OVERVIEW
This tour focuses on the diverse photography in Alaska's arctic in the autumn: artic wildlife, polar bears, northern lights and landscapes. The trip begins in Fairbanks, along Dalton Highway into the Brooks Range, across the Arctic Circle and the Atigun Pass towards the north to Prudhoe Bay the largest oilfield in North America. We will cover great distances, traveling primarily along the amazing Dalton Highway, often called the most scenic road in North America! We'll search for moose, fox and grizzly bear surrounded by vibrant autumn colours and spectacular landscapes. Visit an Inupiat village along the beautiful Beaufort Sea coastline for the chance to view and photograph polar bears. This is the best time of the year for this trip as foraging polar bears often feed on whale carcasses while they wait for the winter sea ice to form. It is also at this time of year, near the equinox, that the northern lights peak in activity. Temperatures are still moderate, allowing for comfortable photography and wildlife viewing. Days are long enough to provide light for plenty of wildlife photography with beautiful scenic backgrounds, while nights are long enough for the transitory auroras to be enjoyed.
Accommodations vary due to region limitations:
hotel in Fairbanks;
cozy cabins in the Brooks Range;
industrial hotel in Prudhoe Bay;
the quirky Waldo Arms in Kaktovik.
ITINERARY AT A GLANCE
Day 1: Arrival in Fairbanks
Day 2: Drive north to Wiseman
Day 3: Explore south-side of Brooks Range and drive north to Prudhoe Bay
Day 4: Explore Prudhoe Bay and fly to Native Village
Day 5 & 6: Bear viewing and photography
Day 7: Return to Prudhoe and Wiseman
Day 8: Explore around Wiseman
Day 9: Drive along Dalton Highway southwards and return to Fairbanks
Day 10: Flight home
COSTS
Costs, Payments and Cancellations: Upon receiving your deposit, we will send trip materials and travel insurance information. Until the final payment date, payments are refundable except for a cancellation fee of $150 per person. This fee may go toward another tour if reserved within six months of the departure date of the cancelled trip.
Included:
Airport transfers in Fairbanks on the afternoon of arrival day and after breakfast on departure day.
All accommodations as listed in the detailed itinerary and all meals from dinner on September 2 to breakfast on September 11 are included in the cost of the trip.
All transportation on the trip includes flights to and from the Native Village.
All tipping is covered in the cost of the trip.
Not Included:
Flights to and from Fairbanks, Alaska, are not included. Please let us know if you need help arranging your own air flights to and from Fairbanks. Internal flights are included. Round trip to Fairbanks is approximately $650-$800 from the lower 48 states, depending on departure point (quoted December 2009).
Alcoholic beverages are not included and will not be served in Prudhoe Bay or the Native Village.
Items of a personal nature and souvenir purchases.
Extra hotel nights and separate transfers.
DOCUMENTATION
A valid US ID is required for travel to and from Alaska via commercial airline. For foreigners, a valid passport with at least six months validity is required. If you do not have a passport from a Visa Waiver Program (VWP) eligible country, you may need to apply for a Short Travel Visa to the United States.
CLIMATE
You are traveling to the high arctic in fall.Keep in mind the arctic has ever changing weather with temperatures that can swing from below freezing to warm in a matter of hours at this time of year. Expect daytime temperatures in the 30’s and 40’s (perhaps as high as the 60’s) with nights below freezing. Both rain and/or snow are possible as well so think layers when packing starting with a waterproof and windproof outer shell with layers of wool or fleece underneath. Warm hat and gloves are essential as are liner gloves for photography! Be prepared for rainy cool weather. Dressing in layers is very helpful as you can remove or add as the temperature dictates.
DETAILED ITINERAY
Day 1: Arrival in Fairbanks
Arrive in Fairbanks and transfer to the lodging at the River's Edge Resort. A welcome dinner is planned at a local restaurant, where we will discuss the tripitinerary in detail and talk about northern lights photography technique.
Day 2: Drive north to Wiseman
After breakfast we will depart, driving north on the most scenic road in North America, the Dalton Highway and crosses the White Mountains and the mighty Yukon River. Driving to the south side of the Brooks Range will show traces of the intense autumn colour that blanketed the mountainsides. The yellow of cottonwoods and birches, the red of blueberries and the orange of dwarf birch will be fading into the browns and whites of early winter in this spectacular landscape and provide for great scenic photography! As we enter the Brooks Range the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, which parallels the haul road becomes more apparent as it converges with the road corridor and stands on steel pillars adjacent to the road. Our destination for the day is Wiseman, located approximately 60 miles north of the Arctic Circle in the heart of the spectacular Brooks Range and is the perfect base for exploring and photographing this area. Away from the light pollution of Fairbanks we will spend our first evening north of the Arctic Circle looking for and photographing northern lights if weather permits.
Day 3: Explore south-side of Brooks Range and drive north to Prudhoe Bay
After a hearty breakfast, we will set out on an all-day drive to the end of the road in Prudhoe Bay. We will drive north from Wiseman keeping an eye out for some of the inhabitants of the boreal forest such as moose, foxes and grizzly bears. Traces of the dazzling fall colour will still be evident unitl we climb over the Atigun Pass, the highest road in Alaska, and continental divide of the Brooks Range. As we ascend the Atigun pass, entering into the high alpine environment, snow may blanket the landscape at this time of year or there may be some fall colours, as mid-September is a transition time of year.
Descending onto the north side of the Brooks Range from Atigun Pass we enter a different world devoid of trees, and home too many species of arctic wildlife, such as musk-oxen, caribou, grizzly bear, fox, wolf and moose. Many birds of prey can be found in the open tundra landscape of the north slope, such as rough-legged hawk, short-eared owl, gyrfalcon and snowy owl. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline also snakes over the open tundra parallel to the road and is a constant reminder of what lies at the end of the road on the coast of the Beaufort Sea in Prudhoe Bay. Our destination this night is “Deadhorse” or Prudhoe Bay the hub of oilfield activity and the location of the airport where we will catch our flight the next day.
Day 4: Explore Prudhoe Bay and Fly to Native Village
After a hearty breakfast at the oilfield hotel we will set out to explore the area around the Prudhoe Bay oilfields. Mid-day we will proceed to the bustling Prudhoe Bay Airport and get checked in for our flight to the native village. The short 40-minute flight takes us over the spectacular arctic coastal plain and the well-known area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Upon arrival in the Native Village in early afternoon we will be transported from the village airstrip to our accommodations for the next three nights. The remainder of this day we will settle in and get oriented with our surroundings and hopefully see and photograph bears.
Day 5 & 6: Bear viewing and photography
These two days will be spent viewing and photographing bears and other wildlife that inhabits this area. We will drive to beaches where we may watch and photograph bears in their natural environment. There may be opportunities to take a boat ride to view bears that are resting and playing on a barrier island just off shore. These excursions will depend on weather and boat availability and are offered by local people in the village. If we are fortunate, we may have the privilege of witnessing the bowhead whale harvest. If this is the case we will be allowed to watch and possibly photograph this fascinating Inupiat tradition. We will have to exercise cultural awareness on this subject and may not be able to photograph all the people involved. It is important that we ask if photos are permissible.
Day 7: Return to Prudhoe and Wiseman
This will be a long day of travel and our last opportunity to observe and photograph the bears. After breakfast, we will take a drive around the village and for our last bear viewing foray. We board our airplane for the flight back to arrive in Prudhoe Bay in late morning. Upon arrival in Prudhoe Bay, we will pick up a picnic lunch and start our drive south towards Wiseman. We will be watching out for wildlife during our long drive in the stunning landscape. With photography stops, we will not reach Wiseman until later in the evening. After the sunset, we will keep our eyes peeled for the aurora, as this may be an excellent opportunity for aurora photography.
Day 8: Explore around Wiseman area
The beginning of this day will be marked by a leisurely morning in order to give everyone an opportunity to rest after the previous long day of travel and aurora viewing. After breakfast we will set out to explore the area around Wiseman and on the south side of the Brooks Range. The evening will be spent searching the night skies for aurora and finding the ideal locations to photograph aurora.
Day 9: Return to Fairbanks
After our last breakfast in Wiseman we will go on a walking tour of Wiseman. Bring your camera to photograph some of the historic gold-rush era cabins and antique steam-powered gold mining equipment. After the tour and final photos we will bid farewell to Wiseman and depart for the drive south to Fairbanks. As with the drive north, we will maximize wildlife viewing and photographic opportunities during this day of travel. Upon arrival in Fairbanks we will check in at the Rivers Edge Resort, get cleaned up from a day on the road and head out to our farewell dinner at a fine local restaurant.
Day 10: Flight home
After breakfast this morning, transfer to Fairbanks airport for your flight home.
THE NATIVE VILLAGE
We will be visiting a native village inhabited by approximately 250 Inupiat “Eskimo” people who are endemic to this region of arctic Alaska. The village is located on a small 3 mile by 2 mile island just off the arctic coastline. This Island was an important stop for whalers at the turn of the last century, but did not become a permanent settlement for the semi-nomadic Inupiat people until 1923 with the establishment of a fur trading post. The island is characterized by a large saltwater lagoon that is located on the east side of the island and provides a sheltered anchorage for the village fishing boats. The downtown consists of a cluster of homes built on the barren tundra approximately one mile from the village airport. There are limited roads and vehicles located in this village, but a vehicle is important for travel and photography of the polar bears. We will have the only rental vehicle available and although it may not be pretty it will be sufficient for the purpose. Keep in mind that we are visitors from a different culture to this village, and our sense of time and schedule may be different than the Inupiuq’s. Experiencing the culture of the Inupiat is as much of an experience as watching the polar bears!
POLAR BEARS
The circumpolar indigenous people of the world have been hunting marine mammals and whales for thousands of years and the Inupiat of Alaska are no different. In a very tightly controlled hunt, arctic coastal villages are allowed to hunt the bowhead whale, which frequent the waters of the adjacent Beaufort Sea/Arctic Ocean. A whale harvest quota is awarded to each village according to number of residents and the historic harvest.
The Inupiat name for the polar bear is “Nanook” and the domain of Nanook is not the beaches and tundra of the arctic coast, but the pack ice that covers the sea surface for 9 months of the year. Polar bears feed mainly on seals that live on and under the arctic ice, hunting them using a number of different techniques. Like their cousins the brown bears from whom they evolved, during times of hunger, polar bears can be opportunistic and will feed on whatever food opportunities appear. Other food sources can include vegetation such as grass, small rodents, bird eggs, other marine mammals and scavenging on carrion. Polar bears are attracted to this area to scavenge on the carcasses of butchered whales, and begin to arrive here before the annual whale hunt begins on Labor Day each year. In mid-summer when the arctic pack ice moves off shore, Beaufort Sea polar bears are often marooned on shore where there is little to eat. These bears enter the fall season hungry from lack of readily available food and have keyed into the presence of whale carcasses in this area starting in September. A bear’s memory is so good they will remember the time and place where food was available and return to that same spot the next year at the same time. The bears typically arrive in late august before the whale hunt begins, and will scavenge on the remains of whale carcasses from previous year’s hunts. We will be visiting this area during the annual hunt and if we are fortunate we may witness the community event that surrounds the harvesting of a whale.