- My original flight was cancelled, but after spending the morning on the phone, I found a flight. Flew out of BWI on the evening of the 6th, arrived in Fairbanks around 1 am on the 7th, rented a car at the airport and drove to the Extended Stay Fairbanks, a moderately funky motel near the airport.
- Spent Saturday, the 7th, doing some short hikes in Denali National Park; drove back to Fairbanks in time to visit the Fairbanks Community Museum and have dinner with David and Karen. After dinner, I met the REI group. Steve and Liz were the leaders (Jody Young Adventures was the REI contractor), and fellow travelers included Barbara Goldstein from NYC, Bonnie and Jeff Brown from California, David and Karen Wilbur from Washington, Heather Hudson from California, Natasha and Tim Arnall from Cumberland, MD, and Roseanne Rostock from Philadelphia.
- Headed out of town around 10am on Sunday. Hiked in the mountains north of Fairbanks for half of the day (bushwacked to a hill full of blueberries, had lunch, then got lost on the way back to the trail), then took the Elliot Highway to Manley Hot Springs, where we set up camp for two nights. Visited the Manley Roadhouse. Relaxed in the (very) hot springs, after dinner.
- Visited the Iditarod Kennels after breakfast on the 9th, home of the Redington family (Joe Redington Sr. started the modern Iditarod event, and mushed a dog team to the summit of Mt. McKinley). Returned to camp for lunch, then spent the afternoon canoeing down the Hot Springs Slough [map], with Barbara and Roseanne. Back to the hot springs after dinner, with the whole gang.
- Up early on the 10th, drove to the banks of the Tanana River (a tributary of the Yukon) for a quick visit and a ghost story, then headed back east on the Elliott Highway to its intersection with the Dalton Highway (managed by BLM, which produces a very handy guide). Enjoyed a picnic lunch on the north side of the Yukon River (MP 56), gassed up at the Yukon River Camp, passed the Arctic Circle marker (MP 115), then drove on to Coldfoot (MP 175, map) to pick up supplies. Visited the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center (visitor center for the Gates of the Arctic National Park and the ANWR), then on to the Marion Creek Campground (MP 180), where we set up camp for the next 3 nights.
- Spent the morning of the 11th visiting with Jack Reakoff in Wiseman. Spent the afternoon hiking along a spectacular ridge (saw a grizzly roaming along the meandering river, below), then back to Coldfoot Camp for showers and a delicious buffet dinner. After dinner, our group boarded three small planes for a sunset flight over the Brooks Range (sunset was around 10pm) to the Nunamiut village of Anaktuvak.
- Spent the 12th hiking in the Gates of the Arctic National Park. Saw Dall sheep and other wildlife.
- Headed out from Marion on the 13th, driving past the northernmost tree, then over Atigun Pass (the continental divide of the north, 4739′). Arrived at Galbraith Lake, late in the evening (but still in broad daylight), where we set up camp for two nights.
- Spent the 14th hiking on the tundra, north of Galbraith Lake. Spectacular views from the peak where we had lunch. Returned to camp, where we shared dinner with the Italian cyclist who we met in Coldfoot (cycling the length of the Dalton Highway, after cycling from Anchorage to Denali on the Denali Highway, and from Denali to Fairbanks on Route 3).
- Hit the road on the morning of the 15th, traveling along the north slope to Deadhorse. Picnic lunch along the way, with a short hike afterwards. Arrived in the late afternoon, checked in to the Arctic Caribou Inn, washed up, and joined the gang for a great buffet dinner.
- Up early on the 16th, took an official tour of the Prudhoe Bay oil fields, a brief dip in the Arctic Ocean, then back to the motel to pack up for the flight to Anchorage. Fond fairwells at the Prudhoe Bay airport, then on to Anchorage for the red-eye to Atlanta, then to BWI.
Kerry Snow's Travel Blog (and other stuff)
