Alaska #5: Kobuk Valley National Park

Great Kobuk Sand Dunes

Finally, we were set to visit the two tricky National Parks in Alaska: Kobuk Valley and Gates of the Arctic. Although I had hoped to spend one day in each Park, plus some time, if possible, viewing Caribou in Noatak National Preserve, that was not in the cards. Instead, we "hitched" a ride with fellow guest Al and Grace on a one-day flight to both Parks.

We traveled on an Otter floatplane, piloted by Mark, an experienced Alaska (and Alaskan) bush pilot.

Our transportation

As I mentioned before, because we were joining what was to have originally been a private excursion for Al and Grace, we had to give them preference on seating. 

Perfectly framed

Grace took the co-pilot seat, Scott shared the middle with Al (although Grace protested a bit because she wanted Al to have the full three-seat middle to himself) and I got the back seat. As far as I was concerned, that was perfect. I had great views and easy access to my cameras and everyone had very ample room.

Handmade, but perfect

Before we drove out to the floatplane lake, Dan told us to go into the National Park Office and ask to "borrow the signs." 

Actually, it is a wooden sign with "Kobuk Valley" hand painted (along with the NPS logo) on one side and Gates of the Arctic on the other. 

Someone donated it to the NPS and it is routinely loaned out to people just like us to use as a photo prop. 

What a great Idea! It really made the photos. I have never thought of such a thing, but I think I'll make signs for my next (and final) two Parks.

It was actually sunny when we got to the floatplane lake. Unfortunately, that was the only sun we saw all day. 

Getting ready for a sunny take-off

Fortunately, it meant a beautiful (and smooth) take-off and departure over the river, marshes and lakes in Bettles. 

Take-off

To see the take-off, click here.

We started out headed almost due west for the further away destination, Kobuk Valley National Park and, specifically, the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, about 120 miles (maybe two hours of flying) away. As we flew, we passed just a bit south of the southern border of Gates of the Arctic National Park.

Map: National Park Service

Located about 25 miles north of the Arctic Circle and 32 miles west of Gates of the Arctic, Kobuk Valley National Park was designated in 1980 by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act to preserve the 100-foot-high Great Kobuk Sand Dunes and surrounding Caribou migration routes. 

Great Kobuk Sand Dunes

The Park has no trails or roads within its 2,735.5 square miles. It includes about 81,000 acres of lands owned by Native corporations and the State of Alaska. More than 75 miles by river from the Chukchi Sea, Kobuk Valley is the center of a vast ecosystem between Selawik National Wildlife Refuge and the Noatak National Preserve. 

It comprises the broad wetlands valley of the Kobuk River, the Baird Mountains in the north and the Waring Mountains in the south. The middle two-thirds of the Kobuk River, from just above Kiana to just below Ambler, is included in the park, as are several of its major tributaries including the Salmon and Hunt Rivers. The valley floor is mainly covered by glacial drift.

Kobuk Valley National Park

Our route took us over non-Park lands that were primarily marsh and muskeg punctuated by kettle lakes, hills and small mountains and many of those very winding rivers. 

Landscape on the route

The flight was a smooth as glass and, despite rain and clouds, the view was lovely, especially the areas where fall was taking hold.

Fall tundra plants on a mountainside

To see the flight to the dunes, click here.

Three sets of sand dune fields are located on the south side of the Kobuk River. The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes, Little Kobuk Sand Dunes and the Hunt River Dunes are remnants of dune fields that covered as many as 200,000 acres immediately after the retreat of Pleistocene glaciation. 

Great Kobuk Sand Dunes

A combination of outwash deposits from the glaciers and strong winds created the field, which is now mostly covered by forest and tundra. Active dune fields still cover about 20,500 acres.

Mark was very knowledgeable about the terrain that we passed over. One of the most interesting things he told us about was the "polygons," a form of "patterned ground" natural geometric shapes, that form in the arctic landscape.

Polygons

Polygons are caused by frost heave expansion of wet, fine-grained and porous soils. In permafrost areas, gravity causes fine soil particles to migrate away from the freezing front and larger particles to migrate to the middle, forming a uniquely shaped "plate."

Once the polygons form, water tends to collect in the cracks, eventually making a pattern of either plants or streams. This phenomenon was very evident from the air, both here and, later, when we went to Utqiaġvik. Polygons are typically found in remote regions of the Arctic, Antarctica, the Australian outback and even Mars!

When we reached the Dunes, Mark flew us over in a series of broad, sweeping turns, giving us a chance to really appreciate this unique landscape. 

A big swoop around the Dunes

He also mentioned that we would not be able to land on the Dunes because we didn't have the right kind of plane; rather, we would land on a nearby river. Something in his tone further cemented my supposition that the plane that had crashed there was the one we were originally scheduled to fly on.

As we flew, it was particularly interesting to see how the edges of the Dunes were expanding to encroach on the nearby forest. 

Dunes meet forest

And, we saw lots of brightly colored trees, bushes and tundra plants signaling the end of the region's very short summer.

Autumn

To see parts of that flight, click here.

The Park lies in a transition zone between boreal forest and tundra. Up to 400,000 Caribou of the Western Arctic Herd migrate through the Park each year and the herd's annual crossing of the Kobuk River is central to the Inupiaq people's subsistence hunting. Of course, we saw NO Caribou!

Mist on the mountains

Weather in the Park can be extreme. 

Average lows in January are −8°F and can reach −50°F. Summer temperatures average around 65°F and can reach 85°F. Since the park is above the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set from June 3 to July 9. 

It can snow any time of the year and wind and rain are common in summer. This is why you have to plan lots of buffer time when traveling there.

The first human inhabitants of the Kobuk Valley were people of the Paleo-Arctic Tradition, who hunted Caribou at Onion Portage about 12,500 years ago. The region was apparently deserted for about 2,000 years until people of the Archaic tradition appeared in the valley from the south and east. By about 4,000 years ago, people of the Arctic Small Tool tradition arrived, but departed between 1,500 and 1,000 years ago, again leaving the valley unoccupied. 

Photo: National Park Service

New people arrived by about 1200 AD and remained in the valley until the mid-19th century, when the Caribou population declined and people moved closer to the coast. 

About 32 prospector camps were established during the 1899-1900 gold rush. 

There are no longer any settlements in Kobuk Valley National Park.

No part of the Park is designated as a National Preserve, which would allow sport hunting. Unlike many Park Service units in Alaska, Kobuk Valley is entirely National Park land with only subsistence hunting by local residents permitted. 

After buzzing the Dunes, we headed to our landing spot. Mark mentioned that if we saw no tents in a common camping site as we flew over, when we landed we would most likely be the ONLY people in the Park at the time. Let that sink in: 2,735.5 square miles and only FIVE people. How cool is that?

Buzzing the Dunes

Next, we headed for the river.

Landing site!

We had a smooth landing and disembarked (a bit precariously along the plane's pontoons -- there is no dock) onto a rough sand beach.

Kobuk landing site

To see the landing, click here.

The beach was covered -- I mean covered -- in bear and wolf tracks, including tracks of wolf cubs traveling alongside the adults.

Photo: Scott Stevens

It was marvelous. I only wish we had actually seen some of the animals that made those tracks. Although it was exciting to think of ourselves as being the only humans, it was clear that other people had been there recently. There were other human prints along the beach, including a barefoot child's prints mingled with the wolves. 

Perhaps a feral child adopted by the pack? Who knows?

Prints

We wandered around for a while, admiring the misty, moody views, the myriad pawprints and the pair of Tundra Swans holding court over the river. 

Tundra Swans across the river

In this part of Alaska, it is typical to see every lake occupied by a pair of these magnificent birds, who mate for life and take ownership of their own piece of paradise. This time, we saw just a few pairs from the air.

Pairs of Tundra Swans

While on the beach, we put that NPS sign to good use and took some "official" pictures. I am so happy with those signs. I think it made these shots very special.

Success!!!

After we loaded up again and took off, Mark us informed that worse weather to the north prevented us from going over the bank of mountains to the north to see if we could find any Caribou in the Noatak National Preserve. I knew that was a long shot, but it was still disappointing.

Our borrowed sign

It's not lost on me that we saw only a small portion of the Park. The Great Kobuk Sand Dunes are in the central lower part of the Park, well south of the Kobuk River. There is much more to see, but who knows if I ever will. 

Still, I accomplished my goal. I put my feet on the ground in Kobuk Valley National Park, my 58th Park.

Yay!

As we took off, Mark told us that the weather was deteriorating, so we needed to move on to Gates of the Arctic. I will cover that in my next post.

Trip date: August 17-September 4, 2018