Alaska Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

ANWR, Alaska, USA · United States

Expedition Grade5 daysNorth America~£5,000 est.

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Overview

The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is nineteen million acres with no trails, no ranger stations and no mobile signal — the biggest stretch of true wilderness left in the United States. A bush plane out of Fairbanks or Arctic Village drops you on a gravel bar under the Brooks Range, and for a week the country is yours: braided rivers to ford, tussock tundra to curse, and in late June the chance of the Porcupine caribou herd — nearly 200,000 animals — flowing across the coastal plain around you. Self-sufficiency is absolute. Grizzlies patrol the river corridors, so camps run on electric fences and clean protocols; weather can ground your pick-up flight for days, so carry spare food, a satellite communicator and slack at the far end of your plans. Twenty-four-hour daylight in June-August is disorienting and glorious in equal measure. Costs are dominated by the flying: expect £5,000 upwards for a guided week including charters. Unguided parties need genuine Alaska river-crossing and bear experience, not enthusiasm.