Has anyone out here floated the Kobuk from the lake down? Looking for information.
Kobuk River from the lake
Has anyone out here floated the Kobuk from the lake down? Looking for information.
Which lake? There are a lot to choose from.
Walker Lake I think. The head waters of the river.
You should start by stating what it is you are floating/paddling in. There is a boulder garden leaving the lake...Are you hunting or fishing your way down to Kobuk Lake or one of the Villages? The Kobuk is pretty tame water but flows through some interesting country.Originally Posted by John Abbott
Float in a 14 ' cat. Bucket list trip for hunting (Moose, Brown Bear, and Caraboo). Looking for general info on float times to Kobuk Village, charter operators to get into Walker Lake (must be on floats. No wheeled aircraft allowed in Gates of the Artic). Also latest date to consider staring a float.
Talk to Jay at Brooks Range Aviation in Bettles, you don't need to land in Walker Lake. Jay is in the lower 48 for the winter, I'm sure his cell phone still works though.
If you are taking out at Kobuk village, chances are the caribou won't be there. But moose hunting is decent, and there are lots of brown bears.
Fly in to Lake Minakokosa than float down Beaver Creek to the Kobuk. You will miss the white-water in Kobuk canyon and still float 80% of the upper river. We did this for an August Sheefishing trip years ago. We never saw a caribou the entire float and only a couple of moose. Did see a fair number a brown bears including one very aggressive individual that tried to swim out to our raft.
I floated from Walker Lake to the Pah River in 2013. It's a great float, but if moose and sheefish are your goals, I would concur with the others that putting in downstream at either another lake or at the Pah River pick up spot makes a lot of sense(Brooks Range Aviation picked us up there in their otter on floats). The upper portion is spectacular but it's not super moosey and the sheefish don't really go past Reed River in huge numbers.
Wheeled aircraft are allowed in Gates of the Arctic, but I don't think people use them to get into the upper Kobuk because the lakes and river are fine for float planes.
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