Flying in
Three of us in our group flew a Wright Air 8 pax commuter plane up from
Fairbanks to Arctic Village. The others flew to Fort Yukon and met up with
our bush pilot Kirk of Yukon air. He flew them into our drop off at Joe Creek
near Whale mountain and then came back for us at Arctic Village. That gave us
about 2 hours to explore the little Gwich'n settlement. Our hike took us up
several river valleys including the long valley along Whale mountain. Our final
day took us along the Kongakut towards the arctic sea. We were picked up by
Kirk on the 8th day at "Whale Mountain Int'l" where 2 of us got a flight seeing
tour of more of the refuge as we flew over the highest mountains in the Brooks
range: the Romanzof mountains, to the Hulahula river to pick up someone on
another trip. We were returned to Arctic Village just in time for our Wright
Air flight back to Fairbanks.
The pilot who spent the flight napping!
What happens when pilots nap.....???
Landing in Arctic Village
Airport restroom
The long walk into town
The old church
Town
Getting ready for the bush flight
John and Elaine
The valley in the middle of nowhere, where we get dumped
Welcoming party
The runway
Guide Cameron, bush pilot Kirk
And the plane leaves....
So NOW we get the bear safety talk!