Highlights

The ancient Firth River winds across a vast glacial refugia ringed with dramatic mountain peaks and rugged expanses of tundra flowing northward to the Beaufort Sea. Yet for all of its inherent beauty, the Firth's greater value is as the sole means of access to the isolated summer home for 120,000 caribou of the West Porcupine herd. Migrating in small bands, the caribou congregate in coastal calving grounds before moving in huge herds across the Firth River.

Full Description

Adjacent to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, this Arctic expedition on the Firth River through the remote "Serengeti of the North" presents the opportunity to witness the migration of 120,000 caribou as well as the spectacle of the Yukon tundra and Beaufort Sea.

An expedition down the Firth River offers you a spectacular, educational, and challenging Arctic wilderness adventure. The opportunity to view wildlife, as well as experience the natural and cultural features of the region add to the uniqueness and excitement of the trip.

The Firth is an extremely remote and isolated region. To ensure the park remains wild there are no roads or even trails. Air access is controlled and regulated by permits. Fewer than 100 people visit the park each year, leaving the land almost entirely to its natural inhabitants. There are no settlements in the park. However, traditional subsistence hunting is still carried out seasonally by local Inuvialuit and Loucheux native peoples. The interior of the park is dominated by the British Mountains, which rise to over 1800 meters along the Yukon-Alaska boundary. The Malcolm, Babbage, and Firth rivers traverse down this range northward to the Beaufort Sea. Since the National Geographic Society first descended the Firth in 1981, very little visitation has occurred. Excluding the first day, we will generally average about 3-4 hours on the water, although this can fluctuate depending on weather and activities en route. The Firth is a relatively small volume river wending its way gracefully towards the coast. The river features many lively Class III and small Class IV rapids with technical obstacles such as ledges and chutes. Utilizing the rafts as vehicles of access allows us to cover reasonable amounts of ground by river and select the best hiking regions for our base camps.

We will camp on sunbathed gravel bars, grassy meadows, and sandy beaches. Our pace will be leisurely with the focus on land-based exploration. The Firth corridor features barren mountain slopes and ridges that are accessible from our riverside camps. Easily gained ridges afford excellent views of the river valley and British Mountains. The higher ridges and those further downstream offer views of the Beaufort coast and Herschel Island. At this latitude, above the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set in the summer months and allows us endless opportunities for hikes, photography, and fishing.

About the Park
Ivvavik National Park is a 10,170 square kilometer wilderness area tucked away in the most northwestern corner of Canada, 950 kilometers north of Whitehorse. Established in 1984 with the signing of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement, it is the first national park to arise from the settlement of comprehensive native land claims.

The River
The Firth River flows northeast from Alaska through the British Mountains and coastal plain of the Northern Yukon and drains into the Beaufort Sea southwest of Herschel Island. The entire watershed of the Firth is contained in the boundaries of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska and Ivvavik National Park in Canada. Together these organizations protect this wilderness and ensure the long-term preservation of the natural and cultural resources of the region. The Firth River is likely the oldest river in Canada and definitely one of the wildest. Bisecting this incredible national park, it is the summer home for 150,000 caribou of the west Porcupine herd. Migrating in small bands from their southern wintering grounds, the caribou congregate in coastal calving grounds before moving in huge herds across the Firth River. By special permit and in the company of professional guides, participants may witness this amazing spectacle.

Wildlife and Flora
This part of the country is probably the most productive wildlife area in Canada’s Arctic. Within the northern tree-line zone, stunted white spruce and dwarf poplar of the boreal forest melt into the vast expanse of the arctic tundra. With this variety of geoclimatic zones come the associated wilderness icons such as barrenland grizzly, wolf, the most northerly Dall sheep population, and arctic fox. Musk ox, once eliminated from the North Slope, are slowly re-establishing themselves following a re-introduction of the species. The Porcupine caribou herd, one of the world’s largest at over 150,000 animals, is the park’s most prominent wildlife feature.

Several species of raptors can be found along the Firth River corridor including golden eagle, gyrfalcon, peregrine falcon, and rough-legged hawk. Along the arctic coast, where the shoreline is splashed by the Beaufort Sea, hundreds of thousands of snow geese and whistling swans gather in the lagoon estuaries and barrier islands to molt and fatten for their autumn migration to the southern US.

The conjunction of three regions within the Firth Valley presents an exceptional example of vegetation diversity in an arctic environment. The majority of the park is treeless arctic tundra composed mainly of sedges and low-growing shrubs such as willow, dwarf birch, Labrador tea, and cranberry. However, with increasing elevation, the arctic tundra grades into alpine tundra of scattered patches of mountain avens, saxifrages, alpine bearberry, and crustose lichens. Taiga is found on the valley floors of the Firth in sections, which are protected from the Arctic Ocean.

The Firth River is an important habitat for both anadromous and freshwater fish. The Firth supports more char than all the other northern Yukon drainages combined. Both the Firth and Babbage Rivers are prime over-wintering, spawning, and feeding areas for arctic char and arctic grayling. Other common species of the coastal waters are least and arctic cisco.