12 days packrafting Gates of the Arctic, Alaska, 2022
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- čas přidán 28. 07. 2024
- A backpacking and packrafting trip down the North Fork of the Koyukuk River in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska. We saw a grizzly, moose, and enough grizzly and wolf tracks to last a lifetime. The river tried to drown me, the wind tried to blow us away, and the tussucks tried to break our ankles. You know, it was everything you could want from a northern Alaska adventure.
00:00 - Beginning
00:13 - Introduction
00:32 - Bush Plane Landing
01:52 - Animal Tracks and antlers
02:45 - Don't freak out...it's a white toe sock. And some great singing
03:13 - Describing the pain of the hike
05:05 - Starting the packraft on the river
07:24 - Running the Class II Rapid
12:50 - Enduring the Alaska weather
15:44 - The river tried to drown me
18:17 - Moose sighting
19:13 - Looking scraggly on the last day and lamenting the wind
21:14 - Signs of civilization
22:47 - Back in Bettles
Fantastic. Must've been amazing!!
An adventure to remember..greetings from northern Alberta Canada 👍
The adventures I hope to do someday! Thx for sharing!
I really appreciate the production value in this one, it's inspiring as a content creator myself! Thanks so much for all the candid shots and narration, just a beautiful video.
Thank you!! I’m still trying to learn, but I want to keep at it.
Well done!
Very nice, love it!
Very cool trip
Awesome trip! Hope my friend and I have the courage to act on something similar! This video helps capture the imagination! Thank you!
Amazing video, Alaska is a place I don’t see much in the backpacking space.
Greetings from Patagonia. Great adventure you made!
I will be in Patagonia in March for the first time! I’m excited to see that beautiful countryside!
Well done and appreciate the effort!! Headed to the Arrigetch in August for a 12 day pack rafting trip. I've rafted and backpacked a great deal but never together. Plane is coming in half way through go resupply food and take the rafts etc. Stoked!!
It's an amazing trip! You'll love it!
I'm headed to Arrigetch this summer as well!
so cool ,from China
Horrible strainer situation, looks so mellow but can be deadly! If I can eddy out and skip it, I do, if not, not worth running at all. Been there mate. Good to get back on the horse quick!
Yeah, it was awful!
Those are some big tracks. I am not a kayaking expert, but I usually try to stay on slower flowing inner curves.
What an awesome trip guys, congrats! So impressed with your packing skills, I can see how much thought went into choosing your gear. You each have a tent AND a packraft, PFD and paddle.. plus food for 12 days? How did you fit it all so well? Also the video from the packraft is really smooth, excellent. Wondering how you mounted it and what camera you're using for that? Impressive to get it that smooth, well done!
Thank you! It didn't feel like I fit all the gear very well! I think we all have very lightweight gear, so that helps a lot. Food is definitely the hard part for me. It really felt like my partners did a better job with food than I did. I tried to learn from them, but I still feel like being efficient with food is hard for me. For camera, I was using a GoPro 10 Black. It really does have amazing video quality and image stabilization. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Belle aventure. Top
Mosquitos and bugs didnt look too bad? Seems like you had a really nice trip. Pretty impressed by the pilot landing on the gravel bar!
No, they really weren't bad at all. Thank goodness!
Amazing trip!
PS: Pls, share info about Rain Coats in the last episode. Planning long wild trip this summer.
Thank you! My rain jacket is a Patagonia Storm Racer. I like it.
Wow, beautiful adventure! It looks like you guys were very prepared, I assume you have been there or somewhere similar before? I've been dreaming of a trip down the Alatna River since I was young and learned my Great Aunt and Uncle spent a year there in the 1960's. Thanks for taking us along on your trip!
Thank you! I had been down the Alatna and up to the Arrigetch several years earlier, and it really put the hook in me. I have a short video on that trip. The Brooks Range is tough and relentless at times, but it just keeps calling me back.
Great Video. Did you enjoy this trip better or the brooks range one. Looking to spend 14 days in Alaska packrafting and just looking for some feedback. Anything would be helpful.
I think I enjoyed the Alatna River better than the Koyukuk. But the Alatna required more boat dragging, and was a little more technical, so it would depend a lot on what you want to do. The Koyukuk was more straightforward as far as just getting on the river and paddling. They’re both great!
Nice trip so far. What beautiful song are you singing along at the start?
I had to ask Rebecca, but she said it was Another New World by the Punch Brothers. I thought it was a great atmosphere listening to her sing while we rested in the Arctic.
@@OutsideByNature lol I just realised it's her singing along. I thought it's just some song playing in the background at first, was wondering why I couldn't find it. Is there any chance you could get her to record the full song? Her voice somehow fits the tune perfectly, I absolutely love it
@@basedgod698 I can certainly ask her!
@@OutsideByNature I could tell that moment was special, truly sublime. The song, her voice in harmony, the nature around. Thanks for sharing with everybody.
@@jrodowens Thank you! That's how I felt, too.
Pretty cool trip, I just made my first trip video and have gained a new level of appreciation for what you do. Cheers!
Thank you! I’m still trying to learn.
The landing approach seemed rather unsettling
It was nice and smooth…until we got close to the ground! That one jerk to the right was definitely unsettling!
I would have been scared to death with inflatable rafts instead of canoes, but nice trip and scenery.
Thank you! Those rafts will take a beating!
Way cool. I've been in those parts too and had a great experience. My question is how did this video blow up to 34K views while all the rest of yours have in the hundreds? I would like to know the secret ;)
Not a clue. For some reason, YT put it on the front page and suggested it a lot. If I can figure out what I did right, I'll try to do it again!
This was awesome! How did you choose to do this particular stretch of river? Like how did you pick the drop off point and where you got picked up? Is this a common route?
Well, I wanted to go as far up river as possible, so I contacted the bush plane people to see where the possible landing locations were. We could have started at the headwater lake at the Continental Divide, but we would have needed to hike a long way before hitting enough water to paddle, so we picked the next landing location down river. It's so remote out there, that landing spots for the planes really are the biggest limiting factor for where you can go. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Just subscribed. Cool trip! Little bit of fishing would have added some goodness
Thank you! We wanted to fish, but that river doesn't have a good reputation for fish, so I didn't want to carry the gear. I think Zach tried to fish a couple of times, but we literally saw nothing. I think the Noatak is the go-to river out there for fishing.
@@OutsideByNature looking forward to checking out some of your other adventures
What do you do for bear protection? Good video
Thank you! We each carried bear spray, and I put a trip wire alarm from packalarm.net around the camp at night. I also carried a .454 Casull, but I don’t think it’s necessary…it just helped us sleep at night!
Keep the beard btw, looks good haha
Who's feet are those at 2:46? Are they dead? haha
That’s me and my toe socks!
Do you pack a gun?