Alaska Wilderness Tour on the Kongakut River
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Overview
Known to many but visited by few, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is the last great prehistoric wilderness in North America and the threatened landscape through which the Kongakut River flows. During the endless daylight of the summer solstice the refuge is home to the likes of wild grizzly bear, fox, musk ox and wolves. From the low-impact perspective of our rafts, the Kongakut is also one of the best spots in the Arctic to witness the migration of the Porcupine Caribou Herd to its summer calving grounds on the slim coastal plains between the Brooks Range and the Beaufort Sea.
Itinerary at a Glance
- Travel to Fairbanks, Alaska for a pre-trip meeting and orientation the night before our Kongakut River adventure in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge begins
- Take a scenic flight over the White and Steese mountains and into the small Gwich’in community of Arctic Village. Transfer to small bush planes for the remainder of the flight and overnight at our put-in at Drain Creek
- Board our paddle rafts for a morning departure on the swiftly-flowing upper Kongakut River
- During the next few days, our river trip is broken down into three main sections as we wend our way toward the Arctic coastal plain, making frequent stops for long day hikes up the ridgelines and casting a line for Arctic char
- Deep in the Alaskan wilderness, the Brooks Range beckons us to hike in these spectacular mountains in search of wildlife
- The delta area traverses the birthing grounds of the Porcupine Caribou Herd and the dramatic coastal plain
- Bush planes pick us up at Caribou Pass or out on the Beaufort Coast
- Following the flight back to Arctic Village and eventually back to Fairbanks, enjoy a farewell feast to celebrate our adventure in what is truly the last great American wilderness
Have you run the wild ones?
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