MARSH FORK/CANNING RIVER, ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, ALASKA, JUNE 25-JULY 7, 2025
PARTICIPANTS:
Doug Armstrong
Barry Benko
Wally Hufford
Irene Lindquist
DETAILS:
Days on the river-12
River miles paddled-105
Fauna-musk ox, caribou, arctic fox, numerous birds
Flora-flowers galore!
Groups we saw-two guys in a canoe, a commercial rafting group, a group of three packrafters
Favorite campsite-X mountain
Weather-hot, sun, wind, one major thunderstorm
Mosquitoes-annoying, but not bad for this part of the world
DAY 1: (June 25, 2025)
We were at Coyote Air and ready to go at 7:00 AM. After weighing all our gear and people we loaded the plane and departed Coldfoot for the Upper Strip on the Marsh Fork/Canning River. It was a spectacular flight thru the Brooks Range. Soon we were hauling our gear from the strip to the river which was about a half mile.
We prepped everything and started floating...and scooting. The water was very shallow making it difficult to paddle getting caught on the many gravel and sand bars. At one point we got separated in different channels and had to reconnect by dragging a boat across the various terrain. Once reunited we took off again.
Eventually we stopped and made camp just upriver from the Bench Creek Strip. As we were setting up camp my tent blew away as I had my back turned. Irene yelled to alert me and I took off chasing it. I barely caught up with it and took it back where I solidly staked it to the ground.
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| This plane is named Pumpkin. It's the same one we took to the Hula Hula River last year. |
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| We weighed ourselves and all out gear in the Weight Shed. All told we weighed 1086 pounds. We took every pound down the river in our packrafts. |
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| Our group just about ready to board the plane for the flight to the Upper Strip on the Marsh Fork. |
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| Irene was in the co-pilot seat for the flight to the put-in. |
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| A view from the air as we flew through the Brooks Range. |
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| About to land at the Upper Strip. |
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| Irene afloat on the Marsh Fork. |
DAY 2: (June 26, 2025)
We spent the day hiking and resting since the previous day was a workout. At breakfast Irene surprised all of us by bringing out a huge box of chocolates. She got them for her birthday in May and had saved them for this trip. We all got a bag of nine which we enjoyed throughout the remainder of the trip.
The rest of the day was spent hiking around the area. Doug and Irene hiked to the Bench landing strip and visited with the people there. Two guys were assembling a folding canoe and a group of commercial rafters were preparing for their float down the river.
In the afternoon a huge thunderstorm rolled in and we stayed in our tents during the heavy rain and wind. After a couple hours it cleared up again.
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| Irene with her solar panel positioned on her legs. |
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| Irene's birthday was in May. She saved a box of chocolates so we could share them on the river. |
DAY 3: (June 27, 2025)
After breakfast we packed our gear and began paddling around 10:00 AM. We passed the commercial rafting group as they were getting ready to float. A little while later we passed the canoeists camp which was just a few miles downriver. The paddling was much better than the first day and we enjoyed floating along.
Stopping for lunch we ate at the side of the river and some of us even took a quick nap. The weather was beautiful and very warm. We marveled at the scenery as the mountains and valleys passed by. In the early afternoon we found a campsite at the edge of the river. There were jagged peaks behind it and a huge valley that looked like a good place to spend a day hiking. After setting up the tents we waited until it was time for dinner which we enjoyed in the beauty of the surroundings.
DAY 4: (June 28, 2025)
About 4:00 AM I heard an animal walk past my tent. At breakfast all the others mentioned they had heard it, too. We decided it must've been a caribou even though none of us actually saw it.
A few hours later Doug and Barry took off on a hike. They crossed a huge alluvial plain and went up a big valley into the mountains. Irene spent the morning doing chores and I walked for a while around the area. Later Irene took a big hike toward the valley. The canoeists stopped by around noon and we had a pleasant chat in the warm sun.
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| Barry's a geologist. He knows all about rocks. |
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| This was a valley behind one of our camps. Look closely and you can see Doug and Barry as they set off to hike it. |
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| Irene looks at our location on a map. |
DAY 5: (June 29, 2025)
We were on the river by 9:30 AM. The paddling was easy at the start but grew more boisterous as we traveled downstream. Rock gardens and rapids became more common and Irene took a swim at one point. She said she was under water but looked up to see her paddle and packraft which she grabbed immediately. Barry was there to help and all ended well. A couple hours later we passed the commercial group just before paddling thru a cool little canyon. Once thru the canyon we set up camp at a site Doug said he had camped at two years previous.
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| Irene hauls her gear to the edge of the river. |
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| Doug hauls his gear to the edge of the river. |
DAY 6: (June 30, 2025)
We got an early start and ended up paddling 18.7 miles on this day. We saw an arctic fox running along the edge of a mountain as we neared the confluence of the Marsh Fork and Canning Rivers. We passed the commercial group again as they had only gone about four miles since their previous camp. We had some good fun paddling thru a rock garden just before the confluence Then it was down the Canning, past Plunge Creek, and to a campsite we named X Mountain. This was our favorite camp because the flowers were so aromatic and the scenery exquisite. It was also very hot and we estimated the temperature to be 85 degrees.
Later in the evening I decided I was going to stay awake to get a photo of the sun at midnight. Everyone else had gone to bed. At 10:50 PM I could hear rocks clattering on the other side of the river. I looked over to see a musk ox walking along the bottom of X Mountain. I woke everyone up and we enjoyed a musk ox viewing for the next 45 minutes. It was great. At midnight I finally got a picture of the sun on the horizon and went to sleep.
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| My packraft near the confluence of the Marsh Fork and Canning Rivers. |
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| We camped across the river from X Mountain. |
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| Irene uses binoculars to watch a musk ox travel along the base of X Mountain. |
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| That black dot is the musk ox we watched. |
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| Nice light. |
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| Wolf print in the mud near our camp. |
DAY 7: (July 1, 2025)
We spent this day at camp doing chores. I used the solar panel to charge my cell phone and inReach device. I also did some laundry and even washed up in the very cold water, which was okay because the sun was extremely warm. The others did the same and also went hiking. Barry spent some time fishing as well.
DAY 8: (July 2, 2025)
We got an early start and took off down the Canning River toward the edge of the mountains. Along the way we had pulled over for a break when three other packrafters stopped for a visit. We found out they were hiking/packrafting from the Dalton Highway to Kaktovik. In a few miles they were getting off the Canning and hiking to the Sadlerochit and Hula Hula Rivers toward their final destination. It was an impressive trip!
As we paddled along we saw a caribou at the edge of the river just before we finally stopped to make camp in the hot sun. Later that night a ptarmigan walked thru our camp.
DAY 9: (July 3, 2025)
We were paddling by 9:00 AM and made 10 miles by noon. Along the way we passed more aufeis and ultimately stopped on an aufeis field to camp It was extremely hot and windy.
I checked the weather forecast on my inReach and couldn't believe it when I saw snowflakes were predicted in a few days. I looked again and sure enough, snow was expected on our final day of the trip. When I told the group everyone was in disbelief. It was and had been so hot. But, we all decided it would be best to get to the Lower Strip a day early and hope we could get picked up before the storm blew in.
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| There was still some aufeis along the edge of the river. |
DAY 10: (July 4, 2025)
Happy Independence Day! We had another big paddling day and covered 15.8 river miles. We passed more aufeis and saw some Arctic Loons as we traveled along.
When we got to camp Irene said the only way we could celebrate the Fourth of July any better would be if we had bubbles...then she pulled out a vial of bubbles for each of us! We spent the remainder of the evening having a grand time as we blew bubbles into the wind watching them float across the tundra.
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| One of our camps along the Canning River. The Brooks Range is in the background. |
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| This picture was taken exactly at midnight. The sun was still well above the horizon. |
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| Doug makes a seal entry off the edge of the aufeis. |
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| Floating down the Canning River under the hot sun. |
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| Exploring aufeis along the Canning River |
We made it to the Lower Strip a day early hoping we could get an early pick-up. But, when we heard from Dirk, our pilot, he indicated it wouldn't be possible due his schedule. No worries, at least we were at the pick-up location and hopefully he would be here before the storm was expected to hit on Monday afternoon.
We cleaned our gear and packed the packraft equipment away in duffle bags. It was another beautiful evening and there were birds everywhere. We felt good to be at the landing strip and the camping was nice.
DAY 12: (July 6, 2025)
We awoke to another warm and sunny day-and a wolf! At 4:49 AM Irene looked out her tent door and saw a black wolf between Barry's tent and mine. It was only 20 feet from my door. The rest of us didn't see it, but Irene got a photo as it it wandered away. Way cool!
Doug and Irene spent the day hiking and made it to a small knoll where they watched a herd of 12 musk ox. They also got cell service on their phones which they used to call and text people. We later found out the service is from Point Thompson.
Barry caught three grayling today and he cooked them to share with us. They were really good.
DAY 13: (7/7/2025)
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| Barry caught some grayling. |
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| Mosquitoes. |
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| A wolf early in the morning near the Lower Strip. It had been about 20 feet from our tents. |
Waking up this morning we could feel the cold front had moved in. We added some layers and had breakfast before breaking down camp and waiting for the plane to arrive. Once we were packed up we stood around. Suddeny I looked up to see Dirk coming in for a landing. None of us had even heard the plane!
We loaded our gear and took off for the return trip to Coldfoot which took about two hours. Back on the south side of the Brooks Range the weather was very warm and the air filled with smoke from the many forest fires around Alaska. We ate lunch at the Coldfoot Camp and hit the road for Fairbanks. Another exquisite Arctic trip in the books.
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| The Lower Strip. |
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| Gear and plane at the Lower Strip. |
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| All loaded up and ready for our flight back to Coldfoot. |
