Alaska River Guide: Canoeing, Kayaking, and Rafting in the Last Frontier

By Karen Jettmar

The rich tapestry of Alaska is threaded together by 365,000 miles of waterways, from cascading mountain streams to meandering valley rivers, from the meltwaters of glaciers to broad rivers that empty into the sea. This guide profiles a wide variety of rivers from all over Alaska, concentrating on trips for intermediate boaters, and including a few major expeditions for the experienced river-runner. A section on gear outlines what to take into the backcountry.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Menasha Ridge Press
• Release date: Jun 28, 2008
• ISBN: 9780897327978

Book preview

To my parents, Emil and Gladys Jettmar, who led me to water and boats early in life and encouraged me to follow my dreams.

And in memory of Roger Dowding, Joe Firman, Mike Ivers, and Kurt Gloyer, gifted bush pilots one and all, and longtime friends, who perished in the mountains while doing what they loved best.

NOTE: In this book, I have tried to describe the rivers as accurately as possible. And yet features of Alaska’s rivers can change due to weather or the impacts of civilization. If you encounter conditions that are different from those I’ve described here, or situations worth noting in relation to private property, Access, or other issues, please contact me through the publisher so that I can consider your suggestions for future editions of this book.

Copyright © 1993, 1998, 2008 by Karen Jettmar

All rights reserved

Published by Menasha Ridge Press

Printed in the United States of America

Distributed by Publishers Group West

Third edition, first printing

Text and cover design by Ian Szymkowiak (Alian Design)

Cover photographs by UGSG (top); Will Forsberg (bottom); Dave Gerhke (back)

Author photograph by Sherri Mertz

Cartography by Carol Palmer and Cameron Mason

All text photographs are by the author except: Will Forsberg, Don Kiely, Dan Boccia, Dave Gerhke, Barb O’Donnell, Patty Brown; and U.S. Department of Interior.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Jettmar, Karen, 1951–

Alaska river guide: canoeing, kayaking, and rafting in the last frontier/Karen Jettmar.—3rd ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-13: 978-0-89732-957-6 (alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 0-89732-957-0 (alk. paper)

1. Canoes and canoeing—Alaska-Guidebooks. 2. Kayaking—Alaska—Guidebooks. 3. Rafting (Sports)—Alaska-Guidebooks. 4. Alaska— Guidebooks. I. Title.

GV776.A4J48 2007

797.12209798—dc22

2007001901

Menasha Ridge Press

P.O. Box 43673

Birmingham, Alabama 35243

www.menasharidge.com

He learnt to swim and to row, and entered into the joy of running water; and with his ear to the reed-stems he caught, at intervals, something of what the wind went whispering so constantly among them.

—Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows

Contents

Acknowledgments

A Legacy of Wild Rivers

The Special Challenges of Alaska

Whitewater Classification

Topographic Maps

Choosing the Right Boat

Gearing Up

Clothing

Life Jackets

Dry Suits and Wet Suits

Basic Gear for Expedition River Trips

Safety

Solo Travel

Cold Water

Aufeis and Calving Glaciers

Weather

Hypothermia

River Flow

River Conditions

Giardiasis

Alaska’s Bugs

Filing a Float Plan

Traveling with Children

Respecting the Land and Its Inhabitants

Group Size

Bears and Other Wild Animals

Dogs

Human Waste

Campsites

Fires

Garbage and Cleanup

Hunting and Fishing

Wilderness Uses

Cultural and Natural Resources

Private Property

Native Village Life

Keeping Alaska’s Rivers Flowing Free

Alaska’s Rivers

Arctic Slope

Northwest Alaska

Yukon Region

Southwest Alaska

Southcentral Alaska

Southeast Alaska

Glossary

Rivers Grouped by Level of Difficulty

National Wild and Scenic Rivers and State Recreation Rivers

Land Managers

Town Services

Conservation Groups

Related Reading

Acknowledgments

To Alaska’s Native Peoples, I wish to express my appreciation. For thousands of years they have lived beside the rivers, harvesting fish and wildlife, living in harmony with the land, and leaving little trace of their presence. I am also grateful to the explorers who came before me and recorded their observations, teaching us so much about the land and its inhabitants.

For thousands of years they have lived beside the rivers, harvesting fish and wildlife, living in harmony with the land, and leaving little trace of their presence.

My first river trip in Alaska was shockingly brief. With friends Rick, Annie, Dave, and Jan in canoe and folding kayak, respectively, I pushed off into the glacial blue-green waters of the Kenai River in a fiberglass whitewater kayak. Unprepared for the rapids not far below, the canoeists capsized in a Class III rapid. Moments later, the double Klepper met the same fate. Seeing my companions bobbing up and down and frantically swimming to shore, I raced down and picked up floating gear, then pulled into an eddy. Less than ten minutes after the put-in, our trip was over. That early experience has led to a 30-year love affair with Alaska’s rivers. Heartfelt appreciation goes out to all the friends, co-workers, and trip participants who have paddled wild rivers with me, and to all the pilots who have landed me safely in places of incredible beauty. Days spent on Alaska’s rivers are among the finest days of my life. Thanks to Brad Snow for his written contribution, and to Will Forsberg, Dave Gehrke, and Dan Boccia for contributing photos to the third edition.

I also wish to recognize the work of those working for the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the State of Alaska, who have written about public lands in management plans and Wild and Scenic River proposals, and who are working to protect the wild. I especially want to acknowledge all the many friends working in the trenches for environmental organizations. I’ve been there, and I know the work that it takes to stay on top of the many threats to precious wilderness and wild rivers.

Finally, thanks to Menasha Ridge Press for working with me to bring new life to Alaska’s classic river guide.

A Legacy of Wild Rivers

The rich tapestry of Alaska is threaded together by 365,000 miles of waterways, from cascading mountain streams to meandering valley rivers, from the meltwaters of glaciers to broad rivers that empty into the sea. These waterways run deep in the fabric of Alaskan life, providing means of communication, nutrition, and transport for plants, animals, and people.

Thousands of years ago, many rivers were used by aboriginal peoples for passage between seacoast and Interior. Koyukon Athapaskan elders say that when the world was first created by the Great Raven, rivers flowed upstream on one side and downstream on the other. This made travel easy: no paddling was necessary. Raven, known as the Trickster, decided it was too easy, so he made the current flow only one way. From that time on, Natives poled up rivers in light boats to hunting and fishing camps, and seasonally they loaded skin or birchbark boats with dried fish or meat and floated down to their villages. The Native peoples of Alaska developed highly sophisticated cultures centered on the waterforms around them and the plants, animals, and landscapes associated with those waterways.

In this book, I profile a wide variety of rivers from all over Alaska, concentrating mainly on trips for intermediate boaters—those who have run Class I and II rivers with proficiency and who possess good wilderness camping skills.

Foreign fur traders began arriving in the mid-1700s, followed by missionaries, prospectors, and geologists. These early explorers hired Natives to show them the way into this immense land, and they learned to use ancient Native methods of travel from watershed to watershed.

And so the land accepted the many migrations of people and is accepting them still. But the numbers of people now are greater, and their technology more intrusive. Some people look at rivers for their hydroelectric potential, while others prize them for the unspoiled wildlands they flow through. In a society that encourages exploitation and economic development while at the same time crying for protection of dwindling wild places, even maintaining the integrity of existing protected places is difficult. Our waterways are far from safe as they face such threats as poor forestry practices, chemical pollution, and petroleum development.

Even today, many of Alaska’s rivers remain mysterious because they have been paddled so seldom. Alaska is so large, it is commonly thought of as having six major regions, each with its own topographic and environmental features. The countless rivers offer a variety of experience not found in any other state in the nation. You can float through a suburban neighborhood on a stream that supports king salmon, or drive to the wilderness headwaters of the Chena River and, in two days, float into downtown Fairbanks. You can spend a weekend quietly paddling and portaging between lakes and lily pads on the Kenai Peninsula, or ride the silver-gray glacial meltwater of the Nenana River past tourists watching from RVs as you disappear into the Nenana Gorge. You can follow an ancient Athapaskan trade route from the Yukon Territory to vast lake and oxbow country on the Yukon Flats, or glide over a seething mass of spawning salmon in a clearwater stream that empties into Bristol Bay. You can parallel the ancient path of great caribou migrations, from high in the mountains to the boreal forest, or eat ice from calving glaciers as you float down the Copper River to Cordova. All in the same day, you can paddle for hours in the sun wearing only shorts and a T-shirt, then don a hooded parka and wool gloves when a chilly wind whips up.

In this book, I profile a wide variety of rivers from all over Alaska, concentrating mainly on trips for intermediate boaters—those who have run Class I and II rivers with proficiency and who possess good wilderness camping skills. Some are good day trips; others involve major expedition planning. Most of the river trips described here are not high-speed experiences requiring helmets, wet suits, and sleek poly playboats—but several are. Some of the rivers are easily Accessible by road and offer exciting whitewater runs (Gulkana River, Nenana River, Eagle River). On many of the rivers you can join tours, whether for an hour or for a month. I look at rivers as avenues to fine wilderness country and at boats as transportation rather than tools for surviving Class IV rapids.

In writing this guidebook, I’ve tried to not steal away the elements of surprise and adventure that people seek on a wilderness trip. Alaska’s remoteness and size still offer plenty of both. My goal has been to provide enough information to help you prepare for a trip, without spoiling your sense of discovery. At the same time, writing about an area inherently invites people to it and possibly makes it more popular. None of the rivers described in this guide are unknown, and some are already quite popular. The agencies that manage river areas can provide additional information on the places you plan to visit. You’ll find a listing of land managers at the back of this book.

River ratings and other information in this book provide guidance, but keep in mind that rivers are dynamic: they swell with snowmelt and rain, and they change course over time. For a particular river, use your best judgment in determining whether you have the boating and wilderness skills required. Factor in the river’s remoteness and coldness and the difficulty of being rescued, and then decide on the river for you.

Rivers are the stuff of memories, stories, and folklore. Once you float a river and enter river time, you may never want to leave that dreamlike flow of life, especially in the endless daylight of the Northern summer. Alaska’s rivers are for the weekend floater as well as for the bold adventurer.

The National Wild and Scenic River system covers 11,358 river miles, which is just more than one-quarter of one percent of the nation’s rivers. By comparison, an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 dams across the country have impounded more than 600,000 miles, or at least 17 percent of our rivers. In Alaska and Canada, plans to dam such rivers as the Susitna and the Stikine have proven unpopular and unwise. But dams are not the only threat to rivers. In Alaska, hard rock mining and oil development are major threats. Imagine if the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were opened to oil drilling, most of the rivers on the Refuge’s coastal plain would be off-limits for recreation. I hope that, in discovering Alaska’s wild and free-flowing rivers, you will become committed to their protection.

The Special Challenges of Alaska

Alaska has few roads and relatively few people. Distances from one region to another are immense—like traveling across several states in the Lower 48. In other regions of the United States, cities and smaller towns often surround the national parks, forests, refuges, and other public lands, creating islands of wilderness bordered by civilization. It’s the other way around in Alaska, where wilderness surrounds pockets of civilization. In Alaska, it is still possible to take a river trip and see no one.

Alaskan solitude comes at a price, of course. Part of your river adventure involves getting to the river. At times this can be difficult, on unpaved four-wheel-drive roads or, more frequently, by air. Entire watersheds are essentially primitive, with few or no official landing strips. Flying within the state is expensive, whether it’s via scheduled airline or charter aircraft. Air charter rates range from $300 to $800 per hour, depending on the size of the plane. For example, the air charter rate from Anchorage to the Wood River Lakes System in Wood-Tikchik State Park is $600 to $900 per person, whereas a trip to Alexander Creek costs about $300 per person. Choose from more than 100 air charter companies, each with its own territory and fare schedule. Finding a charter operator who knows about the river you want to float takes time and effort. The yellow pages of Alaska phone books and the land management agencies listed in this book’s river descriptions (and in the roster of land managers at the back of the book) are good places to obtain names of charter airlines. On the other hand, Alaska’s road system can take you to some wonderful wild rivers for a fraction of the cost.

ROOSTER TAIL RAPID ON THE NENANA RIVER

Part of the challenge of running a river in Alaska is being prepared for fickle weather and unpredictable transportation. Fourteen days of canoeing on the Kobuk River may begin with four days of sitting in Kotzebue as you wait for acceptable flying weather. And at the end of your trip, a storm in Ambler could delay your flight further as you wait, knowing you were supposed to be back at work three days ago. If your party splits up for flying to a river, make sure each planeload is self-contained, with food, stove, fuel, and gear in case the other members of the group are delayed by weather.

Once your pilot drops you off, you’re on your own. It’s too late to remember the pump for the raft or the repair kit that could patch a folding canoe chewed by a porcupine. The prevention of serious illness or injury becomes vital. You’ll need to be more cautious about running heavy whitewater when you realize it’s many miles to the nearest help instead of 100 yards to the nearest road.

Proper preparation is the key ingredient for a successful Alaskan river expedition. Do your homework. Read about the river, and talk to as many knowledgeable people as you can before the trip. Do not go until you have paddling ability for the river you want to visit and skills to deal with an emergency. Every member of your group should have wilderness camping skills and be prepared to deal with adverse weather for long periods of time. And before a trip, undertake a program of physical conditioning. The rigors of the trip—paddling, rowing, hiking, fighting headwinds, hauling gear, portaging boats, setting up tents in foul weather—all take endurance. The more fit you are, the more you’ll enjoy your trip.

Group or family members without much camping experience may need help throughout the trip during difficult conditions. Decisions need to be made with the least experienced group member in mind. When hunger, fatigue, or cold set in, know when to stop and make camp. Set realistic goals for travel and don’t expect to cover a set number of miles every day. Weather can pin you down, throwing your schedule way off. Allow in your planning for bad-weather days. If the bad weather never materializes, you’ll simply arrive at your pickup point ahead of schedule—far better than endangering your party by struggling to make it on time. Carry the essentials to survive at all times: at the very least, a Swiss Army knife, waterproof matches, a compass, maps, emergency food, rain gear, extra clothing, signal mirror, space blanket, a candle, a hook, and some fishing line.

Proper preparation is the key ingredient for a successful Alaskan river expedition. Do your homework. Read about the river, and talk to as many knowledgeable people as you can before the trip.

Most first-time visitors to Alaska leave it to commercial river guides and outfitters to plan their itinerary. Dozens of rafting, kayaking, fishing, and backpacking companies exist. Those owned and operated by Alaskans living in Alaska will likely be the most knowledgeable. The Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association (2207 Spenard Road, Suite 201, Anchorage, Alaska 99503; www.awrta.org, a nonprofit organization that works for ecologically responsible recreation and tourism, maintains a list of members who offer river guide services. Other sources of information include conservation organizations (see list). Federal and state land managers keep rosters of guides, outfitters, and pilots operating on public lands; each trip description in this book lists the appropriate land managers (see information sources). Ask about the experience of your guide, the safety equipment that will be brought on the trip, and the number of participants on a trip. Do your best to learn what you’re getting into before you decide to go.

Whitewater Classification

The difficulty ratings in this book are generally for average conditions. They do not take into consideration travel on rivers during the worst times, such as just after breakup (when ice first breaks up in the spring, causing a river to flow again, usually at flood stage), or after heavy rains, or on a long, hot sunny day when glacier melt can cause rivers to swell enormously. Also, ratings don’t take into consideration the remoteness and coldness of some Alaskan rivers. As a rule of thumb, many people rate Alaskan rivers an extra class higher in difficulty in order to factor in the coldness and remoteness of the river. Unless a river is Accessible by road, it should be considered remote.

Only boaters who are fully prepared to deal with wilderness conditions and emergencies should undertake river trips rated at the high end of their ability. Start on an easy river with no technical difficulties. Some easy rivers traverse outstanding scenery and primitive wildlands. Before you embark on a fly-in trip, talk to your pilot about conditions. Have an alternate plan ready in case the river looks too difficult or if conditions render it unfloatable. Arctic rivers often don’t open up as early in the season as expected, and boaters have found themselves stranded with low water or have had to haul boats and gear across aufeis (large areas of thick ice covering the riverbed) where the river has not yet broken a channel through.

Whitewater classifications rate river difficulties in six classes, from easiest to most difficult.

CLASS I: EASY

Flat-water to occasional rapids characterized by low, regular waves. Obstructions are easy to avoid. Best route is easily recognized and maneuvered. Suitable for open canoes, folding boats, and whitewater kayaks, and for inflatable canoes, kayaks, and rafts.

CLASS II: MEDIUM

Frequent rapids characterized by high, regular waves up to three feet. Easy to medium chutes, ledges, or falls. Back eddies and differentiating currents are easily negotiated. Best route is generally simple to recognize and maneuver. Suitable for open canoes, folding boats, and whitewater kayaks, and for inflatable canoes, kayaks, and rafts.

CLASS III: DIFFICULT

Numerous rapids with high, irregular waves, rollers, breakers, and back eddies, requiring complex maneuvering. Chutes, falls, and ledges are difficult. Spray cover is necessary for open boats. Scouting is mandatory. Suitable for decked canoes or canoes with spray skirts, whitewater kayaks, and inflatable kayaks and rafts. Kayakers should be proficient in Eskimo roll.

CLASS IV: VERY DIFFICULT

Long, difficult sections of rapids with high, irregular waves, breakers, powerful back eddies, whirlpools, sharp bends, and constricted canyons. Chutes, falls, and ledges with powerful rollers and undertow. Best passage is difficult to recognize and difficult to run. Scouting from shore is mandatory. Rescue can be difficult. Suitable for whitewater kayaks, whitewater decked canoes, and rafts. Helmet and proficiency in Eskimo roll is mandatory in whitewater kayak.

CLASS V: EXTREMELY DIFFICULT

Long sections of continuous violent rapids with very high, unavoidable irregular waves, breakers, haystacks, and powerful rollers. Very fast current with powerful whirlpools and boiling back eddies creates complicated routes that require scouting. Suitable for whitewater kayaks, whitewater decked canoes, and rafts. Helmet, hull flotation, and expert proficiency in Eskimo roll is mandatory in whitewater kayak.

CLASS VI: HIGHEST LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY

All whitewater Class V difficulties are intensified to the upper limit of skills and equipment. Nearly impossible, extremely dangerous, and runnable only under ideal conditions. Scouting from shore is mandatory. Suitable for whitewater kayaks, whitewater decked canoes, and rafts. Second boat party should be scouting from shore, ready to assist the party running the rapids.

See Rivers Grouped by Level of Difficulty at the back of the book for rivers categorized by whitewater classification.

ROOSTER TAIL RAPID ON THE NENANA RIVER

Topographic Maps

Basic topographic features such as mountains, hills, and lakes don’t often change. But rivers change their courses—particularly where they discharge into the ocean, forming wide deltas and sloughs—and the topographic maps made in the 1950s and 1960s may be incorrect. Newer maps have mostly been updated with land status changes; for example, national parks and refuges are shown. But only some of the newer maps in the scale 1:63,360 have the water features revised. Keep this in mind when floating; always bring a compass, and take bearings.

Topographic maps listed for each river in this book are in the 1:63,360 series. If you want the overall view of a river, buy the 1:250,000-scale maps. You can buy maps in the visitor contact stations of many of the national parks and wildlife refuges.

The best complete source for maps is The University of Alaska-Fairbanks Earth Science Information Center (ESIC) Map Office (www.gi.alaska.edu/services/mapoffice). The Map Office has wall-sized maps, USGS topographic maps and CD-ROMs, and nautical charts, as well as a variety of books, slides, videos, and curriculum pertaining to the Aurora. The Map Office is located in room 204 of the International Arctic Research Center (IARC). In Anchorage, the USGS map store is located in Grace Hall at Alaska Pacific University (U.S. Geological Service, 4230 University Drive, Room 101). The Alaska Natural History Association offers maps online at www.alaskanha.org.

SAMPLE TOPOGRAPHIC MAP OF ALASKA

Get maps directly from the USGS (United States Geological Survey, Information Services, Box 25286, Building 810, Denver, CO 80225; [phone] or (800) USA-MAPS; www.store.usgs.gov).

To purchase Canadian maps, contact: Mac’s Fireweed Books (203 Main Street, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada Y1A 2B2; [phone] or [phone]; www.yukonbooks.com).

The DeLorme Alaska Atlas and Gazetteer will give you an overview of the state in topographic maps that may be useful in planning trips, but they are not sufficiently detailed for your river trip. The atlas is available at www.delorme.com, or in many stores throughout Alaska.

DVD and CD versions of Alaska’s USGS topographic maps are marketed through such programs as MapTech’s Terrain Navigator (www.maptech.com) and MacTopos Alaska (www.macgpspro.com). These programs provide maps, along with software for viewing, manipulating, and printing the portions you select.

Contact the land managers listed for each river for more information. You also may want to write or visit one of the Alaska Public Lands Information Centers (www.nps.gov/aplic): Anchorage Public Lands Information Center, 605 West Fourth Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501; Tok Public Lands Information Center, Mile 1314, Alaska Highway, P.O. Box 359, Tok, AK 99780; or Fairbanks Public Lands Information Center, 250 Cushman Street, Suite 1A, Fairbanks, AK 99701.

Choosing the Right Boat

Hard-shell canoes and kayaks are wonderful for road-Accessible rivers. These rigid boats have an obvious disadvantage as wilderness craft in Alaska: they don’t easily fit into small planes. The effort and expense to transport a boat to some locations can be more than the original cost of the boat. For this reason, Alaskan paddlers who spend much time on rivers have more than one boat. Sometimes we use hard-shell boats, other times folding or inflatable boats.

The Federal Aviation Administration prohibits pilots from carrying boats strapped to floatplane pontoons if the plane is carrying passengers. Some pilots will transport hard-shell boats separately from passengers, either in planes large enough to take boats as cargo or strapped to the floats of a plane. Where this is not possible or practical, we use inflatable boats or folding boats (boats that come apart and fold up into a bag). Inflatable kayaks and canoes may be suitable on rivers that are too rocky or shallow for folding boats.

HARD-SHELL CANOES

Advantages—Large carrying capacity, for taking large quantities of gear and food; nice for families and fishing.