A few weekends ago we went on our annual camping trip to Marion Creek Campground in the Arctic Circle. Marion Creek Campground is located 5 miles north of Coldfoot. It is a developed campground with a volunteer campground host on site. There are numerous other campgrounds that are undeveloped, such as Five Mile (4 miles north of the Yukon River), Arctic Circle (right uphill from the Arctic Circle viewing deck), and Galbraith Lake (north of Atigun Pass).
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| Donkeys looking over Marion Creek |
The drive north is really beautiful – you follow the Alaska pipeline the entire way (it will be on your right). Little word of caution – the Dalton Highway/Alaska Route 11 (commonly referred to by Alaskans as the “Haul Road”) is very dangerous and not well kept. The Dalton highway is a 414 mile highway between the Elliot Highway and Deadhorse. Its original purpose during its 1974 construction was as a supply route for the building of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. It is mainly a trucking road (Atigun Pass, the most famous component of the highway, made its name with help of Ice Road Truckers), and stands as the longest service-less road in North America. The Dalton Highway garners its adversarial reputation thanks to a variety of treacherous characteristics, including grades of 12%, thick dust, flying rocks, horrendous potholes, and the fact that fuel is only available in three places in the entire 414 miles.
The Dalton Highway was named one of the world’s top 10 most dangerous roads by Complex, one of America’s top 10 most dangerous roads by Popular Mechanics, and one of the 22 deadliest highways in the world by gapyear.com, It has found its way on to numerous other “most dangerous” lists including RoadCrazed, USA Today, and Ford Magazine. Its risky business was also the topic of television interest including CNN, BBC, and, of course, Ice Road Truckers.
One of the most dangerous parts of the highway is the “Roller Coaster” (see it here; video doesn’t do it justice).
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| Don keeping Andy safe |
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| Crossing over the Yukon River |
My favorite part of the drive is getting to be so close to the pipeline. It’s ginormous and impressive, stretching about 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. Along the Dalton Highway, shortly after crossing the Yukon River, is a small turnout to your right where you can stop and read informational signs about the pipeline and its history.
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| Can you find the donkeys? |
Once you hit the Arctic Circle (around Mile 198), you will have an opportunity to take a picture in front of the Arctic Circle Sign! If you feel so inclined, sign your name on the back!
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| Donkeys made it! |
Andy and I took that Friday off so we made it to Marion Creek Campground first. We found a nice site and set up shop. The donkeys didn’t help at all.
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| Lazy Asses |
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| Our North Face Summit Series tent!! |
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| Our super cool camp stove! |
After we set up camp we headed back south a couple miles to Coldfoot, the northern-most truck stop in the world with the northern-most post office in America! Coldfoot Camp offers a truck-stop diner with surprisingly good food for the location, the last stop for gas, wi-fi purchasable by the hour, and a small inventory of toiletry items for sale.
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| Coldfoot Camp Diner and Truck Stop |
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| Post Office! |
The food is really not bad – but it’s “trucker” food (no organic vegan fritattas for you). It’s a by-truckers, for-truckers restaurant, which they go to no lengths to hide.
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| Not for you. |
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| Donkeys stole Andy’s hash browns. |
After breakfast we went to explore the Coldfoot Cemetery and the Gates of the Arctic National Park Visitor Center.
Coldfoot has a very interesting history. Gold was discovered on a tributary of the Middle Fork of the Koyukuk River in 1899, exploding into the first gold rush in that area. The region earned the name “Coldfoot” because miners would travel here in an attempt to strike it rich and find themselves unable to handle the harsh winters; they got “cold feet” and headed home.
For those that did stay, many died before they could strike it rich. Most of these men died without their families knowing – particularly if they headed to Coldfoot solo. Their identities were usually only discoverable through newspaper articles. About 6 men are buried in Coldfoot cemetery, but their markers have been warped and lost by the harsh weather.
After leaving the interesting (yet slightly creepy) cemetery, we headed to the Gates of the Arctic National Park Visitor Center.
Inside the Visitor Center was a white board where people could write the animals they saw in the area – Denali has something similar. It’s interesting to read what people have sighted along their adventures.
The Visitor Center is interactive and informative, with interesting displays and hands-on activities.
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| This was my favorite. You turn that hand crank on the bottom right and it moved the little Earth sculpture in the middle. As it turned, the Earth rotated so you could see the sun’s placement throughout the months. |
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| Aaaaaand of course the donkeys made friends with the Visitor Center staff. |
We ventured back to the campsite and decided to go on a quick hike to find this anti-climactic, so-not-worth-your-time “waterfall.” Behind the campground is Marion Creek; a small, very wet, very muddy, and very squishy trail runs somewhat parallel to the creek. Each year Andy and I get on this god-forsaken trail in an attempt to find this stupid waterfall, and we always give up because my feet get wet and the waterfall is nowhere in sight (don’t even get me started at this point, just stay tuned for THAT nonsense).
The views of the creek are beautiful, however, and the environment is so pretty to walk through. The area was dotted with cushion-like tundra and tons of yummy blueberries!
We didn’t find the waterfall (THERE’S a surprise), so we made our way back to the campsite and waited for our friends. Joining us on this excursion above the Arctic Circle was my dear friend Caroline. While Caroline is a willing camping-participant, her love for nature has its rather narrow limits. Caroline once admitted that she didn’t “get” camping, wondering why anyone would voluntary sleep on the ground, and then went on to declare that the problem with nature is that there is “too much of it.” She has since improved upon her relationship with nature primarily due to her 8 person stand-up tent, blow up mattress, walkie-talkies, and personal battery-powered space heater.
“[Caroline] has since improved upon her relationship with nature primarily due to her 8 person stand-up tent, blow up mattress, walkie-talkies, and personal battery-powered space heater.”
She later remarked that her camping experience would be upped by the introduction of a hand vacuum with which to clean her tent. Stay tuned throughout our adventures to Caroline’s evolutionary relationship with the outdoors.
Bandit and Max arrived first, along with their humans. They seemed excited to camp and check out all the smells.
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| “Max, check out my butt.” – Bandit |
We had a quick dinner while we waited for Marc and Caroline. Once they got there the boys headed off to bed; Andy was taking Marc and Madison up Mount Sukakpak.
The typical modus operandi of our men usually goes something like this:
1. The boys drink a lot of beer;
“Madison, hand me a beer” – Andy
“Madison, hand me a beer” – Andy
2. They begin to talk about how adventurous they are;
“Andy, let’s do that glacier camping thing.” -Marc
“Andy, let’s do that glacier camping thing.” -Marc
3. At some point Madison starts talking about how Mt. McKinley would be easy to climb
“KELLY. It’s a mountain. You just go UP.” -Madison
“KELLY. It’s a mountain. You just go UP.” -Madison
4. Andy suggests the three of them go on some trek up some mountain
“We should all climb Mt. Sukakpak in the Brooks Range. Allison won’t climb it with me. It’s a pretty cool climb.” -Andy
“We should all climb Mt. Sukakpak in the Brooks Range. Allison won’t climb it with me. It’s a pretty cool climb.” -Andy
5. Madison tells Kelly to “stop making such a big deal out of climbing a mountain”
“KELLY. Stop worrying about the fact that I have no mountaineering training. It’s fine. I’ll figure it out.” -Madison
“KELLY. Stop worrying about the fact that I have no mountaineering training. It’s fine. I’ll figure it out.” -Madison
6. Madison and Marc enthusiastically agree to Andy’s plan
“Mt. Sukakpak sounds cool! Let’s do it!” -Madison & Marc
“Mt. Sukakpak sounds cool! Let’s do it!” -Madison & Marc
7. They begin debating whether someone could theoretically “ketchikan” at that elevation (don’t ask)
“It can totally be done.” – Andy
“It can totally be done.” – Andy
8. Madison and Marc fail to ask enough questions. Andy is the only one who knows what’s going on.
9. Somehow they make it back alive
10. Repeat
Pronounced “Suk-ka-pek” (not “suck co*k” as Madison calls it or “su-co*k-pock” as Andy calls it), is a 4,459 foot mountain in the Brooks Range, named from the Native Alaskan Eskimo phrase for “marmot deadfall”; native Alaskans would prop huge logs up against trees tied to rope which served as marmot traps. The ridge-line of Mt. Sukakpak supposedly looks like one of these propped-up logs. Read more about Mt. Sukakpak here and here.
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| Mt. Sukakpak |
The next morning the boys took off early and Kelly and Caroline and little Sofia and I stayed behind . We had breakfast and hung out at the campsite most of the morning.
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| Chillaxin. |
We took a little stroll to the creek with Bandit and Max – Sofia spent most of the stroll collecting tundra. Bandit led the way of course and didn’t understand why we weren’t going at his pace.
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| Collecting tundra for everyone |
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| Caroline’s tundra |
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| “Come on guys, LET’S GO. There are dogs and people who have yet to experience my butt.” -Bandit |
We got back to the campsite and waited for the guys. They were taking a bit longer than we anticipated so we started to get a little worried. We speculated that perhaps Madison and Marc had rebelled and turned against Andy (in fact, just the other day, Madison was on Amazon looking at a pair of trekking poles equipped with a taser). Caroline suggested that Marc might have rolled his ankle and Kelly was concerned that Madison didn’t have proper shoes and possibly packed too much beer.
Much to our joy, the boys emerged from the road, alive and unharmed. All three of them looked like the mountain had kicked their ass. Andy stumbled in first, sweating and panting; he collapsed in a camping chair and demanded someone make him a hot dog. Marc squished his way in, swearing at his boots for not being waterproof. And then along comes Madison. The man, who, just mere hours earlier, declared that climbing Mt. McKinley was easy because “all you have to go is go up it,” comes dragging in, backpack dangling from his wrist, pants covered in mud, and a look of murder in his eyes. He walks up to me and stares at me fiercely.
“I’m defriending your husband.”
“What? Why?”
“I can’t talk about it. KELLY I NEED A SANDWICH!”
Caroline and Kelly and I just sort of stood there watching our husbands. They were too tired to exchange any words and all our inquiries such as “did you have fun?” or “did you make it to the summit?” were met with inaudible grunts. Madison sat almost motionless at the picnic table, eating his sandwich. Kelly decides to break the silence.
“Madison, I hurt my knee today.”
“KELLY. I climbed a $@#%*&$ mountain!”
I asked to see Andy’s camera. He had taken some really excellent shots of the boys’ mountaineering experience. I showed them to Kelly.
“Madison, come look at these pictures of your hike! They’re awesome!”
“KELLY. I don’t need to see them. I LIVED IT.”
This went on for a bit. Andy sat in silence eating his hot dog (Caroline answered his earlier demand), Marc was drying his boots off by the fire (we later discovered he had slightly burned them), and Madison was demanding random things from Kelly and reminding her of his feat of greatness (“KELLY. I need a massage,” “KELLY. Don’t ask me to do anything, I climbed a $@#%*&$ mountain,” “KELLY. I can’t move from this picnic bench, don’t ask me again.”)
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| Drying off his socks |
All three of them were too tired to tell us anything substantive about their trek. Caroline and Kelly and I just sort of looked at each other and ever-so-gently attempted to get details out of them. Initially they offered only small pieces of information…”It was great!” (Andy)….”Really challenging!” (Marc)….”Part way up, I thought of faking a stroke” (Madison). Eventually we got the boys to sit near the fire and share a celebratory beer.
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| They did it! |
“I thought of faking a stroke.” – Madison
Since the boys were pretty beat, we let them plan the remainder of the afternoon. Madison really wanted to fish so we headed outside of the campground and across the highway. Just a few hundred feet past the campground is a bridge that goes over Marion Creek. If you duck down below that bridge across the highway to the left, there’s a little rocky beach area with a beautiful mini swimming hole and some not-so-bad fishing. We spent a few hours hanging out there.
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| Heading to go fishing |
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| Bandit and Andy raced to the creek…Madison: “How does that %#*@% have any energy?” |
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| My beautiful friend |
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| Boys found specs of gold along the banks of the creek |
Sofia in particularly LOVED the water.
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| Hanging with Dad |
The puppies and the donkeys also thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.
We headed back to camp where a more jovial and chatty Madison prepared us some awesome chicken shish kebabs that Kelly had assembled. At this point the boys were more talkative about their climb and randomly began throwing out additional pieces of information….
Andy: We thought we saw a bear!
Marc: Turned out it was a grouse; I almost shot it, it would have been tasty!
Madison: When Andy said to me ‘the summit is just over that peak’ I started looking for places I could bury his body.
This continued throughout dinner…
Andy: Marc was having a lot of trouble with his shoes in the permafrost
Marc: Yeah, it was rough with these shoes; they’re supposed to be more waterproof, what kind of boots do you have, Andy?
Madison: I was wondering throughout the hike if I had died whether you two would have carried me out or just left me there.
<silence>
Andy: Marc, I have Columbia boots.
…and after dinner…
Marc: We were so close to the summit, I wish that fog hadn’t set in.
Andy: Yeah, that was unfortunate. But, it’s better to be safe.
Marc: Good point, yeah.
Madison: Kelly, when’s my appointment for life insurance?
Andy shared all the pictures he took of our boys. They looked like they had had a lot of fun.
At this point, much like other mistakes and bad habits, the boys circled back to the beginning.
1. The boys drink a lot of beer;
“Madison, hand me a beer” – Andy
“Madison, hand me a beer” – Andy
2. They begin to talk about how adventurous they are;
“Andy, let’s do that glacier repelling thing.” -Marc
“Andy, let’s do that glacier repelling thing.” -Marc
3. At some point Madison starts talking about how Mt. McKinley would be easy to climb
“KELLY. It’s a mountain. You just go UP.” -Madison
“KELLY. It’s a mountain. You just go UP.” -Madison
4. Andy suggests the three of them go on some trek up some mountain
“So, right beyond this campground is supposedly some waterfall. It’s really close. All the websites say it’s just right here. I’ve never been able to find it.” -Andy
“So, right beyond this campground is supposedly some waterfall. It’s really close. All the websites say it’s just right here. I’ve never been able to find it.” -Andy
5. Madison tells Kelly to “stop making such a big deal out of climbing a mountain”
“KELLY. Stop worrying about the fact that Andy can’t find this waterfall. It’s fine. We’ll figure it out.” -Madison
“KELLY. Stop worrying about the fact that Andy can’t find this waterfall. It’s fine. We’ll figure it out.” -Madison
6. Madison and Marc enthusiastically agree to Andy’s plan
“Andy, I have a GPS, let’s just track it.” -Madison
“Yeah, let’s do it; I brought Sofia’s carrier, it’ll be fun.” -Marc
“Andy, I have a GPS, let’s just track it.” -Madison
“Yeah, let’s do it; I brought Sofia’s carrier, it’ll be fun.” -Marc
7. They begin debating whether someone could theoretically “ketchikan” at that elevation (don’t ask)
“It can totally be done.” – Andy
“It can totally be done.” – Andy
8. Madison and Marc fail to ask enough questions. Andy is the only one who knows what’s going on.
9. Somehow they make it back alive
10. Repeat
Aaaaaaaaand so off we go, trekking off into the wilderness to find this elusive, stupid, non-existent waterfall that Andy and I have failed to find numerous times.
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| Off we go. Marc is going uphill in wet boots carrying a child on his back. After climbing Mt. Sukakpak. NBD. |
Quick word about this “waterfall.” What we surmised this “waterfall” is is Marion Creek Falls. It doesn’t exist. The internet seems to think it does, the GPS seems to think it does, this guy seems to think it does, and “Outside the Interior” seems to think it does. It doesn’t. You won’t find it. If you do find it, the aforementioned referenced individuals and entities that seem to think it does exist indicate that it’s the most anti-climactic waterfall in human history. See here. I don’t know where these people found these falls, I don’t know how anyone with any sense of direction would find these falls, Andrew couldn’t find these falls, Madison’s GPS couldn’t find these falls, Bandit’s sense of direction couldn’t find these falls, some bear that Don the Donkey talked to along the way said he’s never found these falls. I’m convinced anyone who has ever “found” these forsaken falls are lying or magical. If you find these falls, hit me up.
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| Looking for the falls. |
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| Oh hey look everyone. NO FALLS. |
We hiked until I had a meltdown and refused to hike anymore. The GPS wasn’t helping the situation…”the GPS says it’s only 3 miles away…” “now the GPS says it’s 5 miles away….” “Maybe it’s this little dot over here.” Kill me.
Guess what everyone? WE DIDN’T FIND THE FALLS. At some point we saw a waterfall in the distance, but it didn’t match the location or appearance. I’m never looking for these falls again unless someone offers to take me in a plane. Over it.
After that ridiculous excursion, Marc and Caroline had to take off, and Kelly and Madison and Andy and I hopped in the car for a drive through Atigun Pass. Atigun Pass is a mountain pass at the head of the Dietrich River where the Dalton Highway crosses the Continental Divide (Mile Marker 244). Atigun pass is famous for a variety of reasons; it is a particularly dangerous part of the Dalton Highway, responsible for many truck accidents and bush plane mishaps. It was feature on Ice Road Truckers and stands as the only pass in the Brooks Range crossed by a road.
After that ridiculous excursion, Marc and Caroline had to take off, and Kelly and Madison and Andy and I hopped in the car for a drive through Atigun Pass. Atigun Pass is a mountain pass at the head of the Dietrich River where the Dalton Highway crosses the Continental Divide (Mile Marker 244). Atigun pass is famous for a variety of reasons; it is a particularly dangerous part of the Dalton Highway, responsible for many truck accidents and bush plane mishaps. It was feature on Ice Road Truckers and stands as the only pass in the Brooks Range crossed by a road.
We headed through Atigun Pass and drove north for about an hour. The environment and terrain of that area of Alaska is so different and unique and worth a drive. You’ll pass very little, aside from maybe some caribou. Eventually on your left will be Galbraith Lake and Galbraith Lake Campground and Airport. That’s where we stopped. If you keep going you’ll pass Toolik Lake and Toolik Field Station, Pump Station 3 (Alaska Pipeline workstation), Happy Valley Airstrip and the Sag River, and the Sag River Outlook. Eventually the road ends at Deadhorse, a small mainly slope-worker town of about 25-50 people.
Our annual excursion to the Arctic Circle was a success! Stay tuned for our most recent adventure at the Alyeska Resort/Oktoberfest and our upcoming trip to SPAIN!!
We love Marion Creek campground and the Coldfoot, Wiseman, Sukakpak and Atigun areas. Been up there more than a dozen times over the years.
It took us a couple of visits slogging through the muskeg on the trail before we found the falls, but they do exist. However Marion Creek Falls is really more like Marion Creek rapids going down a drop of 12 or so feet. Not very impressive. The weird thing was after slogging through the mucky trail leading from the campground and getting wet, cold and muddy, we discovered that there’s a freaking road next to the creek in the area of the falls. It services some mining claims. We walked out along the road to the Dalton and then back to the campground. While the distance along the mining road is longer than that of the trail, the road was drier (other than one ford) and much less unpleasant than the muck.
Sounds like a much more successful trip than mine! I didn’t know about the road, I’ll have to look for that next time.