Football, Philosophy and the Natural World: Coldfoot Alaska: Arctic Safari Tour

Our tour guide Jason.

I went on the Arctic Safari Tour while visiting Coldfoot Camp. It's a tour that takes you further up the Dalton all the way to Atigun Pass. If you've done the drive from Fairbanks to Coldfoot (instead of flying) then you might wonder if the Safari will just be more of the same. It's not. Coldfoot lies just at the southern end of the Brooks Range, so what you drive through on the way between Fairbanks and Coldfoot is different. The Safari takes you straight through the Brooks Range all the way to the North Slope. The mountains are beautiful, and depending on when you go (I 've only gone in winter) there are also some rivers that I bet are beautiful when they are not covered in ice. The geology also becomes pretty spectacular as you get closer to the pass. Even if you aren't into rocks, it's impressive enough to admire.
I am not sure what the animal situation is in summer, but in winter the main attractions are moose, ptarmigan, caribou, and Dall sheep. I am guessing in the summer black bears and grizzlys are around as well. On the tour I went on we saw three moose, a singular Dall sheep, and then a whole herd of 9 individuals further up the road, and a flock of snowy white ptarmigan. I guess I should say here that for the most part the animals were a ways off the road. It was the same the last time I took the trip. They don't like the trucks and noise, so they tend to stay back. But while they weren't cruizing down the shoulder, they were still visable and really beautiful. I only mention it here because I think that some people might feel disappointed they aren't up close. If you own a pair of binoculars I would totally recommend you bring them. Being able to see the amimals up close really made it more personal, and made up for the fact that they were kind of too far to photograph.
The drive is a long one, and the tour takes almost all day (from like 11:00-6:00) but it's worth it I think. It comes with a sack lunch, and there are hot beverages the whole time, and you can spend all your time looking out the window while the tour guide navigates the road.
If you sit in the back I would reommend requesting that the seats be rotated every couple stops, because the best photographs are out the front window. But I rode in the back the whole time and I didn't miss anything. And still got some nice shots with my camera.
Also whenever possible the tour guides will pull of and let everyone out to photograph something interesting. They will only stop though if they can pull the van completely off the road. And you aren't allowed to leave the pullout areas to walk on the shoulder of the road either. The semi-trucks are dangerouns, as well as the gravel they can kick up, and for everyone's safety they limit when and where the tour can stop.
The tour passes the tree line (most tree lines are formed by going up in elevation, but this one is formed by latitude and the limits of sunlight) and there is a dramatic change in scenery as you climb the Chandalar Shelf and head up into Atigun Pass.
The final thing about the tour was that the guide provided a lot of information about the Camp, Wiseman, the Dalton itself, the pipeline, the local wildlife, and they were really interested in answering questions when they could, and sharing antecdotes along the way. On our safari we learned about the history of Coldfoot, and then by pure coincidence we ran into the guy (Dick Mackey) that actually founded the camp in the 80's. He's also a famous Iditerod musher! That was really awesome! And more exciting since we all had just learned who he was.
It was a fun trip, and I saw some really beautiful animals. See below for a couple of my photos.