OKOKMILAGA RIVER EXPLORATORY
Western Brooks Range/ Gates of the Arctic


The Okokmilaga River originates high in the peaks of the western Brooks Range just north of the Arctic’s continental divide on the north edge of Gates of the Arctic National Park. This small and very remote wild river runs north out of the Brooks Range to join the Killik River just before its confluence with the massive Colville River. The open treeless glacial valleys of the Okokmilaga and Killik Rivers serve as migration corridors for the nearly 500,000 strong Western Arctic Caribou herd and the smaller Central Herd just as they
did for the early hunters and traders of the Western rooks
Range, the Inuits and Athapaskans and more recently the
inland Eskimos, the Nunamuit people. And though scattered evidence remains of the presence of early man it is the caribou that define this vast wilderness and signs of their sheer numbers are written in the crisscrossing trails that cover the open slopes and high passes and the antlers that dot the tundra. This is the land of the caribou and a hauntingly primordial wilderness as far from the hustle and bustle of civilization as you can get. Wolves, grizzlies, wolverine, fox and other mammals reside here as well as a myriad of water fowl and birds of prey.

We’ll fly from Fairbanks via small plane to the small outpost of Coldfoot where we will board our bush plane for our flights to the upper Okokmilaga River. The drainage is small and intimate and we will make our way down river in small paddle rafts. We’ll spend several days laying over incamps
along the way to take advantage of the superb hiking.
Few people venture into this far and remote corner of
the Brooks Range and we will be discovering this valley together, making this a true Alaska river rafting exploratory.