Over on Hedrik Morkel’s blog I posted a trip report of the Anaktuvuk-John-Wolverine Cr-Nahtuk-Pingaluk-Alatna trip with Andrew Skurka from last August (2010).
It’s about 120 miles and a week would be leisurely. The John is a great float as far as Wolverine Creek and Wolverine Creek is surprisingly good walking for south side of Brooks Range. Nahtuk would be good descent, likely Class IV (based on 25 year old memory of it). Pingaluk looks like Class III+ in a couple canyons that Andy didn’t want to run. We went in late/mid August and it was nice. No bugs, fall colors, enough water.
You’d have to charter out of Circle Lake or Kutuk Lake (both unnamed on maps, but pretty easy to spot – Circle Lake is a circle on the S-west side of the Alatna on the 1:250,000 scale Survey Pass quad and Kutuk is the oblong lake just opposite Arrigetch Creek on N-east side of Alatna), but you’re close to Arrigetch, so worth checking that out. You can fly to Anaktuvuk on a number of different daily carriers for < $150, I think.
Floating out to Allakaket would be painful.
This is a very good intermediate trip, much simpler and straight froward than the “Arctic Circle”.
There are words and text at Hiking in Finland (http://www.hikinginfinland.com/2011/05/we-were-party-train-on-errand.html) and more pictures at Roaming Dials (http://packrafting.blogspot.com/2011/05/guest-blog-at-hiking-in-finland.html)