NOATAK RIVER ARCTIC ALASKA
I leave tomorrow on a small expedition down the Noatak River north of the Arctic Circle in Alaska. Our route is just over 400 miles from the Gates of the Arctic National Park in the Brooks Range to the Inuit village of Noatak — almost on an estuary of the Bering Sea. We have 15 nights on the river, which will make our run one of the fastest ever recorded. Not because I like to go fast, but just to squeeze the trip in the time we have allotted. Joining me will be my niece Karen Kelley, engineer and veteran of three other arctic trips with me in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada; Sue Plankis, friend, naturalist and canoeist extraordinaire; and my youngest daughter Zoe, a strong young woman with a heart of gold. That’s right, three women and me. Does that sound like a book title? I … Continue reading