We greeted our 4:30 alarm wide eyed and ready to jump into the Toyota for the short drive from Barb O'Malley's to Ted Steven's International. Lisle had suggested that we spend an affordable comfortable night with Barb in downtown Anchorage rather than staying in an overpriced hotel. It was a wonderful decision, not just for the homey atmosphere, but for the chance to meet Barb. Barb, a lifelong Alaskan, shares the house she grew up in, and which once housed her mother's medical practice, with those needing a place to stay. All of her guests are referred by other grateful lodgers. Carlisle was referred by a pilot from Talkeetna, Tony, who leaves Talkeetna and rooms with Barb during the winter. Carlisle first stayed with Barb several years ago while doing US Forest Service training in Anchorage. Now, she is welcomed to a room and Barb's delicious food, much of which is harvested and gathered in AK, anytime she is in town. Upon our arrival and following a nice glass of red wine and some photos of Barb's salmon and halibut fishing exploits, she told us she was late for a young girl's birthday party down the alley and that we must come too. Kate and Yuri, parent's of the birthday girl, met at Barb's, got married, bought the small cottage down the alley and have just bought the valuable lot next to theirs. Small neighborhoods still survive in downtown Anchorage, surrounded by high rises. The attraction to this neighborhood is that it surrounds an old airstrip, called the Park Strip. The Park Strip is used for athletic fields and green space. We have learned that going to strangers houses in Alaska is very common. And, afterward, they are no longer strangers! I've found that you aren't a stranger for long in Alaska unless you prefer it that way. After birthday wishes and a quick tour of Kate and Yuri's historic Anchorage home, we snuggled down in the comfy beds Barb provided, excited about what lay ahead.
Kotzebue looks vulnerable protruding into the Chuckchi Sea and surrounded by low lying tundra. It would seem that one good tsunami would end life here forever. Upon arrival, we walked the short distance down the row of hangers to Golden Eagle Outfitters, the charter that would take us to the caribou. In preparing for our hunt, we contacted AK fish and wildlife to gather information as to where the herds were being seen. We were told that the animals were still closer to the Brooks Range and that we would need to travel further North and East than we had hoped to, close to Gates of the Arctic National Park and Noatak Preserve. Notice the word "wilderness" in the AK atlas! This is an area with no people other than some small native villages that dot the coast. After scouring a wall map in the Golden Eagle hanger, it was decided that we would be placed on the Imelyak River (below the E in Preserve) and would float from here to the Noatak. Once we were on the Noatak, we would look for a suitable gravel bar, 1800 feet long, small stones, relatively flat and use our satellite phone to call for a pick up. Our hour and a half flight to the Imelyak was under stormy skies with some turbulence while our two hour flight back, six days later, was in blue skies.
In preparation for our hunt, we sent our raft, raft frame and oars, food and hunting gear by cargo plane in advance to be held until our arrival. (many hundred pounds)
In the Golden Eagle hanger, we reacquainted ourselves with our goods and decided to reduce our food. Bucky was sceptical! As it ended up, we were lucky to have meat to eat which reduced the need for Mountain House meals and we could have reduced our food even more. The hanger was crowded with pallets of gear for the many hunters and photographers using this particular air taxi. We were amazed at the number of firearms sent ahead.
We had time to kill while Golden Eagle flew BBC photographers to the famous Onion River Portage. This is the location of huge numbers of caribou migrating. Having not eaten since Barb's, we headed to the Bayside, famous for the "coffee?, coffee?, coffee? more coffee? lady who was so nice in providing us with boxes two years ago. We were pleased to see her carrying her coffee pot our way, the minute we opened the door. We felt right at home as we slid into a booth. On our return, we would once again enjoy their Paradise and Dragon rolls and of course, coffee.
We thoroughly trusted Jared and Jesse with our lives as we had no real choice in this matter. Remember, airplanes are as common as cars in AK and in this remote region they are the only means of transportation. There is a risk in flying, but the risk is not great enough to keep us from seeing the places we want to see and from doing the activities we want to do. Our trust is that our pilots don't want to die anymore than we do!
interesting tundra
Dropped at our first camp on the Imilyak where we would stay for three nights and harvest two caribou
A late afternoon hike after setting up camp, the raft looks tiny sitting on the gravel bar with our tent being a blue spot on the tundra. We were thankful that Bucky took the extra time to tarp the top as night presented heavy rain. Becoming wet is not desirable out here!
Glassing for animals proved to be very successful. We were continually surprised by the speed at which they covered the open tundra. Caribou are designed for this country. We would sight them across the river, sometimes lying down chewing their cuds, and in what seemed like no time at all they would be within a hundred yards. We used the numerous willow humps to watch their movement without being seen.
This is how the herds appeared, crowded specks on an immense landscape. Then, they would wander, often in single file across the tundra. We would try to guess their destination and hope to arrive there before them. Sometimes it worked, sometimes they outsmarted us.
While Carlisle and I craftily tried to outsmart a group of bulls by sneaking along the river and then every so often popping up over the bank, Bucky was rewarded by using a more straight forward hunting style.
Carlisle hauled hundreds of pounds of meat on this trip, for which we are forever grateful. Walking on tundra is difficult with tussocks and hummocks rocking your ankles. A twisted ankle can end a hunt.
Once an animal is down, the task of caring for the meat becomes all consuming. Bucky has become proficient at cooling the meat by laying it off the ground on willows, then tarping it at night. Our temperatures despite the sun, were never above freezing so there was no worry of spoilage. We saw no bear sign which made sleeping easier. The meat is always kept a good distance from camp.
Some of the animals that daily paraded by us. We often just watched, struck by their magnificence and the beauty that surrounded them.
Some caribou had rubbed the velvet from their antlers while others were still in process leaving their antlers red with blood.
We took lots of pictures and commented on his good looks and good fortune.
Little did we know that his good fortune had extended into our camp! It was then that he became less cute and presented a challenge to run off.
Just looking!
Go Lisle, go!
Lisle and I caught some sun while smelling Bucky's delicious dry rubbed ribs roasting. I'd be lying if I didn't say that they were the best I've ever eaten. Don't let the sun fool you as the next morning was 8 degrees with ice floating down the river.
Must be caribou also like the smell of ribs. We had commented while eating how unusual it was that we had seen no caribou all day. Then they appeared, later than normal. This handsome bull was not far from camp. Carlisle was happy that she would not have to haul the meat far as darkness comes quickly. Fearing that our raft load was becoming too heavy for the water depth, we left our second camp and headed for the Noatak River.
It looks warm, but this was one of our colder days. Carlisle's hands and feet were frozen as they were often in the water. She did finally take my mittens but prefers bare hands.
It was necessary to pull the raft only twice during our trip. We knew that the water depth and added meat weight might cause problems. Floating improved when we hit the Cutler and floated onto the Noatak.
We were more than happy after six days to find a suitable gravel bar on the Noatak River for Golden Eagle to pick us up. The temperatures were becoming uncomfortably cold at night and we had harvested enough meat for our needs. We used the sat phone to let our pilots know our location and were told that they would retrieve us the following day. We confirmed this and after a cold night of uncomfortable sleep we proceeded to dismantle our camp, leaving the tent up until the end as we were unsure as to if we could be taken out by two airplanes with our additional weight in meat. If a return trip was needed, someone, Carlisle, would be left behind and would need the tent and enough to survive a while longer. As it turned out, we were brought out in two airplanes, one trip, meaning less expense. Air travel of this type is around $650. an hour.
We were unable to fly out of Kotz on the day we arrived back so we treated ourselves to a night at the new hotel. It is VERY nice and we got the reduced off season rate of $300 a night! Normally, $425. I shopped at the small convenience store in the lobby and laid down a $5 bill for two small bottles of orange juice. The cashier looked at me sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry, those are five dollars each". It was good we spent the night as we needed time to place our meat, gear, raft and frame on a pallet wrapped in cellophane (wish I had a picture) to be sent to Anchorage. We spent time at the hanger getting this done. All this arrived in Anchorage the next day at the same time as we did! Now, after two trips of this type, we are learning ways to make it easier and sometimes a little cheaper. It is impossible to explain and show in a few words and pictures the magnificence of this part of the world. I hope that I have done it justice. Back in Anchorage, we loaded the Toyota thinking how strange it was to be back in civilization. After a quick stop at Pioneer Meats to have sausage and bratwurst made, we headed on to our cabin in Talkeetna. Bucky spent the next day cutting steaks and roasts that will travel home with us in a freezer on the trailer behind the RV. We'll be leaving Alaska in just a few days, already thinking about next summer.
