10 days in 8.4 million acres:
A trip to the least-visited national park
With no roads or trails, Gates of the Arctic is
only accessible by bush plane or foot
Photographs and text for The Washington Post / By the Way
A view of the river-carved landscape on the flight between Fairbanks and Bettles, Alaska.
From left: My mother, Susan Sloss; brother-in-law, Lalit Bhagwat; father, Jeff Sloss; friend, Andrew Lingenfelter; and sister, Rachelle Sloss watch the float plane take off after dropping us at a small lake to start the trip.
Far north in Alaska, above the Arctic Circle, sits the least-visited national park: Gates of the Arctic. With no roads or trails, most visitors access the breathtaking, 8.4-million acre park and preserve by small bush plane — or on foot, for the adventurous backpacker.
I grew up in Juneau, and in June 2021, I returned to my home state for a 10-day canoe trip with my family down the Noatak River, which runs west through the park. Our group of six was led by my father, Jeff Sloss, who has spent 35 years guiding trips through the Alaskan wilderness for an adventure-travel company.
A moose antler, bleached by the sun, lays on the tundra.
Rocks form patterns in the silty riverbank.
A red fox carries a duck in its mouth as it trots alongside our route.
Lesser yellowlegs tracks along the Noatak River.
Because we were north of the Arctic Circle during the summer solstice, the sun dipped behind the mountains between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., but never fully set below the horizon. The constant light added to the surreal nature of the landscape. I stayed up in the evenings after everyone else went to sleep, when the light turned golden. One evening at 10 p.m., I found a stunning double rainbow sweeping across the valley, shimmering in the warm light.
My dad, mom, sister and brother-in-law prepare the canoes before leaving camp one day. Before and after our peaceful hours floating the river, each day required several hours of camp breakdown and setup.
Dinners on the river: chili, freshly caught fish, pasta. We cut down on our food weight as much as possible by dehydrating meals ahead of time.
Freshly caught lake trout.
The sun peeks out from behind the mountains at 4:48 a.m. on our final morning.