The Brooks Range -- 2 passes in 2 weeks

...  50 miles carrying a backpack that weighed 50 pounds.  Yes, I did it!

I will break up these posts into 4 parts with possibly a 5th on tundra plants and rocks.  This post will highlight the portion of the trip from Arctic Village to the top of Gilbeau Pass.  The next will cover the return from Gilbeau to Collins airstrip.  The third will describe the climb to Carter Pass, and the fourth, the descent down the North Slope to the Marsh Fork of the Canning River and the flight back to Arctic Village.

Although photos and words can approximate the physical details of the experience, the essence of it is far more difficult to convey.  The following poem by Wen Chao comes close to evoking the inner experience (even though there are no gibbons in the Brooks Range).

HEARING THE GIBBONS CALL 

IN PA GORGE

As I lean

On my oar, gazing

At the cloud-line, purity

Emerges, deep and lonely,

From the Gorge.

When the mind

Doesn't have anything

On it, there's no sorrow

Inherent in repeated calls.  They bear

The dew where every peak is distant, 

Dangle in space where a slice

Of Moon shines

Bright.

Whoever 

Hears it like this

Can finish a poem

By dawn.

In "The Clouds Should Know Me by Now" by Wen Chao; quoted in Daily Wisdom:  365 Buddhist Inspirations Edited by Josh Bartok. Wisdom Publications, 2003.

The trip was a very empowering experience -- I feel I could do ANYTHING now (well, maybe not run the Iditarod, but ...).

View of the Brooks Range from the airstrip at Arctic Village

Our plane -- a 6-seater Coyote Air Beaver expertly piloted by Dirk (in the red jacket) 

Flying out from Arctic Village

Over a drainage and approaching the mountains

The East Fork of the Chandalar River where we landed at Collins airstrip

 (named for a famous bush pilot)

As the plane leaves us on the tundra, one becomes aware of the true remoteness of this arctic wilderness

We hiked up a knob adjacent to the airstrip for lunch.  In the far distance we glimpsed the headwaters of the Sheenjek River 

Our first campsite on the banks of the East Fork of the Chandalar

This view of the river is similar to many of the "drainages" we followed over the two weeks

Much of the trip also crossed soft and hard tundra

The weather was always an important factor.  We experienced rain, biting wind, lateral sleet, hail,  snow, fog (or low clouds), and a very few sunny but not very warm days -- but we did not have mosquitoes to contend with.  My sleeping bag (Ann's) is rated to 20 degrees F. but I had to sleep with long underwear + fleece pants, a heavy fleece jacket as well as a light down jacket to keep warm.  I also used toe warmers between two pair of socks on all but one night.

The mountains of the Brooks Range are austere.  Where there was vegetation, it was rapidly donning rich fall colors over the two weeks we were there.

Typical terrain of a "drainage"

We crossed a large number of rivers/creeks/streams -- many of which were fast running with very slippery rocks.  In places it was difficult to find places where the water was no higher than our knees.  As this drainage became narrower and narrower the water rushed faster and became deeper.  

We then were driven to climb to the tundra above.  Some of these climbs were very steep -- perfectly manageable on an ordinary hike but challenging with a 50 lb. pack.

For example... this was not at all exceptional.

Another magical campsite...

It is difficult to provide perspective on the landscapes -- note the figure in the the river bed.

... and again, the figure just at the base of the mountain.

The group at the top of Gilbeau Pass -- this was an extraordinarily beautiful day

The lake just below the pass (unnamed as are many features in this wilderness) conveys some sense of the serenity ...

This is a view of the valley on the other side of the pass.  It stretches down the North Slope where the unnamed river eventually joins the Hulahula River.

Although I could write a lot about the trip, I am hoping the photos better convey the grandeur and exceptional nature of this wilderness -- it is unique and humbling.