August 2006 Noatak River Float Trip

This slideshow features many of the highlights from the Herriott brother's 19 day float trip on the Noatak River in Northwest Alaska. Much of the 435 river miles of the Noatak lie in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Noatak National Preserve. The Noatak River basin is the "largest undisturbed watershed in North America." This Wild and Scenic River is also designated as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.

After thoroughly investigating the spruce trees we shoved off to continue floating downriver while keeping our eyes peeled for caribou. A powerboat of native hunters had just blasted by prior to our embarking and we wondered if they would find the animals we had seen further upriver. About 10 feet from shore Ian quickly said Back to the bank! Looking downriver we saw a caribou bull halfway across the river about 300 yards away. We beached the craft, unpacked the boat in order to grab the rifle, and within 45 seconds were hurriedly making our way towards the bulls landing site. We were not sure which way the bull would head after his crossing but the 20-yard wide gravel bar was likely were he would travel for a bit as thick alders were above the gravel bar. About a minute later Ian pointed at the bull: he was a few feet back in the alder, but less than 20 yards away! For what seemed like an eternity man and caribou stared each other. Trystan waited for the shot while Ian tried to get an unobstructed view of the vitals. Moments later the bull broke the silence before Ian could take an ethical shot. The bull began heading upriver right towards our boat, which made a shot in that direction a very poor choice. Ian engaged the safety and we once again were chasing the bull. Caribou are amazingly fast critters. They walk about as fast as humans jog and the bull was leaving us behind quickly. The bull passed by our boat where we had been just minutes before and by the time we reached our raft he was a couple hundred yards beyond our craft. Trystan ran up to the boat and slapped the top of the load piled up on the bow of the boat. Ian dropped on one knee, shouldered his rifle, and steadied his left arm on the boats load. A second later the shot rang out from Ians .300 WinMag and a 220 yard shot resulted in a quick, humane harvest! In less than three or so minutes we had transitioned from being somewhat dejected and disheartened to rejoicing in this wonderful turn of events which turned our river float trip into a successful float hunting trip. In this photo the downed caribou lies above the rifle on the far, grassy but dark colored riverbank.

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After thoroughly investigating the spruce trees we shoved off to continue floating downriver while keeping our eyes peeled for caribou. A powerboat of native hunters had just blasted by prior to our embarking and we wondered if they would find the animals we had seen further upriver. About 10 feet from shore Ian quickly said Back to the bank! Looking downriver we saw a caribou bull halfway across the river about 300 yards away. We beached the craft, unpacked the boat in order to grab the rifle, and within 45 seconds were hurriedly making our way towards the bulls landing site. We were not sure which way the bull would head after his crossing but the 20-yard wide gravel bar was likely were he would travel for a bit as thick alders were above the gravel bar. About a minute later Ian pointed at the bull: he was a few feet back in the alder, but less than 20 yards away! For what seemed like an eternity man and caribou stared each other. Trystan waited for the shot while Ian tried to get an unobstructed view of the vitals. Moments later the bull broke the silence before Ian could take an ethical shot. The bull began heading upriver right towards our boat, which made a shot in that direction a very poor choice. Ian engaged the safety and we once again were chasing the bull. Caribou are amazingly fast critters. They walk about as fast as humans jog and the bull was leaving us behind quickly. The bull passed by our boat where we had been just minutes before and by the time we reached our raft he was a couple hundred yards beyond our craft. Trystan ran up to the boat and slapped the top of the load piled up on the bow of the boat. Ian dropped on one knee, shouldered his rifle, and steadied his left arm on the boats load. A second later the shot rang out from Ians .300 WinMag and a 220 yard shot resulted in a quick, humane harvest! In less than three or so minutes we had transitioned from being somewhat dejected and disheartened to rejoicing in this wonderful turn of events which turned our river float trip into a successful float hunting trip. In this photo the downed caribou lies above the rifle on the far, grassy but dark colored riverbank.

Trystan Herriott's Photography

August 2006 Noatak River Float Trip