Waterman Expedition - In Search of Water Deep Enough for Rafting

Photo credit: John Burcham

With his inflatable raft in a waterproof backback, Jon Waterman treks through a canyon on the headwaters of the Kongakut River in search of water deep enough for rafting. One of the refuge’s 18 major rivers, the Kongakut begins high in the Brooks Range, wending its way through the mountains and coastal plain before draining into the Beaufort Sea.