The upper Sheenjek River in Alaska's Brooks Range offers outstanding scenic hiking, as well as a wonderful paddling trip. We travel from the headwater mountains south, down to an ever-widening lake-dotted valley, covering about 120 miles of the river. We'll plan for some full-day hikes in the upper valley to explore the mountains.

Cradled within the Romanzof Mountains, the Sheenjek River begins as a swift mountain stream, then slows as the mountains open up, revealing a classic U-shaped valley, replete with rich wetlands and boreal forest, and glacially-formed pothole lakes.

Our August trip takes in the very beginning of autumn. This is a time when the berries are ripe. The land is beginning to change color. Photographers can hardly sleep this time of the year, as there is so much to focus the lens upon: the macro lens is busy on the tiny details of tundra, while the telephoto focuses on wildlife moving conspicuously through the landscape - caribou, having shed their velvet, migrate southward, moose go into rut, grizzly forage on plump ground squirrels and blueberries, Dall sheep move in scattered groups over precipitous crags.

The adventure begins and ends with an exciting bush plane flight over the mountains, valleys, and countless rivers and streams on the South Slope of the Brooks Range. We land in the upper Sheenjek, near the northernmost extension of the conifer forest. We have time to explore the limestone peaks and narrow side valleys off the broad Sheenjek valley.

This year marks the beginning of a celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the creation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Arctic Range was created in December of 1960, so what better time to celebrate the work of the pioneering conservationists whose vision was the catalyst for the creation of the refuge.

Fifty-five years ago, Olaus and Margaret (Mardy) Murie spent the summer with their son, ornithologist Brina Kissell, and field biologists George Schaller and Bob Krear, on the Sheenjek River. With the Romanzof Mountains as a backdrop, they explored and documented the birds, wildlife, and wilderness qualities of the region. That summer of fieldwork was a catalyst for securing permanent protection for the area. Four years later, the Arctic National Wildlife Range was established, later expanded in 1980 and renamed a Wildlife Refuge. The qualities that enchanted the Muries in 1956 are delightfully chronicled in Mardy's classic book, Two in the Far North. On this trip, we hike and explore, pausing to reflect on the work of two of America's great environmentalists, and to share some of their writings.