I met Ron and the two other people who were joining us. Dave (precise and focused, doctor from California who had lots of questions about everything) and John (easy-going and knowledgeable, retired.) John’s wife had been planning to come, but got sick and couldn’t come. (Which meant we also didn’t have the second guide or second raft.)
John could answer most of David’s questions about wildlife and park management and airplanes (he used to fly small planes.) Ron filled in questions about Alaskan politics, and also wildlife and Alaska history.
We got our rental items, and repacked out stuff into dry bags. Ron then drove us back to our hotels. He picked us up the next day, and we drove to the airport.
They were VERY SMALL planes. Needed two of them to carry the four of us plus our equipment. (I don’t enjoy flying, especially in small planes.)
We flew for about two hours, over the Yukon flats, then into the south side of the Brooks Range. We flew up the East fork of the Chandalar River, and then up the Wind River.
There were fresh fresh tracks all over the sand – bear, wolf, caribou, moose.
We set up our tents on a small ledge, and Ron set up the cooking area.
We still had some time, so we hiked up the hill to get a view.
Later, there was a beautiful sunset. As we learned, clear nights meant cold nights. The first one was the worst – ice formed on water bottles in the tents. I left my water bottle outside, and it froze solid.
