Beginning as a small creek in the British Mountains of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Firth River is sister to the north-flowing Kongakut River. The Firth gains strength as it crosses the 141st parallel into Yukon's Ivvavik National Park.
Inhabited by the Porcupine caribou herd, as well as musk oxen, wolves, eagles, and birds of prey, the region shares the qualities that make the Arctic so special. The Firth has the only Class IV-V whitewater on the north side of the Brooks Range. Like Alaska's Arctic Refuge, the Northern Yukon exhibits a variety of sub-arctic and arctic ecosystems. A warm microclimate allows the spruce forest to extend farther north than anywhere else in the Brooks Range.
A national park since 1984, the region is fully protected from the prospect of oil or gas development. As such, it is truly a wild land where wildlife roams freely. The Porcupine caribou herd moves through the area to and from calving grounds on the coastal plain. After calving, the herd congregates into huge herds, and the animals move westward or eastward, according to whim. The post-calving migration is one of the world's great spectacles. Participants on the Firth, Kongakut, Hulahula, and Canning expeditions occasionally have the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time to experience the great migration. In any case, the landscape is spectacular, with wildflowers carpeting the tundra and mountainsides.
The trip begins in Inuvik, NWT. We fly by Twin Otter and smaller bush plane to the upper Firth, inside Canada. We float north through mountains and rolling hills, home to grizzly bears and the full spectrum of arctic wildlife. A 25-mile-long canyon offers exciting whitewater. We cross the coastal plain to a lagoon protected by a narrow islands and a spit. From here, we are flown to Pauline Cove on Herschel Island. We have a chance to explore the old whaling station on Herschel Island, and appreciate the botanic variety on this special island (and territorial park) in the Beaufort Sea. Wildflower displays are outstanding. Seabirds, seals, and the occasional Bowhead whale may be seen. In all, we traverse a vast wilderness, 94 miles in 11 river days.
