Aidan Campbell carried about 60 pounds of gear while hiking Alaska’s Brooks Range.

COURTESY, JAMES CAMPBELL

STANDARDS

CCSS: 6.RP.A.2, 7.RP.A.2.B, MP2, MP6

TEKS: 6.4B, 7.4B

Braving the Wilderness

Aidan Campbell spent her vacations exploring Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge with her dad

JIM MCMAHON/MAPMAN®

Most kids spend their school breaks hanging out with friends or binge-watching TV shows. But Aidan Campbell, now 18 and on her way to Yale University, is no ordinary teenager. She has spent her vacations in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. There, she built a cabin in the wilderness, backpacked over mountains, and paddled down a dangerous river. 

When Aidan was a young girl, her dad, James, told her stories about Alaska and his cousin who lives there. She made him promise to take her someday. When Aidan was 15, she finally went to Alaska to help her father and his cousin, Heimo Korth, build a cabin. She realized what hard work living in the wilderness could be.

“I was smack-dab in the middle of nowhere, 130 miles above the Arctic Circle and 70 miles from the nearest neighbor, living out of a tent with no one but my dad and Heimo for company,” says Aidan.

Despite the isolation, long workdays, and swarms of mosquitoes, Aidan learned to love Alaska’s vast wilderness. She returned twice, and on her last trip, she and her father embarked on their toughest journey yet: backpacking across the Brooks Range and paddling down the Hulahula River to the Arctic Ocean. James wrote a book about their adventures called Braving It.

Most kids spend their school breaks hanging out with friends or watching TV. But Aidan Campbell is no ordinary teenager. She has spent her vacations in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. There, she built a cabin in the wilderness, backpacked over mountains, and paddled down a dangerous river. She’s now 18 and on her way to Yale University.

Aidan grew up hearing stories about Alaska from her father, James. She made him promise to take her someday. When Aidan was 15, she finally went to Alaska. She helped her father and his cousin, Heimo Korth, build a cabin. She realized what hard work living in the wilderness could be.

"I was smack-dab in the middle of nowhere, 130 miles above the Arctic Circle and 70 miles from the nearest neighbor,” says Aidan. “I lived out of a tent with no one but my dad and Heimo for company.”

Living in Alaska meant long workdays, lots of mosquitos, and isolation. Despite this, Aidan learned to love Alaska's vast wilderness. She went back twice. On her last trip, she and her father embarked on their toughest journey yet! They went backpacking across the Brooks Range and paddled down the Hulahula River to the Arctic Ocean. James wrote a book about their adventures called Braving It.

It was on this most recent trip that Aidan learned to trust herself and her instincts. “In the past, I deferred to my father, putting my trust in him to make the hard choices, but on the Hulahula River, I was the captain,” she says. “As the bowman in the canoe, it was my job to read the river, pick the best route, and shout instructions back to my dad.”

At first it wasn’t easy for James to let Aidan take the lead. But once he did, he realized the importance of letting go of the reins. “I learned that she was much more capable than I ever imagined she would be,” says James. “She was much tougher, much grittier, much heartier, much more resilient than I gave her credit for.”

It was on this most recent trip that Aidan learned to trust her instincts. "In the past, I deferred to my father, putting my trust in him to make the hard choices." she says. "But on the Hulahula River, I was the captain." she says. It was Aidan's job to read the river, pick the best route, and shout instructions back to her dad.

At first it wasn't easy for James to let Aidan take the lead. But once he did, he realized the importance of letting go of the reins. "I learned that she was much more capable than I ever imagined she would be," says James. "She was much tougher, much grittier, much heartier, much more resilient than I gave her credit for."

Answer the questions below to learn more about Aidan and James’s trip. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.

Answer the questions below to learn more about Aidan and James’s trip. Record your work and answers on our answer sheet.

To reach the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Aidan and James flew 238 miles from Fairbanks to Arctic Village, which is on the edge of the park. The trip took 2 hours. What was the plane’s average speed?

To reach the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Aidan and James flew 238 miles from Fairbanks to Arctic Village, which is on the edge of the park. The trip took 2 hours. What was the plane’s average speed?

From Arctic Village, they had to fly another 50 miles to the starting point of their hike at Red Sheep Creek. This trip lasted 0.36 hours. What was the plane’s speed, rounded to the nearest whole number?

From Arctic Village, they had to fly another 50 miles to the starting point of their hike at Red Sheep Creek. This trip lasted 0.36 hours. What was the plane’s speed, rounded to the nearest whole number?

Alaska’s tundra is a wet marsh in the summer—it’s hard to walk through and slowed them down. It took 1 week to hike the 45.5 miles over the Brooks Range. What was the average number of miles per day that they traveled?

Alaska’s tundra is a wet marsh in the summer—it’s hard to walk through and slowed them down. It took 1 week to hike the 45.5 miles over the Brooks Range. What was the average number of miles per day that they traveled?

It took 2 weeks for them to canoe 110 miles down the Hulahula River. They sometimes took days off to hike or rest. What was the average number of miles they paddled per day? Round to the nearest tenth.

It took 2 weeks for them to canoe 110 miles down the Hulahula River. They sometimes took days off to hike or rest. What was the average number of miles they paddled per day? Round to the nearest tenth.

James thinks they could have paddled down the Hulahula River in 5 days if they had pushed their limits. How many miles per day would they have had to paddle to finish the trip in 5 days?

James thinks they could have paddled down the Hulahula River in 5 days if they had pushed their limits. How many miles per day would they have had to paddle to finish the trip in 5 days?

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