Sunday August 27 – Fairbanks to Arctic Circle

The day dawned cloudy and foggy, not good for our flight over and into the Arctic Circle. At the airport they said we could go, but we wouldn’t be able to land at our intended destination of Coldfoot, and on from there to Wiseman, due to weather being too bad for a small aircraft with mountains around. The planes can’t fly blind, and need visual to land at Coldfoot because of the mountains, and the runway there doesn’t have lights. So, instead we could go to Bettles, a little southwest of Coldfoot. We all decided to go anyway.

We had dressed for the weather, knowing it was going to be cold (single digits, Celsius), but a couple of others did not, and experienced panic at the cold and their unpreparedness! One lady insisted her partner choose a long-sleeved shirt in his size at the Lodge at Bettles (not much to choose from!), so she could wear it! We’re not really sure what she was thinking – we were headed NORTH into a colder area, and it was cold when we left Fairbanks! Bettles is a tiny town, with a permanent population of only about 10, despite what the sign says. A 92 year old woman lives on her own there. The Lodge owner, an American and his wife who bought it four years ago, knew we were coming so had soup cooking ready for us. He took us on the official town tour in his van. There’s not much to the town – many empty buildings including the old Parks office and the school. The town is near the Koyukuk (Coy-you-cook) River, and is serviced by an airstrip built by the military years ago and which has lights, and a lake for float planes. The plane we were in was a Piper Navejo, a 10 seater including the pilot, but still a small plane. Three planes were needed to get the morning group out there. One of our group was very nervous about flying in it (the same one who was very under-dressed). The trip was a bit over an hour, and we were away around six hours.

Yukon River

the original airport building

post office

an abandoned house

hut used by people wishing to watch and film the Northern Lights

the river

Our afternoon group were not as lucky as us. The weather closed in further and they couldn’t even get to Bettles. Instead they got over the Arctic Circle and landed at Fort Yukon on the banks of the Yukon River. [The town started as a trading post in the days of the Hudson Bay Company, and then was a big centre during the Klondike gold rush. So, while they had a shorter outing than us, they still get their certificate. None of us could do anything about the weather.]

We have a very early start tomorrow so went to bed at 9pm to get some sleep before our 2.45am rise. Tonight is cloudy, so we won’t be able to see the Northern Lights. Disappointing. [A couple in our group saw them last night!]