Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Day 11: July 15th
Morning is clear and the mosquitoes are happy. Our group is up at 7:30am to get ready for Dirk’s arrival. Mark sees five caribou: three females and two young. Getting out of my tent I see 23 more coming over the sand dunes and heading towards the lake. The 23 turn into at least a thousand. Hallelujah! At last we’ve seen one of the large animals the region is famous for.
Richard and Mark are amazed that two thirds of the herd are males, with tall antlers. Some have three and four points at the very top of their racks. Back and forth from the tundra to wading into the water they come to eat and escape the mosquitoes. When the adults leave there are always some yearlings not paying attention who cry and run to catch up with the herd.
Dirk is two and half hours late, but no one is upset, because we were able to observe one of the great wonders of nature. My last day in the wilderness and I finally get to see caribou. The awe I feel and the desire to protect this area is strong.
Dirk flies off with the first three members of our group. He’s returning in four hours to get Richard, Toni and I. We’ll be dropped off in Wiseman, an old gold mining camp in the Brooks Range- population 14. We will be staying at a B& B owned by Clutch and Lorna. Clutch is the curator of the Wiseman Mining Museum.
As I write this I can hear caribou snorting and splashing in the lake. I climb out of my tent and into the mosquitoes for another look at this impressive herd. I am very thankful for this day. Caribou sound like a white water rapid as the charge through the lake.
To see the beauty of a natural area,
To smell the sweet clean scent of flowers,
To feel the cool clean air in my lungs,
To hear the splash of water and the song of a bird,
With soft sand beneath my feet is to be alive, complete, and comfortable in a truly real environment.
Our souls live on earth.
In areas of beauty and especially wilderness it soars.
The wilderness is a breath of pleasure for the soul.
We need to preserve places like the North Slope of Alaska to keep our hearts and souls feeling safe. Not only for future generations of humans but for all the wildlife, vegetation, clean air and water. To destroy this setting for the purpose of oil speculation and on the eve of the adoption of better renewable energy sources is morally wrong and unwise. When I look at this vast landscape, I think a better name would be the Alaska Natural Preserve. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve have to be protected from exploitation. I speak for the caribou and forget-me-nots now and in the future.
Morning is clear and the mosquitoes are happy. Our group is up at 7:30am to get ready for Dirk’s arrival. Mark sees five caribou: three females and two young. Getting out of my tent I see 23 more coming over the sand dunes and heading towards the lake. The 23 turn into at least a thousand. Hallelujah! At last we’ve seen one of the large animals the region is famous for.
Richard and Mark are amazed that two thirds of the herd are males, with tall antlers. Some have three and four points at the very top of their racks. Back and forth from the tundra to wading into the water they come to eat and escape the mosquitoes. When the adults leave there are always some yearlings not paying attention who cry and run to catch up with the herd.
Dirk is two and half hours late, but no one is upset, because we were able to observe one of the great wonders of nature. My last day in the wilderness and I finally get to see caribou. The awe I feel and the desire to protect this area is strong.
Dirk flies off with the first three members of our group. He’s returning in four hours to get Richard, Toni and I. We’ll be dropped off in Wiseman, an old gold mining camp in the Brooks Range- population 14. We will be staying at a B& B owned by Clutch and Lorna. Clutch is the curator of the Wiseman Mining Museum.
As I write this I can hear caribou snorting and splashing in the lake. I climb out of my tent and into the mosquitoes for another look at this impressive herd. I am very thankful for this day. Caribou sound like a white water rapid as the charge through the lake.
To see the beauty of a natural area,
To smell the sweet clean scent of flowers,
To feel the cool clean air in my lungs,
To hear the splash of water and the song of a bird,
With soft sand beneath my feet is to be alive, complete, and comfortable in a truly real environment.
Our souls live on earth.
In areas of beauty and especially wilderness it soars.
The wilderness is a breath of pleasure for the soul.
We need to preserve places like the North Slope of Alaska to keep our hearts and souls feeling safe. Not only for future generations of humans but for all the wildlife, vegetation, clean air and water. To destroy this setting for the purpose of oil speculation and on the eve of the adoption of better renewable energy sources is morally wrong and unwise. When I look at this vast landscape, I think a better name would be the Alaska Natural Preserve. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the National Petroleum Reserve have to be protected from exploitation. I speak for the caribou and forget-me-nots now and in the future.
Day 10: July 14th
It is a foggy morning with many mosquitoes. We break camp and canoe into Teshekpuk Lake. Our group is moving closer to the shore area where Dirk will land. We see three figures on the shore, it’s the young researchers. They had walked three and a half hours to visit. Steffen has bad news to report the King Eider we saw had been eaten by a fox. They could tell by the tracks. Only five of the forty nests he had identified are still viable, which means it had been a very hard year for the King Eiders.
I found out that both Sumy and I were trying to get pictures of the sun going to the east in the morning. I ask if it is foggy most mornings and they say yes. It usually clears by 10am. After a good visit they head back to their camp by way of Wyoming Creek.
Mark uses his GPS to get the positions the pilot had given us. We take our canoes to that area of the beach. The Ally Pack canoes have to be taken apart, cleaned and dried. By the time packing is completed it is supper time.
Mark, Alena and Charles are going out on the first flight tomorrow. Dirk is to be here at 10am.
It is a foggy morning with many mosquitoes. We break camp and canoe into Teshekpuk Lake. Our group is moving closer to the shore area where Dirk will land. We see three figures on the shore, it’s the young researchers. They had walked three and a half hours to visit. Steffen has bad news to report the King Eider we saw had been eaten by a fox. They could tell by the tracks. Only five of the forty nests he had identified are still viable, which means it had been a very hard year for the King Eiders.
I found out that both Sumy and I were trying to get pictures of the sun going to the east in the morning. I ask if it is foggy most mornings and they say yes. It usually clears by 10am. After a good visit they head back to their camp by way of Wyoming Creek.
Mark uses his GPS to get the positions the pilot had given us. We take our canoes to that area of the beach. The Ally Pack canoes have to be taken apart, cleaned and dried. By the time packing is completed it is supper time.
Mark, Alena and Charles are going out on the first flight tomorrow. Dirk is to be here at 10am.
Day 9: July 13th
Today starts out clear and cold. After breakfast we head east for Wyoming Creek. But first we have to take the canoes across Kealok Creek. There is a hard wind coming out of the north so we have to hike through blowing sand that is close to where the plane will land. Finally after crossing through tussock grass we come to a rough area of beach with waves crashing to shore. There are many flowers here: coltsfoot, roundleaf willow, bell heather, low-bush cranberry, and northern goldenrod.
After another mile we come to Wyoming Creek which splits into three separate branches before going into Teshekpuk Lake.
Following lunch I walk farther east, where a little chick pops out of the grass and runs in fronts of me. I give the cute baby a break and move off the caribou trail only to see a large flock of geese, perhaps 30 or 40, across the creek. I think they are Pacific brant although I can’t see them well enough to tell for sure. Walking back towards camp, I see rocks along the shore that I had not noticed in the tundra. Wish I knew more about the geology of Alaska
Today starts out clear and cold. After breakfast we head east for Wyoming Creek. But first we have to take the canoes across Kealok Creek. There is a hard wind coming out of the north so we have to hike through blowing sand that is close to where the plane will land. Finally after crossing through tussock grass we come to a rough area of beach with waves crashing to shore. There are many flowers here: coltsfoot, roundleaf willow, bell heather, low-bush cranberry, and northern goldenrod.
After another mile we come to Wyoming Creek which splits into three separate branches before going into Teshekpuk Lake.
Following lunch I walk farther east, where a little chick pops out of the grass and runs in fronts of me. I give the cute baby a break and move off the caribou trail only to see a large flock of geese, perhaps 30 or 40, across the creek. I think they are Pacific brant although I can’t see them well enough to tell for sure. Walking back towards camp, I see rocks along the shore that I had not noticed in the tundra. Wish I knew more about the geology of Alaska
Day 8: July 12th
It’s another foggy cold morning. Breakfast is hot oatmeal, dried fruit, and hot cocoa.
We are to hike the western shores again, taking with us two thermoses with hot water for soup, bagged salmon and crackers. Our group always has candy for snacks. We may be a group of tree huggers, but we’re not health nuts too.
The group finds a small duck on the opposite side of the lake. Toni and Alena think it is dead then they see a little head movement. Alena touches it with her foot and it does not move. The others come over to look at the ‘sick duck.’ However with this the duck has had enough and gets up and waddles off to the lake. Where have these irritating giants come from? The duck had probably just finished molting so wasn’t able to fly away. I join the group to have lunch. This part of the shore line has the most flowers we have seen by the lake: purple plumes, dryas, squirreltail grass, arctic daisy, labador tea, and rockcressToni, Alena, and Charles keep going west and Richard and Mark go south. I decide to settle down in a nice slopping soft grassy area out of the wind filled with flowers. The crisp cool air feels so clean it is as if I could breathe it in all the way down to my toes.
I get some good pictures of a red throated loon close to camp. I watch it swim and fly around and land back in the small lake.
It’s another foggy cold morning. Breakfast is hot oatmeal, dried fruit, and hot cocoa.
We are to hike the western shores again, taking with us two thermoses with hot water for soup, bagged salmon and crackers. Our group always has candy for snacks. We may be a group of tree huggers, but we’re not health nuts too.
The group finds a small duck on the opposite side of the lake. Toni and Alena think it is dead then they see a little head movement. Alena touches it with her foot and it does not move. The others come over to look at the ‘sick duck.’ However with this the duck has had enough and gets up and waddles off to the lake. Where have these irritating giants come from? The duck had probably just finished molting so wasn’t able to fly away. I join the group to have lunch. This part of the shore line has the most flowers we have seen by the lake: purple plumes, dryas, squirreltail grass, arctic daisy, labador tea, and rockcressToni, Alena, and Charles keep going west and Richard and Mark go south. I decide to settle down in a nice slopping soft grassy area out of the wind filled with flowers. The crisp cool air feels so clean it is as if I could breathe it in all the way down to my toes.
I get some good pictures of a red throated loon close to camp. I watch it swim and fly around and land back in the small lake.
Day 7: July 11th
The day starts out misty with wind which only increases as the sky clears. Using our GPS and compass we set off to hike to where Dirk will pick us up five days from now, a flat sandy area not too far from the shore with good sand for the small plane to land.
Back at camp, everyone pitches in to help reposition my tent which is being broadsided by the wind and is close to becoming a kite. The wind is strong and cold which equals no mosquitoes. The caribou know what they are doing to head north to the coast.
I see a large seagull go after a small ground squirrel. The squirrel gets to its hole before it becomes a snack. The gull smacks his beak but only gets air. All over the ground you see caribou tracks. We missed them by two weeks according to Steffen
The day starts out misty with wind which only increases as the sky clears. Using our GPS and compass we set off to hike to where Dirk will pick us up five days from now, a flat sandy area not too far from the shore with good sand for the small plane to land.
Back at camp, everyone pitches in to help reposition my tent which is being broadsided by the wind and is close to becoming a kite. The wind is strong and cold which equals no mosquitoes. The caribou know what they are doing to head north to the coast.
I see a large seagull go after a small ground squirrel. The squirrel gets to its hole before it becomes a snack. The gull smacks his beak but only gets air. All over the ground you see caribou tracks. We missed them by two weeks according to Steffen
Day 6: July 10th
Today is the day for hiking west of Kealok Creek. The tundra contains many lakes, some large enough to take hours to walk around. Teshekpuk Lake is about 30 miles long and 20 miles wide, and surrounded by even more lakes. Not far from camp, we find a collapsed building with mattresses, oil drums, batteries, a camp stove, skillets, and a variety of cans. All are rusty including an Arctic cat dated 1973. It makes you think, that whoever was responsible for this site was ready to spend the money to bring it all here but not to remove it. What chance does the earth have if this way of doing things is not stopped? One of the reasons I am writing this account of my visit to Alaska is my wish to highlight the need to realize that we are all guardians of this special wilderness.
On to the beautiful things of the north slope, by one of the lakes we come to an arctic tern’s nest filled with one small speckled brown and tan egg. She lets us know to move on by gliding and flying over our heads. More new flowers and these are a purplish white valerian and a yellow groundsel. I find a puffball similar to ones in Missouri, but I am too far from home to try this mushroom. We saw some scoters from a distance, as well as two greater white-fronted geese with eight goslings following in a parade on the opposite bank.
Our group splits up. Toni, Alena, and Mark keep going along the lake. Richard goes back toward Kealok Creek. Charles and I head for Teshekpuk Lake where we see a pair of sandpipers guarding their nest. A climb up a sand dune gives a great view of the lake and its southern beaches. It’s too wide to see across and too long to see either end. An arctic ground squirrel starts barking at us from his hill. Farther west down the beach, we see a white spot which turns out to be a tundra swan with three young. She flies when we are 200 yards away and the grayish black signets head for the water, too young to fly.
The group meets at camp for lunch. The wind is increasing and bringing with it much colder air. I am writing this in my little solo tent that is barely managing to stay upright. I venture out for supper to see that the wind has played with the clouds which are streaked in long deep furrows. The waves on Lake Teshekpuk seem to be reflected in the sky.
The arctic sun plays the best game with the land, making an oval from east to west, and at this time of the year neither raising nor setting
Today is the day for hiking west of Kealok Creek. The tundra contains many lakes, some large enough to take hours to walk around. Teshekpuk Lake is about 30 miles long and 20 miles wide, and surrounded by even more lakes. Not far from camp, we find a collapsed building with mattresses, oil drums, batteries, a camp stove, skillets, and a variety of cans. All are rusty including an Arctic cat dated 1973. It makes you think, that whoever was responsible for this site was ready to spend the money to bring it all here but not to remove it. What chance does the earth have if this way of doing things is not stopped? One of the reasons I am writing this account of my visit to Alaska is my wish to highlight the need to realize that we are all guardians of this special wilderness.
On to the beautiful things of the north slope, by one of the lakes we come to an arctic tern’s nest filled with one small speckled brown and tan egg. She lets us know to move on by gliding and flying over our heads. More new flowers and these are a purplish white valerian and a yellow groundsel. I find a puffball similar to ones in Missouri, but I am too far from home to try this mushroom. We saw some scoters from a distance, as well as two greater white-fronted geese with eight goslings following in a parade on the opposite bank.
Our group splits up. Toni, Alena, and Mark keep going along the lake. Richard goes back toward Kealok Creek. Charles and I head for Teshekpuk Lake where we see a pair of sandpipers guarding their nest. A climb up a sand dune gives a great view of the lake and its southern beaches. It’s too wide to see across and too long to see either end. An arctic ground squirrel starts barking at us from his hill. Farther west down the beach, we see a white spot which turns out to be a tundra swan with three young. She flies when we are 200 yards away and the grayish black signets head for the water, too young to fly.
The group meets at camp for lunch. The wind is increasing and bringing with it much colder air. I am writing this in my little solo tent that is barely managing to stay upright. I venture out for supper to see that the wind has played with the clouds which are streaked in long deep furrows. The waves on Lake Teshekpuk seem to be reflected in the sky.
The arctic sun plays the best game with the land, making an oval from east to west, and at this time of the year neither raising nor setting
Day 5: July 9th
We have the best weather today with a cooler, slight breeze, and a few mosquitoes for the third day of paddling.
Charles and I paddle out first and see a long-tailed duck.
At one point the group stops for some bird watching and to look at the landscape. I find grizzly tracks nest to caribou tracks in the sand.
Our next stop of the day is for lunch. Richard decides to fish and his first cast catches a 16 inch grayling. Alena catches two more on two more casts. One more cast and I have the fourth fish for lunch. You definitely will not go hungry in the summer in Alaska, but I know from reading that the Inuit have difficult hungry winters depending on the migrating caribou. We continually see tracks but so far no caribou. Steffen said they are farther north due to the high temperature and the plague of mosquitoes. Not surprisingly many grizzlies follow the herds north.
The horizon seems to be lowering with every turn of the creek. We finally break free of land and the Kealok and arrive at Teshekpuk Lake where we see ice. Due to a north wind, the remaining ice has pushed to the south shore. We wade out into the icy water. The larger pieces are formed by crystal clear blades clumped together. Alena is agile enough to scramble up and walk on a floating ice block. Pictures taken and feet chilled, we walk back to the shore.
On our way to Wyoming Creek to camp, we see several sandhill cranes. They fly off ahead of us. After a mile of paddling east, we realize that it is impossible to get the canoes close to shore, and that it would be too hard to wade all our supplies in, so it’s back to Kealok Creek.
We have the best weather today with a cooler, slight breeze, and a few mosquitoes for the third day of paddling.
Charles and I paddle out first and see a long-tailed duck.
At one point the group stops for some bird watching and to look at the landscape. I find grizzly tracks nest to caribou tracks in the sand.
Our next stop of the day is for lunch. Richard decides to fish and his first cast catches a 16 inch grayling. Alena catches two more on two more casts. One more cast and I have the fourth fish for lunch. You definitely will not go hungry in the summer in Alaska, but I know from reading that the Inuit have difficult hungry winters depending on the migrating caribou. We continually see tracks but so far no caribou. Steffen said they are farther north due to the high temperature and the plague of mosquitoes. Not surprisingly many grizzlies follow the herds north.
The horizon seems to be lowering with every turn of the creek. We finally break free of land and the Kealok and arrive at Teshekpuk Lake where we see ice. Due to a north wind, the remaining ice has pushed to the south shore. We wade out into the icy water. The larger pieces are formed by crystal clear blades clumped together. Alena is agile enough to scramble up and walk on a floating ice block. Pictures taken and feet chilled, we walk back to the shore.
On our way to Wyoming Creek to camp, we see several sandhill cranes. They fly off ahead of us. After a mile of paddling east, we realize that it is impossible to get the canoes close to shore, and that it would be too hard to wade all our supplies in, so it’s back to Kealok Creek.
Day 4: July 8thWe are back in the canoes and, thankfully, we are getting better at reading the water and are not getting caught on sandbars.
This morning we have a surprise. Two researchers from the University of Alaska came over to visit. One has been working here for a number of summers and we were an even bigger surprise to him. He had seen our tents that morning and walked several miles to satisfy his curiosity. In fact, I had seen him walking at a distance the day before. Some of the group thought it must be a bear. I said only if bears wear backpacks. Now we know the ‘bear’ is a graduate student from Germany. Steffen is studying the King Elder. The other researcher, Sumy, is an undergraduate from Japan. Steffen said there were 40 nesting King Elders in his study area. Only 20% to 30% make it to adulthood mainly due to predation. Their only defense is staying still on the nest. Steffen joins us three miles down the river and show us a nest. We would have never seen it without him. I wonder what else we have not seen in the tundra.
Elizabeth, from the States, an undergraduate from the University of Alaska, is also there. It is great meeting such caring young people from different parts of the world, and it confirms that others understand and want to protect the Alaskan wilderness too. Back to the canoe on the Kealok, we battle through clouds of mosquitoes, praying for wind to blow them away. When a strong wind finally comes around 5 P.M., the mosquitoes disappear but the paddling is not easy.
We set up camp in a field of flowers and add new names to our discovery list: forget-me-nots, white paintbrush, and fireweed. Toni and Richard go for a walk and spot the first willow ptarmigan of our trip. Charles and I catch sight of an interesting looking fish but it was swimming too fast to identify
Day 3: July 7th
Today is our first day of paddling. Rivers and creeks in Alaska play with the land – back and forth. The water continually turns and forks, so finding the deep water is a challenge when canoeing, but when you do, it is a sweet victory. So far the creek has a sandy bottom, but there are times when you feel you are pulling the canoe through quicksand. By the end of the day we are reading the water much better and not having to exert so much energy. The creek is like a snake, so although we have traveled ten water miles, we’ve actually only progressed five land miles.
New animals on our second day include: sanderlings, arctic terns, and a tundra swan. I found two broken eggs: one a medium sized and pale green loon egg, the other a small cream speckled sandpiper egg. The flowers which are cream and pink Indian paintbrush, arnica, gentia and harebells form a colorful landscape.
Our campsite for the night is on a little bank up from the creek with large lakes in the background. There are more birds here and it’s good to listen to all their calls and songs. It is warmer today, 78F, but with a cooler and stronger breeze which feels nice and keeps the mosquitoes away.
I forgot to tell you that because we’re near the Arctic Circle, it is always light, so there’s no sleeping in the dark or even in the dusk.
Today is our first day of paddling. Rivers and creeks in Alaska play with the land – back and forth. The water continually turns and forks, so finding the deep water is a challenge when canoeing, but when you do, it is a sweet victory. So far the creek has a sandy bottom, but there are times when you feel you are pulling the canoe through quicksand. By the end of the day we are reading the water much better and not having to exert so much energy. The creek is like a snake, so although we have traveled ten water miles, we’ve actually only progressed five land miles.
New animals on our second day include: sanderlings, arctic terns, and a tundra swan. I found two broken eggs: one a medium sized and pale green loon egg, the other a small cream speckled sandpiper egg. The flowers which are cream and pink Indian paintbrush, arnica, gentia and harebells form a colorful landscape.
Our campsite for the night is on a little bank up from the creek with large lakes in the background. There are more birds here and it’s good to listen to all their calls and songs. It is warmer today, 78F, but with a cooler and stronger breeze which feels nice and keeps the mosquitoes away.
I forgot to tell you that because we’re near the Arctic Circle, it is always light, so there’s no sleeping in the dark or even in the dusk.
Alaskan Wilderness
Day 2: July 6th
The morning is foggy and a little rainy as we set about assembling the Ally Pack canoes. It takes the whole team to do this. The canoes consist of a waterproof fabric stretched tightly around a metal pole frame, and there’s no room for mistakes as they each need to carry supplies for ten days and a two person crew. When our three canoes are successfully assembled, the team hikes to one of the taller ridges. Looking out across the tundra you can see for miles. It is very hard to adequately describe the vastness of a land with no standing trees. But it is a land brimming full of life, and you only have to look at your feet to see a vast variety of different plants: arctic poppies, lupine, campion, willows, sandwort, cottongrass, louseworts, buckwheat, wintergreen, heather, dryas, and several varieties of saxifrages, and even more. The animals we encountered by our first camp included a ground squirrel, swans, plovers, dowitcher, gulls, jaegers, loons, longspur, and mosquitoes, plenty of mosquitoes. We watch a ground squirrel gather plant material in her mouth and take it back to her den. Tracks of caribou are everywhere.
Day 2: July 6th
The morning is foggy and a little rainy as we set about assembling the Ally Pack canoes. It takes the whole team to do this. The canoes consist of a waterproof fabric stretched tightly around a metal pole frame, and there’s no room for mistakes as they each need to carry supplies for ten days and a two person crew. When our three canoes are successfully assembled, the team hikes to one of the taller ridges. Looking out across the tundra you can see for miles. It is very hard to adequately describe the vastness of a land with no standing trees. But it is a land brimming full of life, and you only have to look at your feet to see a vast variety of different plants: arctic poppies, lupine, campion, willows, sandwort, cottongrass, louseworts, buckwheat, wintergreen, heather, dryas, and several varieties of saxifrages, and even more. The animals we encountered by our first camp included a ground squirrel, swans, plovers, dowitcher, gulls, jaegers, loons, longspur, and mosquitoes, plenty of mosquitoes. We watch a ground squirrel gather plant material in her mouth and take it back to her den. Tracks of caribou are everywhere.
Alaska
Day 1: July 5th On our first day we flew from Fairbanks to Coldfoot. A bush pilot in Coldfoot brought us to Kealok Creek. We flew through the Brooks Range, skimming over rugged peaks that even in July still held winter snow. I have never seen such an extensive grouping of treeless mountain tops some with high glaciers. Half our group already had their tents up when the pilot, Dirk, artfully landed the remaining three of us right next to them
Day 1: July 5th On our first day we flew from Fairbanks to Coldfoot. A bush pilot in Coldfoot brought us to Kealok Creek. We flew through the Brooks Range, skimming over rugged peaks that even in July still held winter snow. I have never seen such an extensive grouping of treeless mountain tops some with high glaciers. Half our group already had their tents up when the pilot, Dirk, artfully landed the remaining three of us right next to them
June Stevens was a member of our group of six that made the trip from Kealok Creek to Teshepuk Lake. June is kind enough to share her diary of the trip.
Why does the Alaskan wilderness need to be free of development? Where else in the USA are there thousands of miles without roads, fences, signs and the debris of human habitation? Land that is still open for all living things. When I was offered a chance to see Alaska’s irreplaceable national treasure I jumped at the chance to join friends in a trip to the North Slope of Alaska, our nation’s only arctic ecosystem. Our group leaders are Richard, Toni, and their daughter Alena. They have canoed the Arctic Nation Wildlife Refuge five times before this trip in the National Petroleum Reserve. Mark, Charles, and I complete the group of six.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Summary: This trip was beautiful in a different way than other parts of Alaska because of the diversity of birds and wildflowers we saw in this area. The Alaskan poppies and the tundra swans were my personal favorites. The contour of the land was different than that of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; it was much more flat and wide than the mountains that surrounded us on the trips to A.N.W.R. The weather was absolutely beautiful, it sprinkled one morning and the rest of the days were blue skies and 50-70’s. It was windy throughout the middle part of the trip, which of course was great considering the effect it had on the mosquitoes. It was never too windy to paddle except one afternoon. We thought we would see more wildlife, but the wildflowers and birds made up for the lack of wildlife. Of course we saw about a 1000 caribou that crossed very close to our campsite, which was a treat. This area that we vacationed on was spectacular and beautiful; it was unlike anything else I have ever visited. 
July 17: This morning we at biscuits and gravy, sausage, and potatoes which were delicious. Then we went for a four hour hike up the Nolan Mountain. For at least two mile we went directly vertical, scaling the mountain side. It was grueling and I was sweating like none other. It was really humid, with misty rain and hot, plus the mosquitoes were being pesky. But it was a beautiful mountain and when we got close to the top we saw a gorgeous view of the valley in which Wiseman lies and we could also see the pipeline that runs along the town. 
July 16: This morning we ate breakfast in Clutch’s cabin –eggs and pancakes! Mom, Dad, Mark and Charles went back to Coldfoot to pack up the rest of the stuff to ship back to St. Louis. So it was just June and I for a couple of hours. To fill up our time we walked around the town for awhile, went to Eightball’s store and checked out his collection of antiques. We then went to Jack’s place and rode his bikes around the town, which was fun. June and I then made a beautiful necklace out of native beads at Jack’s store. Then in the afternoon, Clutch took all six of us out to Union Creek and we mined for gold. When we got back we panned it and only found 5 tiny pieces of gold, not even worth five cents. But it was a good and fun experience.
July 15: We had company for breakfast, about 1000 caribou. There is a herd of caribou that lives around the lake, called the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd. We watched them and they watched us as we packed up the rest of our stuff getting ready for our return flight. There were babies, males, and females in the herd, with a large percentage of males. The males are impressive with their large racks. The babies looked adorable as they wobbled around looking for their mothers and checking us out. The herd seemed to be constantly on the move. The mosquitoes were bothering us and the caribou. For a long time the caribou stood in the lake, we assumed to get away from the mosquitoes.Dirk was later than we had expected, which was fine. Mark, Charles and I were on the first flight out. We got into Coldfoot and had a friend of ours named, Clutch, pick us up and drive us to his Bed n’ Breakfast in Wiseman. The town is best known for its Gold mining operations. Clutch cooked hamburgers which were delicious considering the fact that we hadn’t eaten anything relatively fresh for the last week and a half. So the burgers were a treat. He also took us for a drive in his 1943 World War Two Jeep, which still ran.
July 14: More oatmeal for breakfast around 11am. We decided since the wind had died down and there was less blowing sand, we would go to landing strip along the lake. We packed up the canoes and checked to make sure we didn’t leave anything on the tundra. Then as we approached the spot we saw the people that we had seen earlier from the University of Fairbanks, Alaska. We talked with them about our trip and all the birds we had spotted. Then it was time to take the boats down, which was a tedious process. We had to clean all the sand out of the poles and the skin of the boat. But after that we ate dinner and talked, laughed, and took a group picture was which was a lot of fun. Since the sun was in the west we had to face it and the wind was to our backs and so the mosquitoes started to attack us again all the while trying to pose for the group picture.
July 13: Today we ate breakfast and went for another hike. We went to the other side of the creek past our landing strip and onto Wyoming creek. We thought we might see more wildlife and ended up being disappointed for there wasn’t much of anything as we hiked along the lake. What we saw in numerous numbers were the wildflowers such as Lousewort’s, pink bistort, and Alaskan poppies. We saw a few birds. We ate a picnic lunch at Wyoming Creek, which was beautiful. When we came back to our campsite, my mom and I played cards inside my tent. After dinner, Mom and I took a hike along the creek and took pictures of willow ptarmigan. We also took a closer look at the Red Throated Loons. The evening light was beautiful, warm and glowing.
July 12: Another windy morning. I had sand in my oatmeal, yuck! We debated which is worse: mosquitoes or blowing sand. We took a hike along the coastline to see if we could spot any geese. As we were hiking we played upon the soft and cushiony tundra and spotted many types of birds. We even saw a duck that was molting and it looked sick, but later it got up and waddles off into the lake. We saw many Arctic terns that dove up and down along the air currents; they look like little acrobats. We ate lunch in a ditch so as to get out of the feisty wind. We had crackers with salmon and dried fruit. Then the others decided to hike back to camp while Charles and I decided to go a little bit farther or so we thought. We ended up walking three extra miles along the beautiful lake and spotted some sand hill cranes.Charles got a good video of them feeding off the tundra. As we started our journey back, Charles and I felt as though we might not make it since we had gone so far away from our camp and now we had to make up all those miles. Eventually we made it back to camp and took a rest in our tents before dinner. As we calculated the distance we had gone we figured about 8-9 miles round trip, which out on the tundra is a very far and grueling distance
July 11: We ate breakfast (consisting of oat meal and granola, dried fruit, and water) as usual. Dirk had given us GPS coordinates of where he would pick us up for our return. We decided to go and check out the area where Dirk was going to pick us up; to see if that spot was going to be accessible from the lake or from the creek. So we got out Mark’s GPS and read the coordinates and found the landing strip which was in between the lake and sand dunes. It was a very windy day and sand kept blowing into my eyes, not fun or pleasant, but at least we found the landing strip. As we thought about it we came to the conclusion that we might want to look for an alternative spot, but later decided on staying with the original coordinates. In the afternoon we took a hike along the upper part of the creek and saw some more Pacific loons, plovers, terns, geese. This area is a bird paradise, lots of lakes and lots of food (mosquitoes) and no people to bother the birds. 
July 10: Today, I slept in until 11 in the morning since we didn’t have to paddle anywhere. We ate breakfast and decided to take a long hike around our new surrounding of Teshekpuk Lake. As we walked along the tundra, we passed several lakes that were inhabited by many different species of birds. We saw many Pacific loons which were black with white stripes. And we also saw many beautiful tundra swans. As we were walking we saw a baby bird scurrying across the tundra trying to get to its mom for protection from us giants, very cute might I add.At the top of the ridge from our camp, was a broken down cabin that looked very old and had lots of miscellaneous things surrounding it. There was stuff from mittens to pots and stoves. We had several predications of whom and why the people that lived there, how the cabin used and the kinds of things that they might have been researching up around this area. June and Charles checked out some of the garbage that had been left by previous people at the top of the hill. They found an old worn out ski-du. It turned out to be a beautiful and sunny day with a slight breeze making for fewer mosquitoes. Later on we ate dinner and talked about lots of random subjects, enjoying the landscape and weather. Dinner was pasta, with cookies for dessert.
July 9: This morning I got up excited because today was going to be the day when we get to Teshekpuk Lake and there would be hopefully some new and exciting things to see. So we packed up and started paddling. We went for a few miles and then decided to catch some fish for lunch. We stopped and got out our reel and fishing net and quickly caught five fish to cook up for lunch. We caught a fish on every cast, boy were the fish hungry and inexperienced with fishermen. We caught Grayling and they tasted delicious when caught and cooked fresh.It was a lot of fun because of how easily we caught the fish. After lunch, we headed out onto the creek again and soon were at Teshekpuk Lake. We took a break and played out on the ice, took pictures and soaked in the beauty of the land. At the edge of the lake there were chunks of ice. The lake water was warm and there was mist rising from the ice. We explored the ice. At the confluence of the creek and lake, it was all sand and no vegetation. The camping did not look inviting. So, we decided we would try and go about a mile and a half to another creek to look for a good camping spot. When we got there it was horrible terrain, all uneven and hard, so we went all the way back to Kealok creek, paddle up the creek a short distance and camped up on the tundra. This was a long day and we didn’t end up eating dinner til 11 pm. Of course, it was still light. The continuous daylight gives us freedom. There is no need to finish dinner or set up tents before dark.
July 8: This morning there were light rain showers and tons of mosquitoes. We had guests, two people came from the University of Alaska of Fairbanks (not FWS), and they lived in the tents we saw. They were studying specifically the King Eider and its nesting spots. We chatted with them for a while about the birds of this area. The man, Stefan, asked us what we were doing here; he had not seen any “tourists” in his four years in the area. They told us that they would wait about three miles down the river and we would meet up with them there, so that they could show us the Eider’s nest. We ate breakfast and got started down the river, eager to see the King Eider’s nest. We got there and he took us up to the tops of a couple of sand dunes and spotted the King Eider’s nest and the female King Eider sitting on the nest. We took pictures and stared through binoculars at the wonderful spectacle of an Eider sitting peacefully upon its nest. Soon after I had to shed some clothes, because the sun was beating upon us and it was getting really hot out in the sand dunes. It looked as though we were out on the desert, which is the one unique topographical change from other trips, rather than having the Brooks Range surround us on either side, we have sand dunes that are around us. Then the wind picked up shortly after we got back on the river so we decided to call it a day and set up camp. We ate dinner, and then I went to bed. Mom and Dad took a hike to look for birds and flowers. There are small and large lakes everywhere.
July 7: When I first awoke, I thought it was raining. It sounded like water hitting the tent. I then realized the noise was not water hitting the tent, but mosquitoes hitting the tent. On no!!! We ate breakfast, but the mosquitoes were so fierce that I could barely eat my oatmeal without swallowing five or six of them.After breakfast and five new mosquito bites, we decided to pack up our stuff and head out onto Kealok Creek. Unlike other trips, this creek did not offer any white water which I was very happy about. We had no problem fitting all of our gear into the canoes, which was a relief. I was surprised, the water in the creek was warm, or at least it was not freezing cold, like the rivers in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The water was warm and the bottom was sand. Actually, there were no rocks to be found. As we floated down the creek we spotted many different types of birds. We did have some challenge going down the creek because of all the channels; we were constantly trying to spot which channel would have the most amount of water so as to make our trip smoother down the creek. Later in the day we saw some tents way off in the distance, which we believe to be part of the Fish and Wildlife Service. Hopefully we will see them and be able to chat with them about Alaska and some of the interesting birds/wildlife that is unique to this specific area.
July 6: Last night was a chilly night; I was definitely all the way under/inside my sleeping bag. Since its light outside 24/7 it takes some time to get used to it. When I woke up this morning it was very windy which kept the mosquitoes away. As I peered out of my tent I looked out onto very flat tundra, but what most people don’t realize is the lush layer of wildflowers that covers endless miles of Alaska. It drizzled lightly throughout the morning as we ate breakfast. As I ate, my hands went completely numb making every simple task difficult. After breakfast, it was time to set up the folding boats. It took us about two hours to set up each boat, so there went the morning and part of the afternoon. While we worked on the 3 canoes, were watched Charles chase a ground squirrel in order to get a closer picture of it. This was quite hilarious. The ground squirrel would leave it’s burrow and travel long distances. It seemed oblivious to our presence. Upon it’s return, it would have a mouthful of dried grass and it would dash down into the burrow.
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