the Brooks Range was formed.
the Yukon River, 3rd largest river in North America and empties in the Bering sea, we stop here to visit Jeremy and Dorthy whom Ben photographs for his haul road work. they make local jewelry out of birch bark and porcupine quills.
ben at Finger Mountain near the Arctic Circle late at night (click for a larger view of the mosquitoes) . this was the longest day of the year, and the Arctic Circle is an imaginary line around the Earth above which the sun does not set until August. pretty cool to spend solstice north of the Arctic Circle.
lunch near the Koyukuk River.
north of the Brooks Range, near the Sag river confluence, mile 292.
hiking up the river at Galbraith Lake.
of course we saw the usual moose with calves, fox, grizzly bear, dall sheep....but this time we saw a musk ox! i can't believe these guys still roam the tundra, they are so prehistoric and cool looking. above is my poor picture, it is the brown dot in the middle.
we also had a hail storm on the Elliot on the drive home. we packed a lot in this weekend and plan to do a big backpacking trip in the Brooks Range after dialysis.
2 comments:
that looks like an epic trip. happy birthday dea!
thanks beth!i am still keeping up with your blog everyday!take care,dea
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