5 August 2017 The Wait is Over?

I am going on five days in Coldfoot, and it has felt like one endless day. The same flat light, filtering through clouds, hour after hour. Rain pitter pattering on tents. Sled dogs howling and yapping. Cup after cup of coffee, watching truckers and tourists filter in and out of the cafe. A motley crew gathering. Researchers, climbers, rafters, hunters, all waiting for the weather to lift so Dirk can fly.

Our noisy neighbors, the local sled dogs. The Dalton Highway, at the Coldfoot turn-off, is quiet during the storm.

We make the best of the wait. Writing grants, analyzing data, taking short hikes. We talk, nap, read. Each night, we eat the dinner buffet then head to the Visitor's Center for the evening talk. The rain continues to come down, inches of it, and we hear that a nearby river, the Noatak, rose five feet in one night. We know we are lucky. Several groups are running out of food while they wait in the backcountry for a flight. We use their experience as a cautionary tale; we too could wait days to be picked up at the end of our hitch.

Chris overlooks Slate Creek where it flows into the Koyukuk River.

Then yesterday morning, finally!, we woke to bits of blue sky and sunshine. Our moods lifted with the clouds and Dirk jumped into action. His priority was picking up the stranded groups, but our departure felt so close. Happy to have a new task, Chris and I headed to the airstrip to weigh our food and gear. We came in under 1200lb, so probably won't need to leave anything behind. After so many long rainy days, the flurry of activity at the airstrip was a nice change of pace. We watched the other groups head off on their adventures, happy that their wait, at least, was over.

This is what 258lbs of food looks like. Definitely enough for four people for two weeks. A group of climbers prepares to fly into the arctic wilderness with Coyote Air.

Another front is coming in today or tomorrow, but we are first in line to fly. Anything can happen, but it looks like we will finally be leaving Coldfoot for Lake Peters!