I just got back from a 12 day rafting, hiking, camping trip on the Hulahula River in northeast Alaska. We started on the nothern slope of the Brooks Range and traveled over the coastal plain onto Arey Island in the Arctic Ocean (Beaufort Sea). The sun never set and the weather varied from shorts to 5 layers of fleece and raingear. The last day on Arey Island we had 40 plus mph winds. There were 2 guides, my 2 sons and I and we never saw anyone else the whole time. This bird was on the shore of the Arctic Ocean and appeared to be guarding a nest site so I didn't stay long. The view from our tents is of Arey Island and icebergs beyond on the ocean. This was our tenth night in the field with one more to go on Arey Island where we were picked up by a bush plane who luckily was able to fly in the strong winds. He took us to the nearby island of Kaktovik where we caught a slightly larger plane to Fairbanks. Polar bears are regularly seen in Kaktovik feeding on discarded whale carcasses. We didn't see any polar bears but did raft by a drowsy grizzly bear a few days earlier.