Canoeing the Noatak River in Alaska in 1989

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Canoeing the Noatak River in Alaska in 1989

In the summmer of 1989, Bob Walker (my father), Joan Wrobel (my wife), and I (Craig Walker) canoed the Noatak River in northwest Alaska. Bob was 70 at the time and this was by no means his last big northern trip. Somewhat sobering is that, as I'm writing much of this web page in 2024, he was 5 years younger than I am now. We had read that the Noatak would be a small, clear river flowing through the gravel bars with many easy rapids. What we got was a river in flood at the start, overflowing its banks, and rather muddy as is typical in flood conditions. The water fluctuated a lot during the trip - order a foot up or down overnight each night. We did have a few rapids but nothing serious. The river was never the clear stream through the gravel bars that we had read about. We had rain for all but about 3 days out of 3 weeks, which was not good for morale. But we did see some beautiful and remote country. We were on the river from July 14 through August 1.

As usual for a remote northern river on which you plan to use your own boats, getting there is half the challenge. The two boats that we used were my Old Town Tripper, veteran of a number of northern trips, and a beautiful solo cedar stripper built by Bob before the trip. The boats were taken north on our 1988 Ford Ranger, putting about 11,000 miles on the truck. Bob drove up from New Mexico, picking up my sister Jan in Alberta. Joan and I flew to Fairbanks over spectacular scenery in Southeast Alaska and the Alaska Range. For the trip up the Dalton Highway, we had 4 people, two boats and nearly a month's supplies in the small pickup! We drove to Grayling Lake where Bob, Joan, and I put everything in the boats and paddled out to the middle. After a while, our charter flight arrived in the form of a Beaver (a fairly large single engine airplane on floats) from Bettles and picked us up. Jan drove the truck back to Fairbanks and, after some vacationing, left it in the airport parking lot. We were supposed to fly directly to the Noatak, but, thanks to the weather, got to spend a night in Bettles. We made it to the river the next day, July 14, although there was just barely enough room under the clouds to get through the passes.

The story of the canoe trip will be told along with the slide captions.

We paddled to Kotzebue, a distance of a bit over 400 miles, in 3 weeks. I find it pleasant to spend some time in the northern communities at the end of trips to learn a bit about the people and shop for some of the local art. After 2 days in Kotzebue, we flew back to Fairbanks while shipping the boats as airfreight to Anchorage. They rode on top of a load of Salmon. From Fairbanks, we drove to Anchorage to get the boats. We did some tourist sight seeing south of Anchorage and took a scenic boat tour out of Whittier. We then returned to Fairbanks with a stop and bus trip at Denali Park. Finally we put Bob on an airplane home and Joan and I drove back to New Mexico, taking about 10 days. Joan and I were away from home from July 11 to August 20. The trips up and back are a part of the vacation - in fact, for later trips, Joan did not go canoeing, but did fly up to participate in a somewhat leisurely trip back.

For each photo in this show, the index page has a small version and a description. You can click on the small version to see a larger version that about fills a normal computer screen.

I am building this slide show in 2024, 35 years after the trip. The original photos are on slide film so there is no record of the exact time and date they were taken. But I have a log of the trip written at the time which has allowed me to date and locate many of the photos and has helped with writing the captions.

The photos from this trip were taken with a Konica Autoreflex T3 and a Minolta waterproof camera. The film was Ektachrome of some sort. The scanning was done on a Minolta Scan Elite in April and May 2002. I realized recently that I had not made a web version so have done so in September 2024.

There are no water flow guages on the Noatak listed on the USGS Site. I found one old paper that claims that the average flow in August is 27,000 cfs at the mouth. That makes the Noatak, in very round numbers, twice the volume of the Colorado in the Grand Canyon. It is not a small river! On the other hand, in winter, there is no flow in the upper reaches. I made some attempts to measure the width, depth and speed of the river in the first days of the trip in the mountains. The resulting flow estimates were a bit under 6000 cfs with very big uncertainties. Of course, the river grows tremendously between there and the mouth.

Click on the image for a screen size version. The "2000" and "full size" versions are larger (not available in web versions).

Bob's home designed and built cedar stripper canoe.	Bob Walker at home in New Mexico on June 30, 1989, ready to start his drive to Albert to pick up Jan and then drive the Alaska Highway. I'm there to see him off.	Bob, Jan, Joan, and Craig (me) at the Arctic Circle on the Dalton (Pipeline) Highway on July 12. Four people, two canoes, and three weeks of gear for 3 people was a big load for the Ford Ranger.	We were supposed to be met by the pilot in the middle of Grayling Lake beside the Dalton Highway on July 13. When we got there, a mother and calf moose were wading near the access point. We did not want to launch while they were there.
These are the two moose at the launch site. We did not have an alternative place to launch so we had to wait for them to wander off.	My sister Jan ready to drive the Ranger back to Fairbanks where she would, after a bit of vacation, leave it at the airport for us to pick up at the end of the trip. Despite the pose, I'm sure she didn't drink a beer before the drive - note it is still capped. Note the pipeline in the background - the Dalton is the pipeline highway.	Finally the moose moved on. We loaded the canoes and paddled out onto the lake. Eventually, Ron Costello from Brooks Range Aviation arrived and we loaded directly from the boats into the plane. We flew off toward the Noatak and Jan took the truck back to Fairbanks. Because of the weather, we ended up flying to Bettles, not straight to the Noatak. We spent the night in Bettles and made it to the river the next day. Having flights delayed by a day or two on these northern trips is very common.	Joan and Bob in the back of the plane on the way to Bettles.
The area of Alaska near Bettles. This is the junction of the Wind (or maybe John) and the North Fork of the Koyukuk Rivers. This nice clear water in the gravel bars was what we expected on the Noatak. But note the rain.	The lodge in Bettles where we spent the night of July 13-14.	Bob, Joan, and the pilot at the dock in Bettles.	Approaching the put in site at Twelve Mile Slough on the Noatak River on July 14. The Slough is along the right edge of the valley just before the final visible bend of the river away from that side. The clouds were barely high enough to get over the mountain pass and did not allow much of a view of the Brooks Range.
Unloading the plane at our landing site at Twelve Mile Slough.	There is a magical moment on these northern trips involving air charters - when the plane flies away leaving you suddenly alone in the middle of nowhere.	At the Noatak and ready to go. We've just ferried a party of hikers across the river. Note the near flood conditions and the lousy weather. This set the tone for the trip.	Here it is clear that the Noatak River is in flood. It is also clear why our views of the mountains early in the trip were a bit limited.
One of our campson the Noatak River, maybe the first which was only about two miles from Twelve Mile Slew. Until late in the trip, all of our camps were in the tundra rather than the gravel bars because the gravel bars were flooded. The river was dropping - by about 1 to 2 feet the first night.	Joan in front of my boat and Bob in the distance on the Noatak River in the rain. We used spray covers to keep the rain out, help keep warm, help secure the load, lower the drag in wind, and help prevent taking on water if it got rough (which basically didn't happen).	Bob Walker on the Noatak River.	Looking upstream on the Noatak. The logs indicate that we stopped and climbed a ways up a hill just before lunch. This and the next are probably among the photos taken there.
Joan at the hillside stop noted above. Notice the pingo behind her near the edge of the valley. That is on the 1:250,000 topo map we were using (which I still have) and indicates we were near Otkurak Creek	Joan and I paddling past an undercut sandbank. The soft dirt is able to maintain such a shape because of permafrost holding the upper parts together while the river thaws and erodes the portion closer to the water surface.	A bit of sun on what I think is our third camp (July 16) near Lake Isiak. I counted 68 sheep on a nearby hill near bedtime. We are not entirely alone on this river. There was the group we ferried across at the putin. There was a couple in Kleppers that we saw from our first camp and met in Kotzebue, and there were hikers we met near this camp who were expecting to have boats delivered.	Bob Walker on the Noatak River while still in the mountains.
Some mountains near the Noatak River.	Bob Walker on the Noatak River. The mountains are mellowing somewhat.	Joan and Bob waiting for me in the boats. Joan trying to fish. Note the snow field in mid August.	A moose along the side of the Noatak River.
Joan in the front of the Old Town Tripper in a bit of easy whitewater. This is about as rough as it got if you don't count the ocean waves approaching Kotzebue. I suspect at the high water level we had, most rapids were washed out.	Bob Walker's beautiful cedar stripper canoe pulled out on a gravel bar on the Noatak River.	Me (Craig Walker) with one of the very few fish (grayling) that we caught. The logs indicate that this is early on July 22 and we were at Nanielik River. After the fantastic fishing we had on the Coppermine River, we hoped for better. But having the river in flood made it hard. Besides I am a very inexperienced fisherman. Bob also caught one this day so we had fish for dinner.	A typical cooking scene along the Noatak River. The two fish are rapped in foil over the fire.
A "textures" photo of the gravel at one of our camps on the Noatak River.	One of the hawks we encountered on the Noatak River. I think it is a Swainson's Hawk, but am not sure.	Bob on the river. We're out of the mountains now.	A caribou along the Noatak River at the Nimiuktuk River on July 23. We camped in this area.
Joan fishing at a side stream.	Bob and a caribou on the gravel bar. I think this is the same Caribou as above at the Nimiuktuk River, where we camped.	On July 24, we made camp early in poor conditions. The following day was rain and wind, so we made it a rest day. I'm pretty sure this is the camp for those two days. We had one stretch of 14 hours of rain with no break. But the storm broke and July 26 was one of the best yet.	A group of caribou looking to cross the Noatak River near our layover camp.
The caribou finally got up the nerve to cross and did so not far from our camp.	Another hawk. I think this one is a rough-legged hawk.	A large raptor nest above the Noatak River.	A very curious looking duck scaning for something under the water.
The two canoes along the side of the Noatak River on one of the very few nice days we had on the trip. This is probably July 26.	We often found tracks of large animals at our camps. This is one example. The usual advice is to not camp where there are such tracks, but that would not have left enough viable campsites.	Joan and I in the Old Town Tripper in a photo taken by Bob. For whatever it's worth, we bought that boat in 1981 and still use it in 2024.	Another embankment showing the undercut structure related to permafrost. At some point, we started to see an occasional seal. I'm not sure what the object in the water in the foreground just right of center is, but it could be a seal, althe the first notes in my log about seals came after Noatak Village.
Our camp along the Noatak River. We needed to be careful not to leave anything close to the water at night because we had water level changes of up to a foot overnight at times.	On July 26, at a camp a few miles below the Kalukatvik River, we caught 3 grayling so we each had one for dinner.	Bob Walker in the Grand Canyon of the Noatak on July 27. There were some big waves in the rapids in the canyon, but they did not cross the whole river and could be avoided easily.	Some interesting geological folding along the side of the Noatak River.
Some Dall's sheep (I think) along the Noatak River. A note in the log indicates this is in the Noatak Canyon on July 27.	Bob Walker on the Noatak River.	The landscape along the Noatak River.	Joan taking advantage of one of our few sunny days to inventory and sort our remaining food supply. The log indicates this was also on July 27 during one of our only clear days. The first line of the following day's log says "How could it do this to us!" as we woke to overcast and occasional rain, yet again.
Joan washing something. The river has gotten very big and is in broad, flat country with some forest.	A "texture" photo of some of the mud at camp.	Flowers, the river and the countryside on the Noatak River.	Shore erosion happening before our eyes on the Noatak River.
Bob Walker just off Noatak Village on July 29. We spent about 2 hours in town.	The Noatak post office.	One of the streets in Noatak Village.	Eating lunch near our boats at the Noatak boat ramp.
Our camp after the Noatak Village. The river is the main transportation route between the regional center at Kotzebue and Noatak so we now had fairly frequent boats going by. Some stopped to chat.	Conditions weren't too pleasant the next day, July 30. The log entry for the day starts with "WIND.". We were making poor progress so we decided to wait for it to abate before doing more miles in the evening. It never stopped so our lunch spot turned into our camp.	There was a fish drying rack where we stopped.	Joan Wrobel in mid "summer" on the Noatak River. Some locals told us that summer came 2 weeks late and left two weeks early in 1989. It is normally 4 weeks long.
On July 31, we got up at 4 am to try to make some miles before the wind came up. We passed a fish hatchery run by the state. The wind never really came up so we kept going, even after the short night sleep. We also passed a State facility setting up to count salmon with sonar.	Joan on stike. She claimed her union rules called for no more than 12 hours paddling and, thanks to the early start and the lack of strong winds, we were past that.	August 1 started with glassy conditions for a change, but still cloudy. This was to be our last day as we took advantage of the good weather to cross the Kotzebue Sound.	The last landing on the Noatak River before crossing Kotzebue Sound. The crossing was uneventful and took about 1:20. That had been one of our big worries about the trip. We did still have quite a distance to go to get to town, during which the wind came up. The paddle took 2:30 according to the log, and we got to the hotel close to 8 pm. (Recall it is fairly light all night). We were never far from shore after the crossing.
A view from the flight from Kotzebue to Fairbanks of the mouth of the Noatak in the distance. Kotzebue is behind the wing. This shows most of our ocean crossing.	Bob during the crossing of Kotzebue Sound to the peninsula where Kotzebue is located. We had to cross about 3 miles of open ocean. As we neared the other side, we suddently changed from the murky water of the Noatak to Clear water, probably from the Kobuk.	Joan and Bob resting after the crossing of Kotzebue Sound. We still had several miles to go to get to Kotzebue.	Our hotel in Kotzebue.
Bob and Craig Walker on the shore of Kotzebue Sound, part of the Chukchi Sea which is part of the Artic Ocean. This is at the hotel. The water here is fresh thanks to two very large rivers entering nearby and flowing along the shore.	Denali. We are going to Anchorage to get the boats.	We took a boat tour out of Whittier into Prince William Sound. There are many glaciers in this area.	A rainbow in northern New Mexico. Nearly home.

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I have more photos of Kotzebue and of our travels in Alaska after returning to civilization, but will not include them here.