The Place

It’s been a few years since I’ve set foot in the Arrigetch Peaks region of Gates of the Arctic National Park. But recently, that dramatic corner of one of our wildest and least-visited National Parks has been calling me back.

Much of the Brooks Range is made up of mountains that appear aged. Beautiful, yes, but softened at the edges; weathered by the millennia. In contrast, the Arrigetch Peaks seem freshly carved from the earth, their granite walls shining as though the glaciers sliced them free of the surrounding stone just the day before.

And what walls they are! Soaring nearly 3000 vertical feet from the valley floor, the cliffs rival anything found in Yosemite.

The Experience

The Arrigetch Peaks lie over 100 miles from the nearest road, and some 250 miles from Fairbanks, the nearest city. Access is by bush flights and backpacking. There is no other way in.

Few peaks in the Brooks Range have names, but the Arrigetch are an exception. The name “Arrigetch” itself is a Nunamiut name meaning “fingers of an outstretched hand”. It’s not hard to imagine you are standing in the palm of some stone giant when you walk into those mountains. But the individual spires didn’t receive their names until after rock climbers and mountaineers began exploring the granite walls of the Arrigetch: Xanadu, Arial, Caliban, and Elephant’s Tooth are just a few. Like the mountains themselves, the names are tied to both fantasy and reality.

On my last journey, my clients and I were dropped off by floatplane on a small lake in the Alatna River Valley. From there, we lifted our packs and hiked up a side valley, following the rushing clear water of Upper Arrigetch Creek. The Arrigetch Peaks get more human traffic than just about any other place in Gates of the Arctic National Park, but crowds are no concern. Even here, it’s uncommon to encounter other visitors, and the hike up the creek gets wilder and more dramatic with every foot in altitude gained.

Still, the human impact is present in the form of a periodic “social trail”, where feet (both human and wildlife) have packed a path through the tundra or forest. It’s a solid day from the river into the Arrigetch Peaks, which is some 7 miles and 2000 vertical feet over mostly trail-less terrain.

By the time we reached our campsite, we were pleasantly tired and lay back on the autumn tundra to admire the granite spires, autumn colors, and listen to the sound of the rushing stream that flowed by our camp.

That journey was far too short, with just one full day to explore the peaks themselves. A mistake I don’t plan to make again.

Time is always short, but the upcoming trip in August of 2023 is scheduled to maximize the number of days in those mountains. The whole trip is a week, with several full days camping in the Arrigetch themselves. I can’t wait to get back.

Weather

Like any mountain environment, the weather in the Brooks Range is notoriously fickle. For any wilderness trip, it’s the biggest unknown. In the 15 years I’ve been guiding wilderness trips in Alaska’s arctic, I feel like I’ve seen it all. From weeks of endless bluebird days to storms that felt like they would tear tents from the ground, and rainstorms that raised rivers. If one thing is for certain about a journey into the Arrigetch it is the uncertainty of the weather.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Who Should Go?

If you are an enthusiastic wilderness photographer, with good fitness, have some experience backpacking and an adventurous streak, you’ll be a good match for the trip.

Any trip to Gates of the Arctic is an undertaking, but you don’t need to be an elite mountaineer to make this journey. You do need to be able to carry a fully loaded pack for several hours, uphill, over very rough, trail-less forest and tundra.

Hiking in much of Alaska is not like hiking elsewhere. The walking is cross-country, which means we might be bashing through wet shrubs around a beaver pond, working our way across a talus field, crossing a rushing stream, or walking easily through soft alpine tundra. The fact is, any day out is likely to involve all of those things and more.

What you get in return is the opportunity to experience a true piece of rugged wilderness with a group of photographers who share your passion for landscapes and wild places.

Who wants to go?

Here are are the trip details and signup page. But feel free to Contact Me if you have any other questions you’d like ask.