Kobuk Valley National Park

July 12-14, 2025 Day 1

This was a combined trip with Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Gates of the Arctic National Park. We flew to the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes area of the park and camped on the dunes next to a creek. The sand was formed by glaciers and is slowly shrinking as the spruce forest claims the land. It was interesting to see strips of ancient volcanic rock in the sand, but it is crumbling and will be gone soon. Everything about this area gave an impression of OLD. I went for an afternoon walk by myself and found wolf tracks and scat with caribou bones nearby. The wind picked up in the evening intensifying the numerous forest fires that were on two sides of us. It was blowing the smoke away from us luckily.

Day 2

Having 24 hours of daylight really messes with your sense of direction as the sun kind of circles the horizon. It would dip slightly below the mountains for a short period of time only causing twilight without real darkness. Today was a longer hike to another creek on the other side of the dunes. Up one sand dune, down the other side and up the next one, repeat a few more times. We survived without being attacked by giant worms. We found numerous bones including a skull and jaw of a porcupine. On the way back, I was crossing a stretch of sand used as a runway by the bush pilots when I looked up and the airplane was coming straight for me. I had plenty of time to trot across the sand but it was still kind of strange being in the path of a landing plane. Several fire fighting airplanes had gone overhead heading to the fires. The creek back at camp was accessible down a steep dune for a cold quick bath.

Day 3

A morning moose greeted us bright and early. The cow moose walked out of the forest and was starting across the sand when she spotted our camp, stopped, stared and then ran back into the trees. The wind shifted the other way and brought us plenty of smoke for breakfast. After we left, it rained heavily putting the fires out and soaking the dunes. It was interesting to fly over the active fires on our way to Gates of the Arctic and then the same blackened wet areas on the way back to Kotzebue.