Carol's Parting Gift

After climbing another ridge we looked down at the gravel bar where the plane would land tomorrow with our friend, Barbara, and our two river guides, Ramona and Susan. There were several other people camped at this rendezvous point - the only ones we had seen for a week. We weren't ready to break the solitude, so we decided to camp on the opposite side of the river by ourselves.

We reached our campsite at about 9:30 PM and Carol cooked us beans & rice and tomato-basil soup. She had saved the best dessert for our last night together and surprised us with a DELICIOUS chocolate pudding cake. Afterwards we sat around and drank chai and felt a little blue about losing Carol tomorrow morning.

And so ends our backpacking journey >> Top: Jenn, Sue, Carol; Bottom: Joanie, Nony, Marilyn

Arrival at the Kongakut

It was a steep climb through tussocks and over several ridges. We stopped for lunch and a rest at the top and could see the Kongakut in the distance.


Carol took off to scout a route around a second rock slide and we hung out near another patch of aufeis.

This was the only time that the mosquitos were annoying enough to make us put on our glamorous head nets.

Detour

Due to a massive rock slide that another guide had told Carol about, and because the warm days melted the snow and caused the creeks to run faster and deeper - we had to alter our hiking route to the Kongakut. We were supposed to finish our trek with a 3 mile hike along this creek, but it became 4-5 miles because we went up and over the hills, rather than following the creek around the edge.

Some caribou tolerate us, but we unintentionally spooked this group.

As we approached the aufeis to walk around it, we noticed 2 bears foraging on the hill above us. We were concerned that they would go down the hill on the back side and that we might run into them as we turned the corner. But as we started to climb the opposite hill across the ice, the bears saw us and started running in the other direction. OK - that eased my grizzly phobia.

Caribou and Aufeis

We woke to a warm, sunny morning. Several small herds of caribou appeared out of the drainage and walked along the aufeis to head for the hills on the other side of our camp. They were beautiful against the blue-white of the ice and Marilyn wished she could get a close-up picture.

When the next small herd (15-20) appeared, I crouched down and approached them, arms over my head like antlers. (Well... I don't think they were fooled, but I was able to get closer.) When I got close enough to get a good shot, I stood up with my camera and took these pictures.

Aufeis

Aufeis (German for 'ice on top') forms during the winter by the upwelling of river water behind previously frozen ice dams. New ice continues to form on top of older ice and the accumulation can be many feet thick.

We heard several loud booms while we were camped near the Aufeis. It sounded like explosions, but it was the sound of the ice cracking. Tomorrow we have to get to the other side of the ice, but we'll walk around it rather than take a chance crossing it while it's breaking up.

This is called 'candle ice' because of the way it forms into candle-like crystals.

Wolf Blessing

While we were eating lunch at the pass, Joanie shook her rattle and asked for a safe passage. I told her to ask for a wolf sighting though Carol said she rarely sees them.

From the pass, we could see the aufeis in the distance - our camp for the night. My left knee bothered me on the downhill - the Baker's cyst got swollen and made it hard to bend the knee and get strength.


Our hike ended at the end of the tundra next to a gravel bed, with the massive aufeis a couple hundred yards in the distance. It was the end of a strenuous 7 mile hike.

As we were taking off our packs, Sue shouted, "Something's running towards the ice!" It was a white wolf! We watched it run lateral on the ice from right to left across our field of vision. What a magnificent creature... and such a thrill to watch it lope across the ice, turning it's head occasionally to look at us. It ran for about 1/4 mile then disappeared around the bend. A blessing at the end of the day's trek.

Tough Hike - Tough Crones

Today was a tough day for hiking. After doing Tai Chi on the ridge, we broke camp and headed down another creek.



Our boots were wet most of the day because we did 51 creek crossings. We walked on gravel river beds, over slushy tussock fields, and through willow thickets that had been chewed down to 3-4 feet by the moose herd that migrated through in winter.

Saw several small herds of caribou - some were spooked by us and some kept grazing, but eyed us warily.

We hiked up to a beautiful pass - about 600 feet elevation gain - and ate lunch on the saddle of the pass with gorgeous views on either side.

Layover Day at Crone Crest

The warm weather prompted us to go down to the river to bathe and do laundry. We felt primitive - doing a ritual that women have shared for thousands of years. The water was icy cold but it felt great to be clean.


I took a short walk up the hill to check out the vistas on the other side. It was a lazy afternoon spying on Dall sheep grazing on the steep mountainside across Crone Creek. Caribou silouettes moved across a far ridge.
Some of the others hiked up to the peak behind camp and viewed the river that we would be hiking along tomorrow.

Crone Crest Grizzly

We call ourselves 'Crones of the Caribou' and we named this campsite 'Crone Crest'. Today we had a layover day at this beautiful location. I woke up sweating at 7:00 AM because the sun is out and my tent was an oven. Since I was the first one up, I sat on the ridge and meditated for about 45 minutes. Before closing my eyes, I scanned the hills and meadow across the river with my binocs and saw about a dozen caribou grazing and napping.

When I opened my eyes after meditating, I noticed an animal in the high grass across the river. Then it raised its massive head and I saw that it was a grizzly. I alerted Carol and the others, and we sat up on the ridge watching the bear for another 45 minutes while it foraged for food, dug up roots, and rolled on its back with feet in the air - quite oblivious to our presence.

It continued to forage, moving in a lateral direction when suddenly it became alert and looked up at us - it had caught our scent. When it realized we were humans, it started running and headed up the hill - again amazing us with its speed climbing that steep hill. It stopped briefly to take a 'stress dump' then ran again, stopping near the top to look at us. We could see its chest heaving while it breathed heavily from the exertion.

Carol started waving her arms and walking back and forth so it wouldn't think we were benign entities that it could check out later. It ran again and disappeared over the hill. We felt more at ease witnessing the second bear than ran from us.

A Hard Day's Trudge

When possible, we followed game trails along the sides of hills and through the willows in order to avoid fields of tussocks. We saw a lot of moose poop but no moose. Apparantly there is a migrating herd that moves between Canada and the Kongakut area of the arctic. We also saw a lot of wolf scat in the willows along the gravel wash and found a long leg with a bit of meat still on it - probably a moose killed by the wolves.


We had to cross the snaking 'Crone Creek' (our name for it) several times in calf-high fast current, so our boots are soaked inside and out. I can't describe our surroundings adequately - tall, rugged snow-striped peaks - immense and majestic scenery - so raw and untouched. This is what fills my heart and soul.

We were tired with sore feet and legs when we stopped for the day to camp on the point of a ridge overlooking a creek on each side of it. Carol cooked us delicious vegetable soup and chile for dinner. The food has been great with more than ample portions. It was 11:00 PM when we finished eating dinner. It's hard to keep track of time because it never gets dark.

Tussocks

Tussocks are big round mounds the size of a basketball or much bigger. Sedge and moss and lichen grow on them and they move when stepped on - very unstable to walk on them so we step between them. The ground between them was very wet from last night's rain and it was a slow walk. Hiking poles are necessary to keep from twisting an ankle.

Sometimes the tussocks are packed tightly with little room for a good foothold.

~~ 'Punk' tussocks with a spikey hairdo ~~

Crossing the Tussocks

The storm has passed and blue skies are back. It's always a challenge to pack up and once again fit everything into our backpacks. The hiking was hard today, though only about 6 miles. We crossed a big open area - a tundra full of tussocks.

First Bear

It was a beautiful sunny day and some of us bathed at the creek. After Carol fixed a delicious breakfast for us, we did Tai Chi stretches on the river bank, then leisurely packed up and started hiking at about noon. Temps were in the 70's and we dressed lightly.

We stopped at the bottom of a knoll to fill our water bottles before leaving the gravel drainage. As we were taking our packs off, Sue and I looked up and saw a grizzly coming over the top of the hill. BEAR! We all started waving our trekking poles and yelling loudly. I grabbed one of the pepper sprays to have ready. The griz stood up on it's hind legs to sniff and get a better look, then it ran the other way and scrambled up a steep hill and over the top.

We followed caribou trails around the sides of the hills, avoiding the fields of tussocks in the valley. Everytime we approached a blind corner or crest of a hill, we talked loud and sang so we wouldn't surprise a bear. We hiked up and down hills until about 6:00 PM, then made camp near a tiny creek. We relaxed with a cup of tea and watched thunder and lightning in the distance. The sky was dark and beautiful - many shades of grey. By the time dinner was ready it was raining so we all squeezed into the cook tent to eat. Early to bed to avoid the rain.

Begin the Trek

We decided to hike for a couple of miles before setting up camp. We hiked along gravel bars, sloshed across several streams, and through low willow brush - always on the alert for grizzlies.

We stick close together when traveling through brush and call out loudly so we don't come upon a bear unexpectedly. We noticed bear scat and places where they had dug for roots.

Lunch on a gravel bar - crackers, cheese, peanut butter, dried apricots, cashews and chocolate.



Our camp was on a relatively flat area on soft lichen near Joe Creek - a gorgeous wild setting. We set up our tents in a loose cluster, with the cooking tent placed downwind and away from the sleeping area. Our packs and all food are stored there overnight.


After a delicious dinner of french onion soup, salmon pasta and mint milano cookies, we hiked up to a ridge to enjoy the magnificent vista and to watch the caribou graze. Some were inspired to do Tai Chi while up there.

Flight to the Arctic

The shuttle picked us up at 7:00 to bring us to Wright Air Service. We did some Tai Chi while waiting for the pilots to load the TINY planes - only room for the pilot, 3 passengers and some gear, so we needed 2 airplanes.

The 2.5 hour flight provided gorgeous views of tundra, forested hills, braided meandering rivers and finally - the Brooks Range. The last half of the flight was a bit challenging for me - some turbulence and snow flurries made me feel queasy.

The 'runway' was a short strip of tundra that had been cleared of bushes. We bounced to a stop in a beautiful valley surrounded by the jagged, grey rocky peaks of the magnificent Brooks Range. There is a pile of old sun-bleached moose antlers nearby so pilots can spot the landing strip more easily.

Shopping and Packing

I made 10-grain/fruit pancakes for breakfast, then we spent the day shopping and packing. Sue and I needed Xtra Tuff rubber boots for the rafting part of the trip. Jenn and Joanie found out at Denali that their new sleeping bags didn't keep them warm when night temps dropped into the 20's. They bought new Sierra Design bags and will return the others to REI when they get home. Sue bought a new rain jacket and Marilyn a fleece vest.

~ Joanie and Jenn show off their new sleeping bags. ~

We spent the evening packing in 3 categories - backpack, river bag, and things to store at the hotel until we return. Our river bags will be flown in to the Kongakut River at the end of the backpacking week.