When my two adult children wanted a "mom and kid" trip, we decided to look no further than the Last American Frontier. I have done the Alaska cruise and am NOT a cruise person, thought about touring Anchorage and then driving to Fairbanks stopping at sites in between and then found Iniakuk Lake Wilderness Lodge on Trip Advisor. The reviews were very helpful but mostly people going during the winter months for dog sledding. We wanted to go in the summer.
I contacted Pat Gaedeke who customized our trip and set it all up. We locked in on the trip close to a year in advance. Since I was not sure what might botch our plans, I made sure to have trip insurance and highly recommend it. The cost of the trip is all inclusive and covers travel from Wright Air Service, Brooks Range Aviation, lodging, food and specialized equipment. All you have to do is get to Fairbanks and Pat will take care of you from there.
Our first day started in a 10 seater plane from Wright Air Service to Bettles. Pat's expeditor met us at the terminal with a Yeti Cooler full of food for our remote cabins to load with our duffle bags. Fairbanks was a bit hazy due to a forest fire that was located NE but we could follow the terrain as we headed north above the Arctic Circle. Bettles is just a wide spot in the road with gravel runway and a few buildings which make up the town. We landed and loaded our gear into a pick up truck which drove us over to the float pond where we boarded our next flight to Iniakuk Lake. Once at Iniakuk, we stretched our legs and met Pat and her son, John Gaedeke, as well as, Thom Walker, who was to be our guide while at the Caribou Cabin. We then loaded back onto the float plane and began our trek north to the headwaters.
We landed on the headwaters lake and unpacked all of our gear. Once the plane left, we were 4 people all by ourselves with the beautiful backdrop of mountains and open terrain. The Caribou Cabin is above the treeline and the landscape is very dramatic. We stayed two nights hiking and enjoying gourmet meals prepared by Thom. There is daylight until around midnight and then dusk for about 3 hours. One night Thom and my son hiked to the top of the mountain behind the cabin. They returned about midnight and although the mosquitos were ferocious, they said the hike was worth it!
After two nights, the float plane returned and took us to the Alatna River where we met John Gaedeke who joined us with two boats to float 3-4 hours to the next cabin. John and Thom, as our guides, did all of the work and rowed us down river as we took pictures and got to know more about Alaska from their experiences.
When we arrived at the Arrigetch Cabin, the landscape was very different from the day before. It is nestled in the woods and protected from view. The mountains along the river rise directly up and we took advantage of hiking to the meadows of one so that we could take in the surrounding Brooks Range and the river below. Once again, we enjoyed gourmet meals cooked by our guides. We did not have to worry about missing any calories on this trip.
We floated down the river the day we were to head to Iniakuk Lake Lodge where the next float plane picked us up. Pat certainly planned our trip well. We experienced the remote cabins at the front of the trip and then the wilderness luxury of the lodge at the end. While at the lodge, we fished for pike, the youngsters hiked to the top of the mountain behind the lodge and we continued to enjoy the gourmet meals prepared by Pat. Our Arctic adventure could not have been any better and we were sad to leave our new friends and the beauty of Alaska.
Thanks to Thom Walker for his patience, humor and willingness to guide us in any activity we requested. Thanks to John for his ingenuity, travel stories and back country experiences that he shared with us all. Finally...thanks to Pat for planning the perfect exclusive adventure, her great cooking and hospitality and of course, the attention to detail. The Gaedeke's thought of everything!