12 days packrafting Gates of the Arctic, Alaska, 2022
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
Пікірлер: 55
The adventures I hope to do someday! Thx for sharing!
Fantastic. Must've been amazing!!
An adventure to remember..greetings from northern Alberta Canada 👍
Very cool trip
so cool ,from China
Very nice, love it!
Well done!
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.
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
Thank you!! I’m still trying to learn, but I want to keep at it.
Awesome trip! Hope my friend and I have the courage to act on something similar! This video helps capture the imagination! Thank you!
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!
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
Yeah, it was awful!
Belle aventure. Top
Amazing video, Alaska is a place I don’t see much in the backpacking space.
Greetings from Patagonia. Great adventure you made!
@OutsideByNature
4 ай бұрын
I will be in Patagonia in March for the first time! I’m excited to see that beautiful countryside!
Those are some big tracks. I am not a kayaking expert, but I usually try to stay on slower flowing inner curves.
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!!
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
It's an amazing trip! You'll love it!
@whatsomeguydoes9264
Жыл бұрын
I'm headed to Arrigetch this summer as well!
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!
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
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!
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.
@OutsideByNature
Ай бұрын
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!
Amazing trip! PS: Pls, share info about Rain Coats in the last episode. Planning long wild trip this summer.
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
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!
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
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.
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!
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
No, they really weren't bad at all. Thank goodness!
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 ;)
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
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!
Nice trip so far. What beautiful song are you singing along at the start?
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
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.
@basedgod698
Жыл бұрын
@@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
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
@@basedgod698 I can certainly ask her!
@jrodowens
Жыл бұрын
@@OutsideByNature I could tell that moment was special, truly sublime. The song, her voice in harmony, the nature around. Thanks for sharing with everybody.
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
@@jrodowens Thank you! That's how I felt, too.
I would have been scared to death with inflatable rafts instead of canoes, but nice trip and scenery.
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
Thank you! Those rafts will take a beating!
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?
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
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!
The landing approach seemed rather unsettling
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
It was nice and smooth…until we got close to the ground! That one jerk to the right was definitely unsettling!
Keep the beard btw, looks good haha
Pretty cool trip, I just made my first trip video and have gained a new level of appreciation for what you do. Cheers!
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
Thank you! I’m still trying to learn.
Just subscribed. Cool trip! Little bit of fishing would have added some goodness
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
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.
@CreationDust777
Жыл бұрын
@@OutsideByNature looking forward to checking out some of your other adventures
What do you do for bear protection? Good video
@OutsideByNature
Жыл бұрын
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!
Who's feet are those at 2:46? Are they dead? haha
@kdarnell12
20 күн бұрын
That’s me and my toe socks!
Do you pack a gun?