D A Y T O O
Whitney woke startled to the sound of a bear grunting. As Steffanie caught a few more moments of beauty sleep, Whitney quickly unzipped the Kelty to assess the situation, immediately realizing the bear was no more than a man with severe sleep apnea. Another false alarm to add to our growing tally of wildlife sightings.
After breakfast, we decided to hike toward Gates of the Arctic Preserve in the Northeastern-most corner of the park. In order to begin the tundra hike we undertook a treacherous and frightening river crossing of Galbraith Creek. Surviving rivers in Alaska’s Arctic is half the battle. This battle proved far less than half.
Yet another day filled with perfect weather for hiking. Flowers speckled the tundra in pink, yellow, blue, and white. Arctic sun glinted off the distant glaciers exaggerating the immensity of the mountains surrounding us. 
Another perfect day to enjoy the full effect of Arctic summer's 24-hour daylight.
After a few hours of hill climbing, we decided to stop for a few pictures. The sun at our backs taunted our imaginations, begging us to capture a few gorgeous silhouettes. Better not to ask questions; just enjoy.
Leaping and a little more hill climbing... the day is nearly over before it has begun.
Stopping for a snack, I decided to look at the map... while tugging on my bugnet and slowly eating a Mojo bar I'm sure I must be thinking nothing more than misery, beautiful Arctic misery. We wouldn't change this misery for the world.
Not quite defined as a caribou sighting, Steffanie found a complete set of small caribou antlers, the perfect shape and size for...
After a second day of Arctic hill climbs across uneven tundra, we wobbled back to camp, tripping over even the smallest of tussock. We were in need of some serious nourishment.
Upon arriving back to camp, the mosquitoes hadn’t given up the fight for our blood yet so we decided to add another plan of attack --- smoke from a fire. Whitney set to work collecting logs and building a campfire, while Steffanie began preparing the evening’s meal.
Day too’s menu:
1lb (or more and likely a lot more!) tri-colored pasta noodles
1 jar mushroom alfredo sauce
2 cans chicken
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Consumption time: 10 minutes (possibly less!)
It was later determined: this was the best pasta dish we've eaten in years.
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