Aufeis on the Wulik River
Wulik River, AK
June 14, 2006
June 14 - Much of the best walking on the Wulik and other rivers and creeks in the early portion of the trek was done on "aufeis" - that magically frozen and flat ice caused by river overflow during very cold conditions.
In warm weather, aufeis is soft, wet, and cold. But in our cool temperatures, it was generally firm and made for fast progress.
This photograph captures one of the subtle beauties of the Western Arctic - Jason's reflection in a melting aufeis pool.
The DeLong Mountains are in the background, and we are approximately 50 miles from the coast of the Chukchi Sea.
