Arctic Wilderness Fishing Base Camp in the Brooks Range, Alaska

The Trip

On this trip we will have the opportunity to visit a wild and untrammeled part of Alaska at the point where the Brooks Range foothills approach the coast near the Chukchi Sea. We fly into an area just outside of the Noatak National Preserve at a time when tundra foliage reaches the height of its fall color. We will visit an area where many of the 300,000+ caribou of the Western Arctic herd will be on the move toward their winter pastures to the south. We will set up our base camp along the headwaters of the Wulik River, which is rated as one of the best char rivers in all of Alaska by state Fish and Game specialists. Male char are colored a brilliant red at this time of year and otherwise resemble a gigantic version of their smaller cousin, the eastern brook trout. The Wulik is also home to some of the largest arctic grayling found in any Alaska river. Unless waters are roiled by recent rainstorms, you will see the char holding in crystal clear pools. Fly fisherman will see grayling launch themselves upwards with wild abandon to take almost any surface offering. We get all of this, plus the rugged spires of the Wulik Peaks for a backdrop.

The trip includes a bush charter flight from Kotzebue to the Wulik River headwaters with panoramic views of the vast Noatak River delta, the rising crest of the Brooks Range to the east, and the jagged peaks of the Wulik Mountains just beyond our planned campsite. You will fly over the farthest northwest limit of trees in all of North America to see the intricate inter-fingering of spruce galleries, alder scrub, and willow thickets, and then open tundra. Wildlife we may possibly see includes moose, caribou, grizzly bears, wolves, and arctic or red foxes. All of these and the occasional wayward musk ox have been sighted on previous trips to this area. The fall tundra colors include shades of red, orange, purple, and yellow that rival the shades of the famed maples and birches of New England. Some tundra wildflowers like arctic poppies and anemones produce a late flush of second bloom -– a delight to photograph, but a dismal indication of how global warming has upset the biological clocks of these plants, which end up wasting precious resources in a futile effort to reproduce.

We will backpack a short distance upon arrival, going only as far as it takes to find a suitable campsite along a river channel that changes position from year to year.  We will expect to change campsites one or more times, again going only as far as it takes to find a fresh view of our stunning surroundings. A major highlight of the trip will be the nightly fish bake. The only practical way to cook fish weighing up to 10 pounds is by baking them in a foil package buried in willow wood coals. But the results are always worth the effort.

The wild and unsophisticated fish of the Wulik will not be fussy about lures and flies. Char and grayling can be caught with flies, with the bigger char going for large gaudy streamers and the grayling taking anything that might be an insect, either on or under the surface. The most effective lure for char is a standard Mepps spinner, which works well in the fast water where char are often holding. Relatively large (number 2 and 3) sizes work best for these large fish. Although grayling have small mouths, they are large enough that you can catch them on these larger lures with spinning equipment. Both fish species act and fight like large trout, so that gear you would use for larger trout should work fine. Ultra-light fly fishing gear is discouraged because you can eventually land char on such equipment after a prolonged battle, but they become so exhausted that survival after release is in question.

Our trip will take us well north of the Arctic Circle, but we will be late enough in the year that we will see three or four hours of darkness and the aurora borealis could make its appearance at that time. We may have some cloud cover at times and days will be reasonably warm, but temperatures can plunge below freezing under clear skies during the short August nights. Our day hikes will be along river gravels in search of char and grayling habitat; additional forays will be on the firm footing of ridges and promontories, with the crags and spires of the Wulik Peaks in the background. In addition to prospecting for char and looking out for wildlife, we will learn to read the arctic landscape; its patterned ground and solufluction lobes on hillsides the hallmarks of permanently frozen soil beneath the shallow turf. Along the way we will discuss the science behind the ongoing global warming, contemplating the impending threat to arctic environments where the expected effects of warming are as much as three times greater than the predicted effects at temperate latitudes.

Getting There

Trip members are responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from the trip's starting point in Kotzebue. Please plan on arriving in Anchorage on or before the day before the trip starts, then flying to Kotzebue on the early morning of the first day of the trip, and finally departing from Kotzebue on or after late afternoon on the last day of the trip. There is a good, modern hotel in Kotzebue, and an older (lots of character) lodge with a good restaurant for those who want to stay over. The leader will provide details on flight options to registered participants. Arctic air travel, commercial or charter, is not always on schedule and luggage is occasionally delayed. It is strongly advised that you allow leeway for delayed luggage due to weather conditions at both the beginning and end of the trip. Round-trip charter flights between Kotzebue and the Wulik Peaks backcountry are included in the trip fee. Please do not make non-refundable travel arrangements until notified to do so by the trip leader.

Accommodations and Food

The Sierra Club furnishes stoves, pots, fuel, and a first-aid kit. As usual on Sierra Club outings, all members will help with cooking and clean-up. Food while in the field is included in the trip fee. Trip members should notify the leader of any special dietary requirements.

Lodging on the night before and the night after the trip is not included in the trip price. There are many good places to stay and lots of things to do around Anchorage. Most current flights from Anchorage to Kotzebue also stop in Nome. There is an extensive road network around Nome to be explored by rental vehicle, although none is connected to the outside world. For those staying over in Anchorage, the best place to experience Alaska backcountry is at the Eagle River Nature Center, which has shorter natural trails for day hikes as well as access to Chugach National Forest backcountry. The center is accessed a few miles northeast of Anchorage via the Eagle River exit on the Glenn Highway.  

Trip Difficulty

The trip will be rated light, but due to the highly variable nature of arctic weather and cross-country travel on river gravels or on day hikes on adjacent highlands, some days may be moderately strenuous. Although this is a base camp trip, a short backpack will be required to transport equipment and supplies from the landing strip to a suitable camp. Spring floods regularly change the distribution of habitat along these braided streams where pools and channels easily shift from year to year among the expansive gravel bars. Thus, the actual length of the backpack required to get to camp can vary, but should be no more than a mile. We will then expect to shift camp one more time once we identify the best fish habitat and the most attractive views.  

Equipment and Clothing

Late summer in the Brooks Range is generally moderate in temperature, although cold, stormy periods can occur. Be prepared to be out and active in the rain. Temperatures can range from the 20s to the 70s, although wind chill can make it feel colder. Proper equipment, thoroughly field-tested before the trip, is critical. Personal gear must not weigh more than 35 pounds, including cameras and other hand-carried items so that we can meet weight limits for the bush flight. Participants must provide their own backpack (needed to carry gear from the landing strip to base camp), sleeping bag, tent, raingear, and other camping necessities. A complete packing list will be sent to registered participants. 

References

Some of these titles are out of print, but may be available at major libraries. The Title Wave Book Shop, in Anchorage, usually has used copies. Contact the leaders for an additional list of Alaska books related to specific topics of interest, such as geology, climate, history, and wildlife.

• Pielou, E.C., Field Guide to the Arctic. Probably the best and most readable textbook on the Arctic.
• Brower, Kenneth, Earth and the Great Weather. A rich resource on the Brooks Range.
• "The Kotzebue Basin," in Alaska Geographic, Vol. 8, No. 3.
• Brower, Charles E., Forty Years Below Zero. Memories of an earlier trapper witnessing the adaptation of native Inuit to Western culture.

The entire area around our base camp can be seen on the U. S. Geological Survey 1:250,000 scale De Long Mountains sheet. The most detailed map is the A-3 1:63,360 scale De Long Mountains quadrangle (roughly equivalent to 15 minute quads for the lower 48).  

Conservation

Alaska is a major conservation battleground. Throughout the state, issues of national significance involving wilderness protection, oil and mineral development, and forest and wildlife management receive high priority from the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations. And well they should -- Alaska's public lands belong to all Americans. One of our objectives is to inform participants of these issues so they'll become advocates for this very special land.

Of particular concern to us is the effect of a major mining operation. The 55-mile haul road for ore concentrate from the Red Dog Mine passes about 20 miles south of our campsite and goes through the Cape Krusenstern National Monument to a loading facility on the coast.  This is currently a real concern for both native communities and the Park Service. The haul road now forms the nucleus for further development of additional metal mines and even coal, and ore dust from the current concentrate hauling has been leaving a heavy metal residue on the adjacent tundra. We may see signs of mineral exploration, such as fresh claim marking stakes in the unprotected BLM land area we visit, although such activity has so far been relatively non-intrusive in the upper Wulik basin.

Sierra Club National Outings is an equal-opportunity provider and will operate under permits from the Alaska State Department of Natural Resources, the North Slope Bureau, and the Bureau of Land Management.