I eventually, grudgingly, left the mountains, but was happy i had once i saw what was ahead. The world opened up into an incredibly vast landscape of rolling plains crowned by primal, surreal mountains. Empty plains stretched on forever to the north and west. It was extremely exciting. Alaska is so covered in mountains that to actually be able to go somewhere that is unobstructed to the horizon is surprisingly refreshing. To the east were crazy, completely barren white mountains that look liked they should be on the moon.
A painters landscape. Look at those mountains! This is a super-desolate, empty place.
It was kind of funny because every time i entered a new region i though "yes, this is as desolate and empty as things get." But i'm going to take a stand now and say that the stark white mountains that lay to the east were definitely as barren as mountains get, in my experience. I just can't imagine anything more lifeless. The absence of any snow or ice made them look even more unearthly than what you'd see in Antarctica, because Earth has water on it. If there was a way to get closer, details of life might emerge, but even through binoculars i could see only barren rock. I didn't notice any Mongolians hanging around but still, i couldn't believe i was in America. I felt like getting a herd of Yaks and becoming a nomad.
The land nearby was shaped into surreal, primitive geometric forms
"The Arctic Refuge... can challenge and inspire even the most experienced backcountry user. Be prepared to handle any situation completely on your own.Wear life jackets when...crossing rivers, lakes and lagoons. Survival time is brief in the icy waters of the arctic. Learn the rhythms of the place-the light, the wildlife and the weather-then adjust your pace and schedule to meet them."
It's true. what would you do here if you lost your footing crossing a small river and got soaked. Start a fire? Where's the wood? What if the wind picked up? Here the temperature can drop below freezing on any day of the year. Where would you seek shelter? There's no shelter at all. Dig a hole to hide in? Good luck, you'll hit ice a few inches under soil. Go find help? Hope you've got a satellite phone.
Tiny vehicles make their way through a vast landscape.
By this point i was at just about 70 degrees of latitude above the equator (out of a possible 90), and soon i would be farther. Far enough north to come across the bones of a long lost explorer from the golden age of arctic exploration. I've read numerous books about old ill-fated naval expeditions to find the northwest passage. Most of the stories that are written have the ships being crushed in the ice by the middle of the account, stranding the crew on the sea ice (after previously being stuck for more than two years in some cases). The rest of the books are then about the ordeal of surviving after being stranded. Some of the crew of one expedition, the Jeannette, walked to shore and followed rivers inland for weeks looking for Eskimo settlements and food. They found neither, and starved to death. Maybe they didn't know that winter is so bad on the plains that all the food sources head into the barren mountains for protection. It's actually better weather in the mountains than on the open plains during those coldest months.
This bird flew towards me from some distance away, checking me out. The picture kind of captures the mood of the place.
Since then not much has changed at this latitude. There are no other roads in North America from this latitude. You'd have to cross the Atlantic and make it to Norway before you'd encounter a road system to the east, and to the west it looks like you could go 1,000 miles before coming across a usable road that went anywhere in Siberia. The circumference earth is only around 8,600 miles at 69 degrees latitude.
One of only a few small glaciers i saw in the Brooks. All of them were similarly thin looking, attesting to the dry climate.
Who knows what obstacles lie between here and there..
To the west there's not another usable road for at least 1,000 miles. I'm not sure if it's connected to a national road/rail system or not.
To the east there's not another road for 4,000 miles. No kidding.
When i arrived on the high plains i thought maybe i could see the ocean, since it was only 100 miles away. It was strange, like everything else, but i couldn't actually make out the horizon to the north. The earth just faded off into bright light. The plains slowly evened out into flatlands, and eventually i began to suspect that i was seeing coastal clouds where the horizon should be. After a few more hours it became clear that was indeed the case.
I began to hallucinate badly. The sudden appearance of stakes along the road told me i was near the end.
The end of the world is always obscured by a wall of fog, if not regions of fire. I think "regions of fire" are typically associated with going to far south. Fog is more comfortable. I was lucky. This fog was literally a wall moving east to west. You could stand 100 yards away from it and it would maintain it's position. It must have been sorcery.
It was approaching midnight when i entered the fog. It was a darned cold fog, and thick. I passed the corpse of a caribou in the grass. I was feeling kind of like i was in Time Bandits, when they are walking across endless foggy wastelands and suddenly smack up against the end of the world. I knew i had to be close, because i was nearly out of gas.
What had to be Deadhorse finally took shape around me. I was pretty delirious and couldn't wait to get into a bed. I had started the day way back at the Yukon River, and honestly, had seen too much for one day of travel.
