Overview
Located above the Arctic Circle in western Alaska, the Noatak River drains the largest undisturbed watershed in North America. It is practically untouched by humans. From the headwaters in Gates of the Arctic National Park, the Noatak flows about 300 miles west and then 100 miles south to the sea near the town of Kotzebue on the west coast of Alaska. From there, it is a short distance across the Bearing Strait to Russia. Most of the river is designated as a wild and scenic river and is located in the Noatak National Preserve. Native Inupiat Eskimos, who live in this part of Alaska, have subsistence rights which mean that they can hunt and fish in the area as they have for centuries. The river is mostly Class 1 with a few short sections of Class 2, and is suitable for open canoes, kayaks, or small rafts. Since there is no road access, entry is via bush plane from either Kotzebue or Bettles.

In August 2003, a team of 4 - Karen Davis, John Langbein, John Otter, and I - spent a month floating the entire length of the Noatak. Karen and John L. planned the trip and were in a folding Feathercraft kayak. They are very experienced kayakers who have done numerous extended trips in Alaska and Canada. Karen is a walking encyclopedia concerning native plants, animals, and birds. John L. has had lots of whitewater experience. John O. and I used a 14-foot inflatable Soar canoe. John O. is excellent at "reading water". He and I have done many river, hiking and climbing trips in the past.

We arrived in Kotzebue via commercial airlines and then flew to the headwaters of the Noatak in a small Cessna floatplane. All of us carried 28 days of food along with tents, clothing, emergency supplies, and everything else we would need for a month's immersion into total wilderness. We went in August to avoid the worst of Alaska mosquitoes, and to hopefully observe part of the migration of the 450,000 strong Western Arctic Caribou herd, which is the 2nd largest in North America. After spending the summer on the northern slopes of the Brooks Range near the Arctic Ocean, the herd makes the long journey south to avoid the arctic winter. They start to cross the Noatak River around mid-August.

On August 1, we met in Kotzebue after flying from various parts of the US to begin our adventure.

The Adventure
Day 1, August 2
Bad flying weather. We explore Kotzebue and camp south of the airport.

Day 2
We fly to a small lake called 12-Mile Slough in Buck Maxson's floatplane. It is a 2-hour flight and he can only take two of us at a time. We portage our gear ½ mile to the river which at this point is a small stream. The headwaters of the Noatak are just 25 miles east of us on the slopes of Mt. Igikpak in Gates of the Arctic National Park.

Day 3
We practice our tundra hiking by climbing 3,500 feet to the top of a nearby peak. We wear bells and carry bear spray to defer grizzlies. After a 5 1/2 hour climb, our reward is a great view of Mt. Igikpak and Dall sheep tracks on the snow at the summit. Mosquitoes are present during dinner, but they are not particularly bothersome. Our first rain occurs after dinner as we try to sleep in 24-hour daylight. Eyeshades from the airlines work well.

Day 4
All morning is spent packing our boats. It is easy to pack the inflatable Soar and much more time-consuming to pack the Feathercraft. But the Feathercraft is much faster in the water especially when headwinds occur as they did on our first paddling day. We do a short 10-mile paddle to Oyukak Creek where we camp near fresh bear tracks in the mud along the river. Bear tracks were so numerous on our trip that it was nearly impossible to camp away from them.

Day 5
The snow covered dome of 7,300 foot Mt Oyukuk is the highest peak around and we spend 12 hours climbing 5,500 feet in a 16-mile round trip. John O. and I descend a different ridge to complete a classic horseshoe hike.

Day 6
Another day at the same camp, which is spent exploring Kugrak creek, picking blueberries, and photographing. Almost every morning for breakfast, I eat a cup of blueberries with my cereal. A few mosquitoes are present in the evening. We use some mosquito repellent and occasionally a head net. But mosquitoes do not really bother us during the entire trip.

Day 7
Another beautiful day. We are beginning to think that stories of rain were exaggerated. As we prepare to launch, John O sees a grizzly bear watching us from the sandy beach across the river, several hundred feet away. As we fuss with binoculars and cameras, the bear decides to swim across the river just downstream from us. We decide to leave. Two hours later, we see another grizzly on the north side of the river. We pull over to the south shore to again fuss with cameras and binoculars. The bear decides to swim across the river and then ignores us completely and ambles upstream, away from us.

We see a rare wolf and an adolescent cub on a sand bar on the left bank from our boats. The adult wanders into the brush, but the cub stops at the edge and sits down to watch us as we land and fuss with cameras and binoculars. A little later as we eat lunch, we hear wolf howls for 10 minutes. We think the howls are from the mother wolf to the cub saying, "You come home right now!"

At camp we scamper up Peak 4027 for a quick look up and down the river. Later, in our tents, we hear strange noises behind where one of our food bags is stored. John O., armed with his bear spray and camera, goes to check and spots our first caribou of the trip. Wildlife viewing has exceeded our highest expectations.

Day 8
It is cloudy and misty in the morning. We thought the sun would always shine. We canoe 19 miles and camp on an island. We will not see the sun again for 9 days.

Day 9
Today we negotiate the 10-mile stretch of class 2 rapids below Douglas Creek. They are very tame and cause no anxiety. It is easy to pass to the left of what some guidebooks call "a whirlpool". We camp on a sandy beach at Kavachurak Creek just past where we spotted a musk-ox along the bank. We walk back and find him lying down looking away from us. After 15 minutes of waiting, we ring our bells, which prompts him to stand up for a photo. Later during dinner, he slowly walks downstream past our camp, crosses the side stream, and continues his slow walk for 15 minutes. Musk-oxen do not migrate and are able to withstand the Arctic Winter. Once extinct in Alaska, they were reintroduced in 1930 and there are now 3,000 of them in the wild.

Day 10
It is raining in the morning after raining most of the night. We decide to take a "rain day". The rain continues and the water rises in both the main river and the sidestream. We take bets on which stream will flood us out first! In late afternoon the sidestream is winning and we vacate the beach and move our camp ¼ mile upstream onto the safe tundra bench above the river flood plain.

Day 11
It continues to rain and by morning the river has increased from 100 feet wide to ¼ mile wide and our previous camp on the sandbar is completely covered. We put a marker (a stick) at the rivers edge to monitor further rising. This marker is only 15 feet from our tents and 2 feet below our nice dry sleeping bags. We take another "rain day" to let the weather settle. Reading, wet blueberry picking, and watching the stick are the prime pastimes during the day.

Day 12
The river level has not risen, but the barometer is still low, the river is still high, and it continues to rain lightly. But we decide to move on. A noon launch results in 26 miles in 5 hours due to a much faster current. Luckily, the increased water level has not increased the river's difficulty. Along the shore, huge blocks of tundra and dirt are breaking off into the current. Around midday, we spot a wolverine on the leftbank. When he sees us, he runs toward us, climbs a small willow for a better look, and then runs away. This is the first wolverine any of us have ever seen. We are also seeing more caribou. I am still keeping track of how many we see (current count is 8) but I look forward to the time when I will lose count.

Day 13
More paddling in fast current. During lunch at the Aniuk River, we watch 2 musk-oxen fight it out across the river. They back up from each other and then spring forward and crash their heads together. They have been at this for a while, since the impacts are light. One of them is clearly winning the argument. As we turn to get in our boats, we see 9 caribou swimming across the river just upstream from us. At camp that night, our tent is decorated by a huge caribou skull and set of antlers that was lying in our campsite. After dinner, 2 young caribou run around our camp in a complete semicircle. I finally stop counting caribou and am now counting the number of times we see caribou swimming the river.

Day 14, August 15
Another day on the water with on and off again rain. We pass the Cutler River, a major landmark. The count for seeing groups of caribou crossing the Noatak is now 5. Another camp is set up in the rain. I promise I will send a testimonial to Hilleberg telling them how good our Nallo 3 tent is performing. All this rain and the inside of the tent has remained dry.

Day 15
Dark and cloudy but the barometer is up. We paddle all day into a headwind of 15-20 mph. But the current is so strong that we still make 24 miles without a lot of effort even for John O. and me in our wind-challenged craft. We see our 4th musk-ox. Since the rain began, we have set up a 3rd shelter for cooking using a rain fly and poles. In bear country, cooking and eating in the tent you sleep in is not a good idea.

Day 16
It rains all night and is cold in the morning. Sun appears at 11am and is present all day. Storm appears to be over. Two moose are spotted in the afternoon as we leave flat terrain and enter the Grand Canyon of the Noatak. We canoe 36 miles, our longest day and pass the halfway point on our 400-mile trip. We pass the Nimiuktuk River and camp near Tuk Mountain where we take a rest day.

Day 17
John O. and I spot 3 bears on the hillside near us while climbing Tuk Mountain. We circle around and above them and watch them for 20 minutes. They finally hear or smell us and scamper away quickly. This appears to be the normal pattern for bears that are unaccustomed to humans. The behavior of bears in less remote areas can be quite different. Views from the top are stupendous. The mountains to the north are covered with multicolored tundra like a patchwork quilt.

Day 18
Another grizzly is spotted across the river from camp in the morning. He swims over towards us to investigate but turns around in mid-stream when he sees us more clearly. He wants nothing to do with us. Our evening camp is covered with wolf tracks.

Day 19
We paddle 33 miles and camp at the entrance to Noatak Canyon. 125 miles still remaining. A red fox is seen during the day, along with 2 more grizzlies from camp. They were walking along the beach and made a big detour around our camp when they saw us. Bear count is now 8. We are seeing more cottonwood trees and saw our first spruce trees today. At times, the trees are tilted toward the river at a 45-degree angle since the flood waters from the storm have undercut the bank.

Day 20
Saw 6 Dall sheep on day hike during rest day.

Day 21 After Noatak Canyon and our 9th grizzly, the river valley opens up and the river begins to braid. The river is huge, sometimes as much as a mile wide. We worry about taking the wrong channel but it is easy to stay in the main current. We see 3 Inupiat motorboats looking for caribou. We will see more as we near Noatak Village. In our 1st 20 days on the river, we saw only 2 parties; a couple in an inflatable canoe and a family of 4 in a small raft. We are nearing civilization! But the weather is turning bad again.

Day 22
After rain all night, the sun shines all afternoon. Camp is in beautiful, mossy, dense, forest that makes it difficult to remember that we are above the Artic Circle.

Day 23
Camp just short of Noatak Village. I am out of cookies and chocolate. We see a number of huge white tundra swans.

Day 24
Visit Noatak Village, 65 miles from our finish at Kotzebue This is our 15th day of actual paddling. We buy some groceries at the village store that is well stocked but with high Alaska prices, since supplies arrive here by plane. People are extremely hospitable and friendly. Free coffee is provided at the community center where locals tell us that the main caribou herd is expected to cross the Noatak River in a couple of days. We are a little too early!

Day 25
22 miles. Rain.

Day 26
24 miles. We see seals in the river, more than 40 miles from the ocean. They curiously approach our boats. They typically stay away from motorboats since they are hunted for food by the Inupiat

Day 27
Climb Hugo Mountain (807 ft) just a few miles from the ocean. Not very high but fabulous views at the top in 4 directions, including Kotzebue located to our south across Hotham Inlet. In the afternoon, we paddle to Paul's Slough near the mouth of the Noatak. A month ago, we scheduled a boat pick-up at this spot for tomorrow.

Day 28, August 29
John O. and I practice our risk assessment skills. We observe the good weather, listen to the weather radio, and decide to paddle the remaining 13 miles to Kotzebue. The actual exposed crossing was about 3 miles but because of the perfect mirror like conditions, we took a more direct longer crossing. By 3 pm, our 400-mile Noatak paddle is history.

Summary
We were on the water for 19 days out of a total trip of 28 days. The miles per day ranged from 10 to 36 and averaged 21. We had to fight the wind only a few times and most of the time, the fast current more than compensated. We had at least some rain for 16 days. Wildlife exceeded our expectations. We saw 9 grizzlies, 2 wolves, 4 musk ox, 6 Dall sheep, 1 red fox, 1 wolverine, 2 moose, lots of caribou, tundra swans, arctic terns, golden eagles, and assorted birds.

Logistics
(1) Wilderness skills are essential for this trip. You must be completely self-sufficient. For 300 miles, there are no facilities and no people. The most important skill is that you have the ability to evaluate and assess risk. Minimal paddling skills are required except if you attempt to cross Hotham Inlet at the end, but you should have some experience in moving water paddling. Go with people you are compatible with.

(2) It is likely that you will see a lot of rain. European "tunnel tents" provide the best rain protection. The poles of these tents support the fly and the tent is suspended beneath which provides sufficient separation so that the inner tent never touches the fly. My Hilleberg Nallo 3 preformed very well. If using a standard American freestanding tent, it is wise to erect a tarp over the tent using your canoe, paddles, and ingenuity. In addition to taking good and tested equipment, be sure you are mentally prepared to deal with wet camping.

(3) The headwaters of the Noatak are reachable by bush plane from either Kotzebue or Bettles. Alaska Airlines flies to Kotzebue and Fairbanks and allows you to take two 70-pound bags each plus a carry-on. This was sufficient for us to transport our kayak and canoe along with all our food and gear without having to pay excess baggage charges. Be aware however, that all the airlines are in the process of reducing baggage weight limits from 70 pounds to 50 pounds for domestic flights. The 70-pound limit will probably continue for international flights. Local carriers provide regular service from Fairbanks to Bettles and from Noatak Village to Kotzebue but with a lower baggage limit. Our floatplane from Kotzebue to the put-in (12-Mile Slough) carried 2 people plus gear and had a payload of 750 pounds. The cost was $800 for a 4-hour roundtrip. If you float the entire river or even if you go as far as Noatak Village, you will find starting from Kotzebue to be less expensive than from Bettles.

(4) Fuel and food was available in Kotzebue and Noatak Village. But we brought all our food from home. We took about 2 pounds per day per person and used mostly dried foods, much of which we prepared ourselves with a food dehydrator. Some people take less food but usually wish they had brought more after a very long trip. Water is available everywhere in the Artic. Whether you treat it depends upon whether you accept the prevalent hysteria about giardia infesting every drop of fresh water on the planet.

(5) Concern about grizzly bears can range from carrying a gun to doing nothing. We had 4 cans of bear spray and took bells to wear around our necks. Bear spray cannot be carried on commercial airlines, but can be purchased in Kotzebue. Many authorities think that bear spray is more effective than a gun, unless you are quite skilled with the latter. The bells we used were 2 inches in diameter, weighed 2 oz., and were purchased at a feed store.

Most run-ins with grizzlies, according to Stephen Herrero (see references) fall into two categories: (a) sudden encounters and (b) food-related incidents. The most likely sudden encounter with a bear occurs if you are walking through brush or trees and surprise one, especially a mother with cubs. Wearing a bell while hiking will alert the bear to your presence and it will usually avoid you. But a bear bell will also make it less likely to see other wildlife. Most of the terrain we encountered above the Arctic Circle had no trees and was very open, so it was possible to use the bear bells selectively. As far as food problems are concerned, the bears along the Noatak have had minimal exposure to humans and have not learned to associate humans with food. Although this fact did not eliminate this danger, it did make it much less likely to have a food problem on the Noatak than in other areas.

It is useful to keep bear danger in prospective. Grizzlies and black bears kill an average of 3 people every year in North America and seriously injure another 10 or so. This is a very small number considering the millions of interactions between people and bears every year. One should avoid "bear mania".

(6) When hiking in the arctic, your feet will get wet. Knobby vegetated mounds called tussocks, crowd together in moist tundra. Walking on top of tussocks is like trying to walk across narrow tipsy footstools. Stepping or weaving around them through the boggy ground is just as arduous. Day hiking while carrying little weight is quite manageable. It is much harder with a heavy backpack. Cold feet are a real problem for an arctic excursion. Be sure you test out whatever foot gear you take. I used neoprene socks and water shoes and hiked with wet feet. Rubber knee boots keep your feet warm and dry and are great for camp, canoe, or raft but not well suited for hiking.

(7) We found the river to be Class 1+. About 60 miles from the start, right after Douglas Creek, we reached the 8-10 mile stretch that the guidebook called Class 2. This was before the big rainstorm and the river was relatively low. It was not difficult to avoid all hazards. Perhaps at very high or very low water levels, it is more difficult. The only other Class 2 mentioned in the guide was a small drop just before Noatak Canyon, about 260 miles into the trip. At the somewhat high water levels we had then, the drop was easily bypassed.

References
1. Handouts from the National Park Service in Kotzebue. Contact them at Western Arctic National Parklands, PO Box 1025, Kotzebue, Alaska 99752, 907-442-3890.

2. 'The Alaska River Guide', by Karen Jettmar, 1991

3. 'Bear Attacks, their Causes and Avoidance', by Stephen Herrero.

4. Lot of articles on the web. Search under "Noatak River".

5. www.Hilleberg.com, for information about the Hilleberg tents

6. www.soar1.com and www.feathercraft.com, for information about canoes and kayaks.

7. www.adventureplus.org, for a discussion of giardia, and for reports of other trips that I have done.