There is something about this time of year that gets me thinking about the Brooks Range, those wild northern mountains of Alaska. Spring is springing up there right now, winter snow is coming off and flooding into the rivers, and caribou herds are making their way from their wintering grounds in the boreal forest to the mountains and beyond onto the arctic coastal plain.
But it’s the mountains of the Central Brooks Range in Gates of the Arctic National Park that I’m thinking about today. I’ve had the incredible good fortune to make dozens of trips to Gates. I’ve backpacked nearly the width of the park, and paddled rivers to the north, south, and western sides of the park. On every journey, I’ve been amazed by how intact that landscape is, and how every step can feel like a discovery.
It’s not an easy place to visit. It’s expensive, and time-consuming to get to Gates of the Arctic. There are no tourist facilities. No roads, no hotels, no lodges, restaurants, or gift shops. Gates is not the kind of place you can make a quick stop, and claim to have been there. There are no quick stops in Gates of the Arctic National Park. You must wrap yourself in this place, and give it the time it requires.
I’m not sure I’ll make it into the Central Brooks Range this summer, but I’m planning to back next summer for sure, leading a unique photo backpacking trip into the dramatic Arrigetch Peaks. Care to join me?
Below is a gallery of images covering a decade or so of explorations in that wildest of National Parks. Maybe they will give you some idea of why I’m so addicted to that place.
