The upper North Fork is a narrow, entrenched river,
with few gravel bars. The uplands are dominated by
open, moist tundra areas with little terracing. This
section is extremely remote. It is reachable by helicopter,or fixed-wing aircraft into a private airstrip on a ridge above Slate Creek and a 3 mile portage to
floatable water. This section can also be reached
during periods of high water by floating down Slate
Creek from the Gold Run airstrip, 17 miles upstream.
The river is swift, with numerous small rapids, and
requires normal to high water for boating. The stream gradient is approximately 18 feet per mile. There are several habitable cabins in this stretch used for winter
trapping purposes. (Bureau of Land Management)
rivers.gov