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.

John and Pat

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.