While paddling through a braided section after lunch we see a grizzly bear, about 300 feet away. The bear looks like it is fishing and it doesn't seem to notice us at all.
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| John and Pat |
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Alsek River Day 1
The Dezadeash this morning is a lake, beautifully calm reflecting the sky and the nearby mountains. We start paddling at 10:30 am and the winds start about 11:30. They aren't nearly as bad as they were last night though, thoroughly manageable. We stop at Serpentine Creek for lunch and to pump water from the clear creek. First problem of the trip arises here as one of our pumps (mine and Pat's) is missing a part! The little ball for the check valve, it stops the water from going back down the hose to the creek instead of through the filter. The fix is to squeeze the hose to force the water through the filter. However when we drink some of the filtered water it tastes caustic so that water gets dumped out. John's filter is working just fine so we rinse one of our water bottles and fill it with good water.
While paddling through a braided section after lunch we see a grizzly bear, about 300 feet away. The bear looks like it is fishing and it doesn't seem to notice us at all.
Camp tonight is on river left, not far above the confluence with the Kaskawulsh River. This is where the Alsek starts! Pat, John, and I go for an evening stroll along the bench we are camped on. It is nice, easy, walking.
While paddling through a braided section after lunch we see a grizzly bear, about 300 feet away. The bear looks like it is fishing and it doesn't seem to notice us at all.
Alsek River Day 0
July 5, 2012
Yesterday we drove from Anchorage to Haines Junction, about 608 miles. This morning we had orientation with Kluane National Park (Bear Safety video, history of the park video, check on rules and regs) and then headed to the put-in.
We have changed our put-in location. Originally we planned on starting down the river from the Serpentine Creek put-in which requires driving 12 miles down an ATV trail and crossing several creeks. Taking the van down was always a little doubtful but seeing how low it
sits because of all the gear packed in and hearing that all the creeks are "crazy high" we are opting for starting on the Dezadeash River right in the middle of Haines Junction. This wasn't our first choice because of the many stories that abound about high up-river winds and the possibility that it could take several days to make it to Serpentine Creek. Our designated start date from Kluane National Park is July 6, but the park doesn't start until Serpentine Creek so we will put-in a day early and try to make Serpentine sometime tomorrow.
We start paddling down the Dezadeash around 5 pm and it is very nice, beautiful and calm. Since the water is high, up in brush in many spots, there is some really good current which is atypical for the this river. After an hour or so we did run into strong up-river winds when the Dezadeash turns and heads south-ish. Really strong head winds, I realized pretty quick why it might take several days to make it to Serpentine! The wind is driving the surface of the water in to white capped waves. The raft and the IK had the hardest time. Luckily we found a really nice camping spot after about 40 or 50 minutes of battling the wind.
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| Drive to Haines Junction |
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| Packed full but still need to put 4 people in! |
sits because of all the gear packed in and hearing that all the creeks are "crazy high" we are opting for starting on the Dezadeash River right in the middle of Haines Junction. This wasn't our first choice because of the many stories that abound about high up-river winds and the possibility that it could take several days to make it to Serpentine Creek. Our designated start date from Kluane National Park is July 6, but the park doesn't start until Serpentine Creek so we will put-in a day early and try to make Serpentine sometime tomorrow.
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| Camp on the Dezadeash |
We start paddling down the Dezadeash around 5 pm and it is very nice, beautiful and calm. Since the water is high, up in brush in many spots, there is some really good current which is atypical for the this river. After an hour or so we did run into strong up-river winds when the Dezadeash turns and heads south-ish. Really strong head winds, I realized pretty quick why it might take several days to make it to Serpentine! The wind is driving the surface of the water in to white capped waves. The raft and the IK had the hardest time. Luckily we found a really nice camping spot after about 40 or 50 minutes of battling the wind.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Alsek River
July 5th through the 20th 2012
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| Paintbrush in front of Alsek Lake |
This trip takes a LOT of planning. You need to get two permits, one from the U. S. National Parks Service in Dry Bay for a take-out date, and one from Kluane National Park and Preserve in Canada for a put-in date. Fees must also be paid to Alsek-Tatshenshini Provincial Park in Canada. Then there is arranging for a helicopter to come and portage you and your stuff around Turnback Canyon. (People do portage on foot, over the Tweedsmere Glacier for six miles. One trip takes approximately two days.) Once you reach the end of the Alsek River in Dry Bay, Alaska, you need to get back to where you started which for us was Haines Junction, Canada. We arranged to have a fixed wing plane from Haines, Alaska come pick us up and fly us to Haines (to fly into Canada you must land where there is a customs office, Whitehorse is the closest place). To fix this we asked a friend in Haines, AK if he (and two of his friends) would drive to Haines Junction, Canada, pick up our vehicles and drive them back to Haines, Alaska (about 6 hours round trip). When we arrived in Haines, Alaska at the airport our vehicles were waiting in the parking lot! Confused? I am too so I'm glad that my husband took care of all this planning. Yeah Pat!
The following posts are the notes, reflections, ect. that I kept almost every night before going to sleep.
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