When leaving Coldfoot on that Tuesday morning, I had hoped to make it over Atigun Pass so I could coast downhill when I was super exhausted at the end of the day. That didn’t happen. I did make it to right before the climb up to Chandalar Camp, which is the precursor to Atigun. I still did make some really good distance that day. The first 56 km were gradually inclining and paved. I wish the entire Dalton was like this! Sadly all good things must come to an end, and so must the pavement. I did see the only grizzly I would see on the entire Dalton on this stretch. It ran across the road about 30-40 meters in front of me, thankfully paying me no heed. I got to sleep on the banks of the braided Dietrich River looking at the eastern boundary of Gates of the Arctic National Park. I took a swim in the very cold river to clean off a bit; it was so refreshing!
The next day started with a climb up to Chandalar Camp, a 1.6 km climb at 9% grade. It was a good reminder that while I had made some good progress the past few days, the Dalton still could kick your ass when it chose to. After getting to the top I had about 8 km of more of the illusion of downhill before climbing the infamous Atigun Pass. Upon first sight it will instill dread and respect. There is a sign at the bottom saying no stopping, avalanche area. Great. Well here we go Yonder! Atigun Pass is a 5-6km climb of 8-10% grades on the side of a mountain. Evidence of rock slides and avalanches abound.
After summiting the pass I had about 8 pretty steep km of downhill which was so beautiful. The views of the Brooks Range on the North Slope are to die for (hopefully not literally). Views like this almost make the oil pipeline and carbon emissions from them worth it. Without it the Dalton wouldn’t exist and I would not have been able to see this majestic and mostly untouched mountain wilderness. I had about another 20 km of gradual downhill which I took to Galbraith Lake where I made camp for the night. I got up around 2330 to pee and when I stepped out of my tent the view took my breath away. The arctic sun was casting a golden light on the Brooks Range that surrounded me on three sides and this is when I truly fell in love with Alaska, and the Arctic in particular. I fell asleep in such a good mood, there was nothing that could spoil the wonderful feelings I had that night.