Gates of the Arctic National Park

July 14-16, 2025 Day 1

This was a combined trip with Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Kobuk Valley National Park. The flight in was between mountains of the Brooks range and the gorgeous turquoise Ambler River below. We landed on a sand bar along the river and camped next to the runway. After lunch, most of us in the group went for a hike up the river. We had to cross several smaller creeks that fed into the larger river. There were lots of moose tracks and some game trails along the bank. It started raining pretty hard, so I turned back while a couple others climbed a rocky outcropping. I was a soggy mess by the time I got back to camp. It cleared up enough for a campfire by late afternoon. After several former boy scouts tried unsuccessfully, our female guide got the fire lit so we could eat dinner around it.

Day 2

It rained all night and day. My boots were still wet from yesterday, so I decided to hang around camp and read my book. Most of the group headed the same direction as the day before. One other person stayed at camp and still got soaked while trying to create a footpath with rocks from our sand bar to the tree line. During breaks in the rain, I walked the rock strewn sand bars near camp. This river had the most incredible variety of beautiful rocks. There were granites, marble, all colors of schist and even some jade.

Day 3

I got up early and was on bear watch for several hours, to no avail. It would have been nice to see a bear or caribou on this trip, but it was fantastic anyway. The rain finally stopped and I walked the river looking at fascinating rocks again. We flew out of the mountains and saw two moose running. The rain had drenched the forest fires and created pools of water in the low points of the sand dunes at Kobuk Valley. Excellent three park trip with great guides, fellow travelers and bush pilot.