You can't see the beauty of Alaska anywhere else

By Whitney Root | Abilene Reporter-News | September 14, 2008

Imagine spending an entire summer in Alaska's Arctic bush, 240 miles from the nearest large town and 250 miles from the icy waters of the Arctic Ocean. Picture yourself surrounded by millions of acres of untouched wilderness, the last of its kind in the United States, bustling with grizzly bears, black bears, moose, caribou and wolves. There are no trails for hiking; you go where you want. There are no crowds; those willing enough to visit the area must either fly in via bush plane or drive the notorious Dalton Highway, 414 miles of dirt and gravel. To some this sounds like pure misery, to others, heaven on earth. This is where I spent my summer.

Working at the Arctic Interagency Visitor Center in Coldfoot, my days were spent assisting travelers to the area, providing them with crucial information necessary to embark on an adventure of this caliber. Several nights a week I presented a ranger/naturalist program.

Coldfoot, more of a truck stop than an actual town, serves foremost to accommodate the long-haul truckers who drive loads of materials up and down the road in order to keep the oil fields at Prudhoe Bay in business. Originally established in response to the gold rush back in the late 1800s, Coldfoot now boasts an airstrip, hotel/cafe/gas station and the visitor center, managed by The National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Entertainment is at a minimum; Solitude, peace and quiet abound.

Nestled in the foothills of the dramatic Brooks Range, Coldfoot is located 60 miles above the Arctic Circle, where the summer months bring days of 24-hour light. The sun does not set between June 21 and July 12, allowing for opportunities to enjoy late-night hikes and outings. Take a walk out amongst the tussocks (tundra grasses that make walking quite difficult) and you are apt to see more wildlife than people. Aside from the trans-Alaska Pipeline, there is very little evidence of human existence. Once the sun sets and the stars return (late August), this area of the world makes for some of the best Aurora Borealis viewing anywhere. It truly is a magical place.

If an opportunity of this sort grabs your attention, you're not alone. Each year, hundreds of people participate in internships similar to this through an organization called The Student Conservation Association. If you are over eighteen and want to gain some great hands-on experience while helping to preserve your America, I strongly encourage you to apply.

Volunteer/internship experiences range from six weeks to one year and are all-expense paid adventures into some of the most amazing parklands in the country. Depending upon your prior experience and future goals, you may end up working with sea turtles in California, on a trail-building crew in Idaho, or working at a visitor center as an interpretive ranger (as I did). A weekly stipend is provided to pay for food; housing is provided free of charge; and transportation is taken care of as well.

Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, a 9-million acre wilderness area, hosted me as its volunteer/intern. Although my main duty was based out of the visitor center, I was also granted one backcountry patrol alongside park rangers. The highlight of my summer: I spent an entire week at Oolah Lake, located in the northeast area of the park. Our duty was to simply watch for visitors (who are very few) disobeying any rules. It was a week that I will never forget, as we watched various birds, a grizzly bear, dall sheep and caribou meander through the valley, and spent hours one morning watching as two wolves pursued a cow moose.

One thought that stayed in my mind throughout the entire trip was that people spend their entire lives dreaming up and planning for trips such as this. Through the SCA, I was granted this opportunity free of charge.

If you hold any interest in joining the Student Conservation Association or simply learning more about Alaska, please feel free to contact me. I am more than willing to give presentations or advice on the aforementioned issues. E-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or go to www.thesca.org for more details.

Whitney Root resides in Trent, holds a BA in Anthropology and is currently working on an MS in Environmental Management from the University of Maryland.

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