Overcast with off and on rain all day.
We have a fairly long day of paddling approximately 35 river miles to get to Walker Glacier where we would like to camp tonight. We will pass the confluence of the Alsek with the Tatshenshini today so there is a possibility that we might see other groups of people today and in the days ahead. The Tatshenshini doesn't require a put-in permit from Parks Canada, just a take-out permit from the U.S. National Park Service in Dry Bay.
The river has gotten really big after the confluence with the Tat and looking downstream it seems like we are going to run smack into a bunch of mountains! The river runs pretty straight for quite a distance before making a fairly dramatic left-hand turn that is hard to see from upriver.
We came pretty close to a grizzly today. It was eating a salmon in a braided section of the river. John and us managed to catch a channel going river left thereby avoiding the bear. Anita and Michael in the raft missed that left channel and headed straight down the channel that the bear was in! I suspect they were taking pictures, didn't see us go left, and didn’t realize that they were going to spook the bear from his meal. The bear noticed us first and stood up to get a better look, but as soon as he realized the raft was coming right at him he ran. The bear ended up going completely around the raft in a wide circle and then continued fishing in almost the same spot he left.
Home for the night is Walker Glacier camp A (N59 24.084 W138 03.633 (7V 666873 6588435). As we are setting up camp we see a bear off to our left and when it notices us it heads back into the trees. A little later we see another bear in almost the same exact spot, we think it might be the same bear checking to see if we are still around!
After dinner we walk over to look at the lake below glacier. Pat and Michael say it has really changed since they were here in 2007. The glacier has receded quite a bit and there is less ice in the lake. They were on a trip together on the Tatshenshini so they have both seen the rest of the river from this point.
We have a fairly long day of paddling approximately 35 river miles to get to Walker Glacier where we would like to camp tonight. We will pass the confluence of the Alsek with the Tatshenshini today so there is a possibility that we might see other groups of people today and in the days ahead. The Tatshenshini doesn't require a put-in permit from Parks Canada, just a take-out permit from the U.S. National Park Service in Dry Bay.
The river has gotten really big after the confluence with the Tat and looking downstream it seems like we are going to run smack into a bunch of mountains! The river runs pretty straight for quite a distance before making a fairly dramatic left-hand turn that is hard to see from upriver.
We came pretty close to a grizzly today. It was eating a salmon in a braided section of the river. John and us managed to catch a channel going river left thereby avoiding the bear. Anita and Michael in the raft missed that left channel and headed straight down the channel that the bear was in! I suspect they were taking pictures, didn't see us go left, and didn’t realize that they were going to spook the bear from his meal. The bear noticed us first and stood up to get a better look, but as soon as he realized the raft was coming right at him he ran. The bear ended up going completely around the raft in a wide circle and then continued fishing in almost the same spot he left.
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| One of Anita's pics of the bear. |
After dinner we walk over to look at the lake below glacier. Pat and Michael say it has really changed since they were here in 2007. The glacier has receded quite a bit and there is less ice in the lake. They were on a trip together on the Tatshenshini so they have both seen the rest of the river from this point.
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