It's been a crazy busy summer juggling between working the desk job at DNR and getting out in the field and guiding for Arctic Wild. I'm just now getting around to finding time to sit down and catch up on posting pictures of this summers activities. Where did we leave off?.... Oh yes... The Joe Creek backpack went well and ended at Whale Mountain along the Kongakut River. At the end of the backpack 5 clients flew back to Fairbanks while 4 new clients flew in with the river gear needed to float north to the coast. It took two flights in a Cessna 185 to get both the rafts and clients in but once they were in we were able to sit back and relax. The weather was perfect so we decided to stay an extra day and do a bit of day hiking while we were still in the mountains before inflating the boats and moving on. What a great decision. Not only did the extra day at Whale Mountain afford me an extra day with my wife, it also was an exceptional caribou watching day. We woke up to see a few caribou walking along the hill sides and down the valley toward us. While we were eating breakfast we saw close to 30 caribou approaching camp. They saw us, stopped, looked curiously then crossed the river to the other side. Because of the lay of the land they had to cross just above our camp anyway, we just happened to be in the right spot. The caribou would cross, we'd watch until they were gone then the continue to get ready for a day hike. Before we could focus on organizing another group would approach. We watched, they left. Then another and another and another all day long. We eventually got our packs together and crossed the river to hike across the tundra and watch from different vantage points. We easily saw several thousand caribou on day 1.
Day 2 we blew up the rafts and headed down river. It is hard to tell in the photo above but the ice field on the left side (the little patch of white) had close to one thousand caribou on it seeking refuge from mosquitoes and other nuisances. It's a classic maneuver the caribou use to get away from insects. Just before dinner we found a nice Dryas bench to set up camp on. The camp was beautifully located on the edge of the mountains. Our view south was of the jagged Brooks Range, where we had been, and to the north the flat coastal plane, where we were headed.
The next few days were spent day hiking and making our way out to the Arctic Ocean.
We made it out to the barrier islands on the coast with four days remaining. At first glance many folks would think the trip was over because there's nothing left to do. For us the trip was just starting to get really good. The bird life along the coast is incredibly diverse, historical native and whaling sites are to be explored and watching the midnight sun circle around your head 24 hours a day makes for nonstop awe.
I keep trying to convey the how incredibly fascinating and beautiful the arctic is but I can't do it with words. It just has to be experienced first hand to fully appreciate it.
Summer started showing signs of ageing to fall a few weeks back around Fairbanks. Flowers going to seed was the first indicator of winter's approach. While the beauty of flowers disappearing may not be exciting, what comes next is always highly anticipated...... berry season! An ambitious berry picker can fill their freezer with gallons wild fruits like raspberries, cloudberries, cranberries and blueberries. 
Some years are better than others. This year was not one of the better seasons but Becky still managed to hunt down a phenomenal blueberry patch where she was able to pick several gallons of berries in a few hours. I know what you are thinking right about now. No! We won't tell you the location of our top secret berry patch. You can't make us talk....... unless..... nope, you can't make us talk.
Now the berries are on their way out, the leaves have turned orange, yellow and red and have started to fall to the ground. Three days ago we got our first snow but it has since melted. Soon it will stick and we will move on to skiing and plugging our cars in so they start.
