Willow Weekend 6/25-6/26/2011

Two runs down the Guardrail and Red Gate sections of Willow Creek! Today my back and shoulders are really sore. The water level was higher than I have done it before which gave the water a little more push. The CFS (cubic feet per second) was in the high 700's on Saturday and the low 700's on Sunday; it is hard to tell exactly on the graph after the fact. My previous highest water level was 675 so I was pretty nervous.

I did well on Saturday, made it through Guardrail with only one or two close calls but then I swamped the boat in Red Gate and had a little swim. Sunday I did better and worse! The drops that I did well, I really nailed. The drop I did really really badly, I swam. Again, the boat was swamped and I tried to do a cross stroke to avoid a rock and over I went. (I did miss the rock.) The feeling of water sloshing around in my boat is starting to make me panic! I also fell out of two eddies which in different circumstances could have been a disaster. Luckily, I had already bailed the water out of my boat when I dropped out of the eddies.

No pictures of these runs. I should take the camera and at least get pictures in Red Gate or in an eddy in Guardrail, if I can manage to stay in the eddies!

Eagle River 6/21/11

Solstice paddle. The longest day of the year deserves a trip down a river! This year, since we just got back from a three day trip we opted for a short paddle down a river we know really well, Eagle River.

A friend who moved to Idaho is in town with his kayak and he came with us, a friend from Palmer also joined us. We met a kayaker at the put-in who is fairly new to kayaking and who had never paddled Eagle before and he joined us as well.

I didn't chicken out this time and I ran Campground rapid. I didn't have my most graceful run as I went through the middle section sideways when I couldn't get my boat to point downstream. I thought I was going to bash a rock and swim the bottom drop but at the last moment I got the boat to turn as I went down the face of a wave and I scooted around the rock. I did however go right over the pour-over at the bottom. I did my boof stroke at the edge of the rock and made it across the hole. Upright and dry!

As my hubby says, "you have to make the boat do what you want it to do!" I have to work on that in pushy water.

Delta River 6/17 - 6/20/2011

The Delta River is another river that I just love! It has great scenery with snowy mountains, stunted tiaga, soft green tundra and dark green spruce forests. It has great water that is clear in the upper stretch and then glacial on the lower stretch and it is also splashy and fun after you get through the Tangle Lakes. We usually see a bunch of wildlife and this time was no different; we saw three or four immature bald eagles, two mature bald eagles, three moose and one of them had two little baby moose running along behind it, baby moose are the cutest things ever. We saw several arctic terns hovering over the water with their forked tails, harlequin ducks with their beautiful markings, mergansers still with red heads and bad hair, mallards, swans stark white except for their beaks, and a lot of songbirds of every color! Oh, and there are a lot of grayling in the lakes and in the river. Miniature sailfish is what they look like to me with the long, tall dorsal fin across their backs with red, purple, and blue spots and the colored stripes on the bottom fins. Pat and I had a few for dinner the first night. They were very tasty but a pain in the butt to cook! Especially since we took our teeny, tiny, frying pan. It has a diameter of about 5 inches so you can only fit two tiny sections in it at a time and over a camp stove the butter and skin scorched to the bottom in no time. They were still very tasty.

The drive, even if it is 6 hours to the put-in, is beautiful; drunken spruce tree forest for miles edging the highway to Glennallen, with the Matanuska, Nelchina, and Tazlina glaciers in the background. Right in front of the vehicle for at least an hour before we reached Glennallen there were tremendous views of Mt. Sanford, Mt. Drum, Mt. Wrangell and Mt. Blackburn in the Wrangell Mountain Range. Mt. Wrangell is a shield volcano so it doesn't have craggy peaks just a huge dome.

The Tangle Lakes Lodge did our shuttle for us so we were able to all drive up together in one vehicle. Four adults and one teenager in an extended cab pickup truck! It was a little crowded but it's fun to be able to talk to everyone. Pat got to listen to the Black Eyed Peas which will never be his favorite band and the song Imma be became the joke of the trip. Imma be paddleing, Imma be cooking, Imma be sunburned, ect. ect. ect. Also it was nice to reach the end of the trip and have the vehicle sitting there waiting for us; no driving back to the beginning to pick up the other vehicle!

We saw lots of people on the lakes boating and mostly fishing but once we reached the river, we had it to ourselves. We had our pick of great campsites, and fishing holes. One thing that kind of keeps most people from doing the Delta is the portage in the middle. It is sort of two portages, you carry all of your stuff and your boat for about 1/8 of a mile up and down small hills. Then you load all of your gear back into the boat to float across a pond, then you carry everything again for about another 1/8 of a mile. The second stretch is all downhill, some sections are pretty steep with loose rocks and big rocks so you have to be careful to keep your footing. It can be pretty hard on your knees so I was really worried about Pat and his knee carrying our 90 lb canoe all by himself down this steep section. He wouldn't let me help, the trail is too narrow and uneven with twists and turns to have one person on each end, someone would be in the brush most of the time and the person in the back can't see their feet to know what they are stepping down on. There may have been an expletive or two but he did great!

After the portage we hiked back up to the falls which is about 1/2 mile downriver of the portage take-out. The falls is why you have to portage. There are several signs as you come downriver, at least two on river left telling you that the portage take-out is coming up on the right. There is another sign on the right at the beginning of the portage trail. It is pretty well marked, but people have missed the signs and ended up in trouble. The river basically opens down the center with a ten foot wide jagged crack that the water pours into from three sides. It isn't very deep, 8 to 12 feet maybe? But it has jagged edges and no good landing at the bottom. There are also two more drops around the next bend that are backup reasons to portage if the first falls isn't enough. Actually, the second two drops didn't look as bad as the falls but I wouldn't want to run them especially in loaded canoes.

The trip is 29 miles from the Lower Tangle Lakes to mile 212.5 on the Richardson Highway and could be done in two days but why hurry? This is a really nice, relaxing three day paddle in beautiful country.

Willow Creek 6/11/2011

I did the Guardrail section of Willow Creek! This is the second time that I have done this section of river. It is a harder section of river than what I usually do which is the Red Gate section. The first time I ran it was last fall with four other canoes and the water flow was in the low 600s cfs. This time it was 675 cfs and I could notice a difference! This time the water was pushier, there were lots of channels so more decisions to make. I didn't fall out of my boat the whole trip down, which is better than I did last fall. I did have a couple of close calls though.

I ran a section of one drop backwards. I got the boat spun around the correct direction as I went down the face of wave. I also had two awesome low braces that kept me in my boat and kept me from "countin fishes"!

This was another run where I left everything but what was absolutely necessary in the car, so no pictures!

I am working on running harder water to try and prepare me for a trip later this summer down to Oregon and Idaho. It will be my first time running rivers in the Pacific Northwest and I want to be able to at least come close to keeping up! We will see.

Lyon Creek 6/9/2011

Another trip down beautiful Lyon's Creek! This time we both went in solo boats with four pack rafters. Just a really nice trip.

On funny thing, I dragged my boat up onto a small gravel bar to help retrieve a small Rubbermaid tub from a log jam, and when I wasn't paying attention the boat slid into the water and started to float away! Luckily someone downstream saw it and yelled. I ran through the water, jumped a couple of logs, and caught the painter with the t-grip of my paddle just as the boat hit a strong downstream current. Also luckily for me, I was the only person who had a camera or I'm sure it would be on YouTube or something by now. Whewww.

Lion's Head 6/5/2011

This is one of the tougher sections of river that I run and this was the second time that I have done it in a solo canoe ever. I always get dry mouth when I just think about it!

Both times that I have made this run have been in conjunction with Mat Madness weekend party (Matanuska) that a couple of our friends who have a cabin in that area put on. It is usually around Memorial Day weekend, sometimes the weekend before, sometimes the weekend after, it is always a ton of fun.

The approach to this river is to read and run it, which means we don't stop and scout what is ahead. Lucky for me everyone who was on the river with us has gone down it a gazillion times and I can pick up clues from them on where to enter each drop. Even at the lower water levels that I have done it at there are some big pushy waves and some steep very large holes!

I made it through this year almost unscathed, I swam once when my boat filled with water in a big wave train and the very last wave just knocked me over! I kept a hold of my boat which I am really glad of for two reasons: one, no one had to chase it downstream, and two it helped to keep me up at the surface when the hole I swam through sucked me under. I did manage to bash to front of my calf on a rock which earned me a big ugly bruise and now even a week later it is really painful and still bruised.

We had a great time at the cabin! The pic for this post is from the gathering the night before we ran the river. I didn't even take my camera on the river with me, I knew I would be too nervous to even think about taking pictures and I jettisoned all the weight from the boat that I could to make it as maneuverable as possible.

Willow Creek 6/4/2011

Willow Creek is an excellent clear white water run. That may sound contradictory but if you are familiar with river running and especially river running up here you know how special that is. There are two sections of the creek that canoes run. An upper section that is referred to as the Guard Rail section and the next section downriver that is referred to as Red Gate. These two sections also line up in the level of expertise needed to run them. Guard Rail is a more advanced boaters run and Red Gate is an intermediate boaters run.

This weekend was also Willow Fest. A local mushing and kayaking shop in Willow organized and sponsored it along with another business that teaches white water skills. We had a little too much going on at home to make it out of town early so we missed the two races on Saturday, one through Guard Rail and one through Red Gate. We also missed the slalom races on Sunday because we were expected at a gathering on the Matanuska River so we headed over there after running Willow and hanging out the festival for a little while. We both felt really bad about missing the festival events because the organizer made a special effort to include canoes in the events. We promised him we would be there next year for sure!

Our runs down Willow were good. My better half found a group of kayakers to run Guard Rail with since I wasn't feeling up to it. Good thing too because we had already dragged the boat down the trail to the put in! Just as we got back to the road after leaving the boat at the put-in, a shuttle from the festival dropped off four kayakers who said they didn't mind adding a canoe to the their group. So they all headed back down the trail to the Guard Rail put in and I took the van down to Red Gate.

The festival had made arrangements with the owner of the Red Gate property to shuttle people too and from the put-in thereby not creating a giant parking lot on his property. We always try to be very unobtrusive when we use the Red Gate put-in. Parking on the very edge, trying to keep out of view of the cabin, keeping the noise down, picking up trash, etc. I love the Red Gate run and would hate to have the property owners refuse us the use of their driveway because boaters were a pain and they were tired of us! Which would totally be within their rights.

Anyway, I parked along the road, got my stuff together and carried my boat down to the put-in. I have to admit that I didn't carry it ALL the way to the put-in which has to be close to a quarter of a mile. The driveway is unpaved and every time the middle section flattened out and was grassy I put the canoe down and dragged it through the grass until it became rocky again. I finally made it to the put-in and the last 7 or 8 boats in the downriver race were getting ready to start. They started the boats in one minute intervals so I got to watch the beginning of the race for a little bit. I saw and got to talk to several people that I know before they headed downriver, it was nice. After everyone had left I was still waiting for the group that I had left at Guard Rail so I got busy clipping all of my gear into place in the boat. As I looked for my spare paddle to slip under the airbag cage I suddenly realized that I had left both of my paddles in the van! I quick took off my helmet and tossed it in the boat, took off my life vest and tossed it in the boat so I wouldn't overheat running up to the road. I climbed up out of the river corridor and just as I got the the main driveway I heard a four wheeler start up! I ran to the main area and saw a couple who had been watching the races were just getting ready to head up to the road. They very kindly allowed me to sit on the back and catch a ride. Awesome luck for me! That luck didn't last long though because my car keys were in the pocket of my life vest. The life vest that I tossed in the boat with my helmet so that I wouldn't get too hot. Ahhhhhhhhhhh! There is supposed to be an extra key hidden on my van but it must have bounced or gotten knocked off because after digging through the accumulated dirt I didn't find it. So I ran back down to the put-in and prayed that the other canoe still had a spare paddle.

Just a few minutes after I made it back to the put-in the Guard Rail group came around the corner and I got the spare paddle from the other canoe. Whew, saved me another trip to the road and back!

The very first drop on the Red Gate section is one of, if not the hardest part of this whole section of river. There are a few rocks that are just under the surface to avoid then there is a big rock that the water piles up on and just flows over. I went right over the top of the big rock. The move is to go around the rock and I just didn't make it, I'm blaming it on being flustered about the paddle stuff and using a unfamiliar paddle. I did however do a nice brace and I stayed upright. The rest of the run was just fun, fun, fun! Lots of splashy water, some nice wave trains, some rock dodging, and some really nice eddies.

A nice day on the water.

Chulitna River 6/28-6/30

Ahhh Memorial Day weekend and the first multi-day trip of the year. We drove up to the East fork of the Chulitna on Friday evening after everyone had finished up with work. We stopped were we were going to end our trip, transferred everything to one vehicle, squished all of us in and drove the last hour to the put-in, leaving one vehicle at the end. There were six of us from Anchorage who drove up together in two trucks and then we were joined at the put-in by two more people who drove down from Fairbanks, so a pretty sizable group. We ended up with only seven of us on the river because one member of our party woke up ill and feeling miserable on Saturday morning so they took the truck and went home.

We were surprised when we got to the East for put-in at how high the water was! It wasn't flooding, it wasn't even up into the trees or anything but it was definitely full. We were also disappointed to see that the high water level had made the water a thick muddy brown color. Usually the East fork is clear water for quite a ways before merging with glacial creeks and the Chulitna's north fork to become the gray water we all know so well.

There were two tandem canoes and two rafts on the trip and the difference in speed was noticeable. Canoes float much faster than rafts do! It doesn't help that canoes (at least our canoe) forward powers through maneuvers and rafts generally back ferry. We all managed just fine, the scenery was beautiful, which matched perfectly with the weather so it was no problem to stop and wait. I am glad I remembered sun screen because even with 45 SPF on I still got a little sunburned, especially my ears which I missed with the sunscreen on the first day, and my hands which I kept dunking in the water to cool down and so washed all of the sunscreen off! On the last day I realized that we had brought gloves so I wore a pair that I kept filling with river water to keep cool. This worked great, it also helped keep the sunburn

swelling down! Gotta love that ice cold glacier water.

The first day of the trip is the splashiest. Some rock dodging, some holes to avoid, some very manageable drops. Though we did hear about a raft that flipped shortly after putting in. The raft was swept downstream stranding the boatists without gear for a night and I guess they also couldn't find their dog! Luckily someone else found their raft and tied it up for them. Also, another group saw the dog but it wouldn't come to them. Hopefully the dog's owners found it. I don't know how much of this true and how much has become tall tale through the

re-telling but it serves as a good example of taking caution!

After the East fork merged with the North fork the noise of the silt on bottom of the boats was unbelievable. We now had the constant gentle background noise of the susuration of silt on plastic interspersed with the pops, and bangs of small rocks hitting the boat. Underlying all of that are the deep bass of large rocks rolling on the bottom of the river. Our own private symphony from the river. Do you remember Pop Rocks? You poured them in your mouth and they would hiss and pop until they melted away? The river sounded a lot like that but outside of your head.

The end of the trip is through a braided section of the river. There typically isn't anything life threatening in here except picking the wrong braid and running out of water! As always though you can never be absolutely sure that there isn't a log stretched across your braid as you come around a corner so you still have to pay attention! Paying attention is harder than it seems when Mt. McKinley is in view, snow-capped and towering above the mountains in the foreground. Absolutely spectacular, bummer my camera ran out of batteries before McKinley came into view.

Another thing that made this trip awesome was that we weren't bothered by bugs! Even in the mornings there would only be a couple of mosquitos hanging out on the mesh of the tent. Every evening as we ate dinner and hung around in lawn chairs to chat and enjoy the view no even thought of getting out a bug jacket or a head net.

We had a couple of wildlife sightings, all in the same morning. A golden eagle was sitting on a pinnacle of rock across the river from camp. It hung out there for a really long time; long enough for everyone to get a really nice view of it through a set of binoculars. There also seemed to be bats flying all around the eagle. They were still in the canyon shade as the sun was coming up behind them so it was kind of hard to see them with the sun shining in our eyes. They had very erratic flight patterns darting up and down and left and right; but at the same time, it was very smooth. Once the sun had risen further into the sky the bats were gone. A little later that morning a black bear came out of the brush on the far side of the river. However as soon as we all noticed it, it fled back into the brush. We could see it moving through the trees for a few seconds and then it was gone!

We had a great trip!

Eagle River 6/26/2011

Tonight we ran what we call the bridge to bridge section of Eagle River. This is a good early season run that we use to warm up for more difficult runs that we are waiting for more water before we try them. Another handy thing is that we can be there in 30 to 45 minutes, run it in 45 minutes to a couple of hours. This easy accessibility makes it great for doing after work during the week. We usually end up at Moose's Tooth afterwards for pizza and beer so that can sometimes make it a late night for those who have to work in the morning. The big range on how long it takes to run depends on how many times we take turns surfing in the waves. There are at least three waves on this section that we routinely stop and surf on. Different water levels determine just how 'good' the wave is and also how long we stay there. Sometimes it is nice to just get out on the water and play!

Lyon Creek 5/23/2011

Our first paddle of 2011!

Lyon Creek feeds into Granite Creek, which feeds into the East Fork of Sixmile Creek. This run is considered a 'difficult' class two run because it is a small creek with tight turns and it can have a lot of sweepers, strainers, and log jams. The water moves right along but it isn't pushy. The volume of the creek increases the further downstream you go from the many tributaries that join up all the way down. There are several places to take off the creek, the highway crosses over again downstream of the Granite Creek Campground, and there is a traffic pull-out/tourist overlook near where Gulch Creek enters the East Fork, commercial companies use this overlook as the put in spot for running the canyons on Sixmile Creek. MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHERE TO TAKE OUT! The first canyon on Sixmile Creek is really close to the overlook. You absolutely do not want to run through the first canyon of Sixmile unless you are an experienced whitewater boater! The Lyon Creek run does not count as experience to prepare you for the first canyon!

That said, Lyon Creek is a fun paddle through the tundra, and the taiga as you make your way down the pass. The water is clear (not the gray silt color of glacial water), and splashy. Since this creek relies on snowmelt (hence the clear water) to have enough water for a boat to make it down without scraping rocks the whole way it is really best to do this run in the spring and sometimes after a big rain.

The run is very intimate. You start out with a pretty wide open view, some beaver dams and old beaver houses as you twist your way through the tundra section. As you move into the forested section the trees meet overhead and you paddle through their shadow. On this trip we found a large section of an avalanche shoot that gave me a moments pause as we started around a corner and saw it on both sides of the river; but as we continued around the corner I realized that the creek cut completely through it. No ice bridge or complete blockage to worry about. It is very cool to paddle by several feet of compacted snow!

The trees I mentioned earlier, those that make this such an intimate paddle are also the biggest hazard on the run. In the past, there have been numerous downed trees that spanned the entire river and there used to be a section that was full of enormous log jams, all of which you had to portage around. This trip was a pleasant surprise; there were only three instances that we had to get out of the boat for. On two of them we pulled our boat around downed trees for a very short distance. The third instance we found a path through the logs and then paddled the boat through.

This is a really nice paddle that takes a several hours. It is one of my favorite day trips even though we don't get the chance to do it very often. I especially like to run this late at night with the midnight sun!

The picture was taken by our friend Jack who ran this with us.

Our next paddle is coming up soon.