HULA HULA RIVER PACKRAFT TRIP, ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE (ANWR), ALASKA, JUNE 28-JULY 8, 2024
THE PACKRAFTERS:
Doug Armstrong
Doug Emmerich
Wally Hufford
Julie Stephens
LOGISTICS:
We drove to Coldfoot. Alaska. Then we flew via Coyote Air to Grasser's Strip on the Hula Hula River. At the end of the trip we were picked up at the confluence of Old Woman Creek and the Hula Hula River, and returned to Coldfoot.
DAY 1: (6/28/24)
We departed Coldfoot at 7:00 AM. The flight over the Brooks Range was spectacular! We saw mountains jutting into the sky and river valleys that twisted forever into the distance. Once we landed at Grasser's Strip everyone got a lei. We checked out the Hula Hula and took a hike to a sunken pingo that had a small pond in it's center. It was a great walk for our first day. Back at camp the wind had picked up and our tents were flapping in the breeze. Later in the evening there was a brief thunder and rain storm.
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| Here we are with 1077 pounds of people and gear. Our limit was 1200 pounds. |
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| All our gear loaded in the plane. |
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| A view of the Brooks Range as we flew to Grasser's Strip. |
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| Julie and Doug E. get some last minute advice from Dirk, our pilot, after landing at Grasser's Strip. |
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| Everyone got a lei upon arrival at Grasser's Strip along the Hula Hula River. Doug A. even had a hula hoop. |
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| This is what it looked like at 3:00 AM our first night along the edge of the Hula Hula River. Since we were way above the arctic Circle the sun never went down. |
DAY 2: (6/29/24)
Our second day at Grasser's Strip was spent hiking toward a location known as the Lamb Nursery. It's name comes from the fact that many Dall Sheep ewes and lambs use this area when raising the young. We didn't see any sheep, but Im certain they were around. Following a picnic on a hillside we turned back toward the direction of camp. We did go a little out of our way to check out a sled type structure which someone had pulled up the valley. It looked like it had been there for a number of years and was torn to bits.
We followed the edge of the river back to camp and got there just a few minutes before a heavy thunderstorm broke loose. After an hour in the tents we emerged to clearing skies and took a walk along the edge of the river. Then we got the maps out for review and ate an early dinner because we could see more rain coming up the valley toward us. The remainder of the evening was spent in the tents listening to the rain.
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| My friends are a bunch of top notch navigators. They always know what direction to go. |
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| Heading out from Grasser's Strip for a hike around the area. |
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| We found lots of fossilized coral along the river. Doug E. thought it was fascinating. |
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| The views were excellent in every direction. |
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| Lunch near the Lamb Nursery. |
DAY 3: (6/30/24)
After a long night in the tents we awoke very early and began prepping to paddle down the Hula Hula. Once on the water it was wonderful fun! The river was swift and splashy so we really moved along. We reached a new campsite and pulled out of the water in breezy weather.
We checked the weather forecast on Julie's inReach and found that a significant storm was expected to begin in a couple days. After some discussion we decided it would be in our best interest to paddle through The Gorge section of the river before the storm hit and raised water levels. It turned out to be a very good decision.
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| Doug E. prepares for a day of paddling on the Hula Hula River. |
DAY 4: (7/1/24)
We woke up early again and were paddling by 8:50 AM. There were lots of fun rock gardens and we were enjoying the weather while it lasted. Along the way we met a couple along the edge of the river. I didn't get their names, but she was from Canada and he was from Holland. They had hiked from the Marsh Fork to the Hula Hula and intended to packraft down the Hula Hula to Esetuk Creek where they would hike over to the Okpiliak River then float to Kaktovik. After chatting with them for about 30 minutes we continued floating to our next campsite.
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| Early morning packraft preparation. Looking forward to another day of paddling. |
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| We met this adventurous couple along the edge of the river. They had hiked from the Marsh Fork and were planning to packraft down the Hula Hula to Esetuk Creek. From there they were going to hike over to the Okpiliak River and float to Kaktovik. |
DAY 5: (7/2/24)
It was another early morning as we pulled away from shore at 9:00 AM. This was a big day of paddling because we were going through The Gorge. When we got there we pulled out to scout things as best we could. We walked downriver for quite a ways. Then we went back to the packrafts and shoved off. The water was splashy and every once in a while there would be a big hole. We were able to avoid most of them. But, then Doug E. got caught in one and his boat flipped. Doug A., Julie, and myself were just a short distance downstream waiting for him. But, when he got close to us he just stood up and walked to shore. All good. Doug A. also took a swim near the end of The Gorge. He grabbed his packraft by the the short tail leash and also stood up and walked to shore. Once past The Gorge we made our way to Old Woman Creek where we set up camp. That's when the weather moved in.
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| Camp 4b at Old Woman Creek. We had moved our tents to this location because it was higher and the water was rising due to all the rain. |
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| Our gear was drenched and saturated from all the rain. |
DAY 6: (7/3/24)
WIND, WIND, WIND, and RAIN, RAIN, RAIN. The predicted storm hit and it was a doozy. Little did we know how long it would last and how violent it would get. Our tents were taking a beating so we decided to build some rock walls around the outside edges to help alleviate the blasts as much as possible. It was too wet and blustery to go hiking, so we spent much of the day standing around and in our tents.
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| We built partial rock walls around our tents in an effort to reduce the effect of the wind. |
DAY 7: (7/4/24)
Heavy wind and rain continued for the remainder of the night. There were hours that I sat with my back against the tent wall in efforts of keeping it from becoming a pancake. Tent failure would've been a disaster, but all four of our tents survived the night.
The weather wasn't much better in the morning, but we did get some good news from Dirk. Julie had sent him a message asking for the coordinates for the Tundra Strip, where we were hoping to be picked up. Surprisingly, he sent us a return message that said we were only 500 feet from a another strip where he could pick us up! Dirk said it might be a couple days due to the weather, but he would pick us up there.
We were elated because the river had really swollen due to the rain. So, I went out looking for the strip. It was quite the search because I couldn't find anything that looked like a landing strip A while later Julie showed up and began to search as well. She found several sets of antlers that looked like it could demarcate a landing strip. But, really it just looked like a grassy field. We sent a message to Dirk and he confirmed that was exactly what it looked like.
Talk about happenstance, we were elated to know that Dirk would soon be on his way. That's what we thought anyway. Then the weather got even worse.
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| Doug E. enjoying a morning cup of coffee. |
DAY 8: (7/5/24)
It was another night of rain and wind. However, things calmed down in the morning and the fog moved in. It was thick as pea soup and kept us in our tents until 10:00 AM. When we finally got breakfast going we could hear two different airplanes flying around the area. Even though we couldn't see them it was good to know that some flying was being done.
Julie turned on her inReach several different times during the morning, but the fog was so thick it couldn't connect with the satellites. That meant we were unable to communicate with Dirk regarding our pick-up status. The remainder of the day was spent standing around waiting for the fog to dissipate. The inReach finally connected to the satellites and we sent Dirk a message.
DAY 9: (7/6/24)
Day three at Old Woman Creek. It's been raining all night. We still haven't heard back from Dirk regarding a pick-up. We are hoping to hear something very soon.
I updated the weather forecast on my inReach every so often and the reports called for more of the same into the indefinite future. The birds were really singing at 4:45 this morning. I was hopeful that meant a change in the weather, but when I looked outside the clouds were still very heavy.
Late in the afternoon we heard from Dirk. He said we might get picked up tomorrow. He has not been able to fly due to the weather so there is a backlog of people for him to get before us.
The heavy rain started again so we sat in our tents and talked to each other through the thin walls of tent fabric. About 9:30 PM Doug A. said, "It's really getting dark out there." Twenty minutes later we were slammed with horrendous wind and heavy rain. It was extremely violent. I spent over two hours with my back against the tent wall in hopes of supporting it against the wind. I also put on my rain gear just to be ready in case a tent failed and I was exposed to the elements. The others reported they did the same. Eventually things calmed down enough that I could relax enough to fall asleep for short periods of time.
DAY10: (7/7/24)
Julie's inReach said it was 34 degrees Fahrenheit this morning. There was vibrant white snow on the mountains just above us. Periods of rain, clouds, and plenty of wind filled the day. We got an update from Coyote Air saying it was foggy in Coldfoot and they were unable to fly this morning. However, they were hopeful the fog would clear around noon and they would be able to do some flying later today.
We spent the day outside as much as possible between the rain squalls. Then, when the rain hit, we would climb into my tent to visit and play games. It was quite the event to have all four of us in one tent using a sleeping pad as a couch. Late in the afternoon we got some very good news that we would be first on the list for pick-up the following morning! We were elated. Now all we needed was some good weather so Dirk could fly.
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| All four of us in my tent. We spent several hours visiting and playing games while the wind and rain continued outside. |
DAY 11: (7/8/24)
2:14 AM. I looked out the tent door and saw that dense fog has moved in. I was only able to see a few hundred feet. It seemed dismal, but the weather had been changing with great regularity, so I zipped the tent door closed and went back to sleep. At 6:38 AM I checked again. It wasn't much better. Intermittent rain and fog filled the sky. And, it was cold. Cold enough that it occasionally snowed on us. When the fog lifted enough we could see the mountains just above us were covered in snow. Fortunately, as the morning progressed the fog began to lift and visibility improved significantly
We were corresponding with Coyote Air and they said we could expect them to pick us up between 12:30-1:30 PM. Hooray! We waited for several hours before breaking camp keeping a close eye on the weather conditions which seemed to be improving.
A little before noon we took down our tents and carried everything closer to the strip where Dirk said he could land. We put our gear in a pile and huddled behind it to get out of the wind. After a while we heard a plane approaching and we looked to see Dirk coming in for a landing. Once he stopped we ferried our gear to the plane and loaded ourselves into our seats.
At 2:17 PM we were in the air bound for Coldfoot. As we were gaining altitude Julie spotted a sow grizzly with two cubs below us. They were the only ones we saw on the entire trip. Dirk told us how bad the weather in Coldfoot had been and said they received over five inches of rain in the past few days. We were certain we had received at least that much.
The remainder of the flight was inspiring as we flew over immense drainages and alongside the peaks of the Brooks Range. On several occasions Dirk had to fly around mini-weather systems in order to find a route back to Coldfoot. We landed under partly cloudy skies and immediately made our way to Coldfoot Camp where we rented a very small room. After stowing all our gear we went to the buffet and ate to our hearts content. It was wonderful to have real food and chairs with backs on them. That was something to celebrate indeed!
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| All packed up and huddled against our pile of gear. Just waiting for our plane to arrive. |
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| The view on our way back to Coldfoot. The rivers and mountains of the Brooks Range are absolutely gorgeous. |
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| Eating the dinner buffet at Coldfoot Camp upon our return. It was so good and a wonderful way to celebrate the end of the trip. |
