Change in River

Oh, the summer in Alaska! Rivers surrounded by mountains can provide a corridor to some spectacular adventures and places. The Delta River, cutting its way north through the Alaska Range, is one way to sneak through the beauty.

Morning on the third day.

Towards the end of July, Julia was invited to head to Anchorage to help some youngsters ski faster. We decided to make a two week trip out of it all and planned a non-direct route to Anchorage so that a Delta River float could be fit in.

Careful food planning for the trip.

We need to create and implement some organizational systems.

My friend had offered to take us along on this float so we got our weekends lined up and headed off with John and his son Steven. Julia and I tried out the packrafts and John and Steven were in a canoe. They definitely had more food than we did. I was pretty intent on being spartan. Everything we brought for three days of floating and camping fit on our 5 foot inflatable boats; lightweight tent, sleeping bags, all of our food, clothing, backpacks, cook pots, and other stuff. They had a couple of frying pans a shotgun, two coolers, and some other high mass items. Thankfully they were willing to share some of the foods they had brought along.

The first day involved wandering through the Tangle Lakes, the headwaters of the Delta River. Julia and I had visited this area on a previous adventure.

This is actually the evening of day three. Day one was a bit overcast.

We settled in on the first evening. John and Steven caught some fish and we conked out on some very comfortable tundra. At this point Julia was nearly entirely at ease regarding bear encounters, thanks to the fishing line trip line perimeter connected to a smoke alarm set up each evening by John. It wasn't entirely reliable but she slept like a baby. Nice work wife! (Thanks John)

Building some dinner. No bears.

Then the river started moving along quite nicely. There is a rather nasty waterfall/rapid where we needed to take out and portage. We had a few less trips through the mud and brush (1) than the guys with the frying pans (47) but we helped out hoping that we could have some of their vegetables with fresh fish. They let us have some of their extra food and they even let us eat some of their fresh caught fish cooked in large amounts of butter. It tasted very good.

Looking back up towards the Tangle Lakes from a bluff at the portage.

John and Steven trying their luck just below the waterfall.

Preparing for the class II and III rapids below the portage. 

Immediately after the portage there are a few miles of exciting whitewater. Not "Don't fall out or you'll die" whitewater but "You might fall out on this part so stay ready. It would be extraordinarily exciting and challenging to save your soggy butt as you ping pong down through the rocks" whitewater.

The Delta River just below the portage.

Julia looked at me with a bit of hesitation as we were lining our boats up to head downstream but she was definitely smiling and giggling all the way through the rapids to the flat water below. Don't believe her if she says packrafting really isn't that much fun.

We landed on this beach to set up the camp towards evening on the second day.

Beauty on display.

Julia caught a fish and had lots of fun doing it. I could tell because
she was giggling most of the time. We ate the fish.

Campsite located directly on a "game" (bear) trail.

Three years before, John and Steven had camped in the same spot we settled for the night. Early in the morning a young grizzly bear walked directly through their camp, woke everyone up, made an aggressive move towards the open tent door, and was shot multiple times and killed. That is why John had brought along extra fishing line and a smoke alarm. No worries though. We all slept soundly and woke up to a few wisps of clouds and a beautiful day.

Making the only ripples except for a few beavers. 

The weather can change pretty quickly. It rained pretty
hard for about 20 minutes.

Stopping for a break at the Eureka Creek confluence.

A few miles before the take out, Eureka Creek runs into the Delta River and the water turns silty and brown. Eureka Creek originates from the Eureka Glacier and after the confluence the Delta picks up speed as it makes its way towards Black Rapids then slows as it leaves the mountains and meets with the mighty Tanana River.

Julia enjoying views of Rainbow Ridge. 

This caribou ran along the bank several hundred yards and swam across the Delta about 20 yards in front of John and Steven's canoe.

We saw several Bald Eagles, this caribou, and no bears. 

Mount Silvertip hidden by clouds. 

The take out along the Richardson Highway. 

John's expertise and experience (and extra cheesecake) helped to make this a very pleasant trip. Julia has mentioned that she would be happy to go on other trips when he is along. She certainly felt safe on the trip and enjoyed the pace as well. I think it's the cheesecake and the frying pans. Sorry wife. Those items probably will not it onto the gear list of an upcoming packrafting trip. Packrafting is still fun right?


Heck yes it is!

Hmmm. Maybe 45 miles on the Tanana River was not a good idea.

Nope. Definitely not a good idea.