Alaska, Day 5: to Galbraith Camp.

First stop was Wiseman (population 16), a slightly larger town just up the highway from Coldfoot. Lots of characters in Wiseman.

I really wanted to buy something at the mercantile
just for this experience

I didn't meet 8-Ball, but we talked to Jim, who runs the Wiseman museum (a 10x20' building crammed top to bottom with local memorabilia, sports paraphernalia and random candy), for a bit. Very friendly guy. Most other folks we ran into treated us like tourists - not to say they treated us badly, they were just indifferent to our existence, much like we in Portland ignore map-holding travelers downtown. Jim would've talked our ears off if we'd let him.

In front of Jim's museum

Wiseman's cemetery is a bit larger than Coldfoot's.

But not much larger

We spent an hour or so wandering around the town, then continued north. Amazing views along the way...

Somewhere between Sukakpak Mountain and Chandalar Shelf

Lunch spot

Chandalar Shelf, part I

Chandalar Shelf, part II

First glimpse of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The guides were not licensed to go with us into ANWR and Mary opted to try a less strenuous hike the next day, so Tim and I were on our own. That night we all pored over Emily's map, studied the mountains across the way, and consulted Tim's Lonely Planet to see where the wildlife hung out. We were going to make the most of our day in ANWR come hell, high water, or a bazillion mossies.

Song of the day: Virgin Mountain, Loch Lomond