Day 7 - Continue Along the North Slope and Turn up the Aichilik River Valley into Rum Camp
We finish our traverse of the North Slope foothills in driving rain, and gratefully turn our tails to the wind to head up the Aichilik River Valley. The food cache we pick up holds a welcome treat - some tasty rum - and the ensuing happy hour takes our minds off the weather.
14 Photographs
1
The sky looks menacing as we start the rest of our traverse along the North Slope.
2
Watch your step! Don’t want to squish those four eggs in that well-hidden nest.
3
Brrrrrr!!! A chilly wind starts blowing, and we stop to rest in a semi-sheltered spot.
4
Perry’s eager to keep going, as we wind our way down toward the Aichilik River ahead of us.
5
The skies keep getting darker, even though it’s high noon.
6
A few more slopes and we’re almost down to the river.
7
Dale - just your typical happy arctic camper!
8
We turn up the Aichilik River Valley, finally putting the icy wind at our backs...
9
...when we spot a bear right ahead on our route! He’s just casually foraging for food, so we decide to do the same, and stop for lunch. The bear soon ambles on, and we continue on our way as well.
10
A driving rain picks up as we reach camp, and the group huddles under the kitchen tarp to wait it out - all except Cherie and Dale, that is. We scurried to get our tent up right away, oblivious to the audience just behind us giggling at our antics!
11
The rain lets up and we fetch the food cache left by our bush pilot at the nearby air strip. We enjoy the special treat of rum we find in the cache, and for a while, nobody cares anymore about the weather!
12
The clouds lift slightly, revealing that we were just below the snow line! The nearby hills sport a dusting of fresh snow to remind us that we’re still in the arctic where the weather can do anything it wants, at any time of day or year!
13
“Am I stylin’ now?” Margaret looks very fashionable in her new set of antlers!
14
A dramatic sky quietly ends our day.