Page 233 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide 2017 - Alaska

ARC TIC AND WESTERN ALASK A  231

headwaters in the Brooks
Range inside Gates of the
Arctic National Park (see p224),
is the preserve’s main highway.
River runners regard the wild
350-mile (550-km) descent of
the Noatak as one of Alaska’s
best river trips. The trips, which
can take up to three weeks,
involve a bush flight into the
Noatak headwaters from either
Kotzebue or Bettles, with a
pickup in Noatak village.

9 Cape Krusenstern
National
Monument
50 miles (80 km) NW of Kotzebue.
Transport map C2. ~ charter bush
plane from Kotzebue. n 171 3rd Ave,
Kotzebue; 442-3890, (800) 478-7252.
∑ nps.gov/cakr
The broad coastal plain of the
haunting Cape Krusenstern
National Monument is made
DeLong Mountains rising from the tundra in Noatak National Preserve up of 114 parallel limestone
bluffs and ridges that create
which rise as high as 250 ft (75 m), 8 Noatak National the Chukchi Sea coastline. In
were created when glacier- Preserve the autumn, this changing
ground rock was deposited and landscape of alternating
built up in an area where 200 miles (320 km) NE of Kotzebue. lagoons and beaches attracts
Transport map C2. ~ charter bush
vegetation could not take hold. plane from Kotzebue. n 171 3rd Ave, migrating waterfowl with
The park is popular with Kotzebue; 442-3890, (800) 478-7252. its swarms of protein-rich
river runners, who fly to Walker ∑ nps.gov/noat insects. There is also reward ing
Lake and raft, canoe, or kayak bird-watching, hiking, and
260 miles (416 km) down the The wonderfully wild Noatak wildlife viewing.
Kobuk River over three weeks to National Preserve, between the The monument’s only
the village of Kiana. Those who DeLong and Baird Mountain facility is a lonely summer
prefer a tamer adventure fly to Ranges, encompasses some of ranger station at Anigaaq,
Ambler, just east of the park the loneliest landscapes in the near the beach ridges. There
entrance, and float the relatively country and protects an array are no roads, trails, cabins,
mild 85-mile (136-km), six-day of plants and wildlife. The or campsites, and visits must
section to Kiana. Noatak River, with its be carefully planned.
The Blanket Toss
The blanket toss, in its most traditional form, is performed using a large
walrus hide blanket held by a dozen or more people. The jumper stands
in the middle of the blanket and while those holding the sides count
to three, he or she makes increasingly higher jumps, as on a trampoline.
Once a bit of altitude and momentum are gained, those holding the
fringes provide a serious boost, and the jumper is propelled high into
the air. Historically, the toss was used to allow lookouts to gain a bit of
elevation over the largely flat coastline and determine whether whales,
seals, walrus, or polar bears were visible on the ice or out at sea. Today,
it is used mostly in celebration of a successful whaling season, hence the
Inupiat name of Barrow’s main festival, Nalukataq, which means “blanket
toss.” Blanket tosses are also staged for visitors in Barrow and at the
Alaska Native Heritage Center in Anchorage. Although they will not have Propelling a jumper skyward at a
a chance to be tossed in the air, they can participate as blanket holders. blanket toss, Kotzebue

For hotels and restaurants in this area see p245 and p255

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