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Alaska - Copper River Rafting |
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Casapagina |
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The Frontier State was home to my latest adventure, a whitewater rafting trip down the Kennicott, Nizina, Chitina & Copper rivers with my brother Bruce and his buddy Mike. It was a trip through the wilds of the Wrangell St. Elias State Park (the largest in the United States!). Amazingly we made it from McCarthy to Cordova in 6 days carried along by our two, twenty-year-old rafts, Fat Wad & Orca Boston Volvis. Bruce had procured the rafts and accessories and managed to make them all (somewhat) airtight and seaworthy. Getting all our gear to the top of the Kennicott river was a bit of a logistical nightmare but with the help of the good people at U-Haul we managed to get to the put-in and with the help of Scott Johnson we were able to get out at the other end, a bit soggy and cold but otherwise having had a great time (a big thanks to the whole Johnson family for their warm hospitality (and shower) at the end of our journey). |
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Day 1 - Kennicott River - McCarthy to Nizina River |
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Here's the group shot at the outset from McCarthy at the "put-in" at the Kennicott River. That's the Kennicott Glacier in the background, the source of it's river namesake.
For those wondering, the U-Haul was returned to a nearby town by Bruce who returned by Shuttle the next day. It served us well and held up surprisingly well to the rigors of the 60 Miles of unpaved road into the put-in. |
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We hiked up to the abandoned Kennicott Mine. It was pretty cool to see all the old buildings built in the first quarter of this century still standing. |
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Each morning provided us the opportunity to hone our knot tying skills. This was our first attempt at fitting everything into the rafts.
That's the Raging Kennicott behind us. |
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There's Mike with Bruce in the background and the Kennicott Glacier behind him.
The first 5 mile section of the trip on the Kennicott was the hairiest being mainly Class III rapids with lots of tight turns... |
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...and big waves, which tend to fill a partly deflated 14 foot raft rather quickly.
It was my first time piloting one of these sturdy crafts and was an exhilirating and sometimes harrowing experience. |
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The self-take on the Kennicott, glacier in the background.
I hadn't noticed at the time but it definetly looks here like Mike has already had enough and is looking to trudge back to McCarthy. |
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Day 2 - Nizina River to Chitina River |
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After making the Nizina River a bit behind schedule we had dried off our feet overnight and were ready for the next dangers awaiting us aside from the frigid waters...Bears.
We decided it was a good idea to get in some practice with our firearm prior to descending the rest of the rivers.
This trip was also my first time holding, loading and firing a gun...I think the shell in the mouth is a nice effect (as is the look on Bruce's face). |
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Apparently, blending in with the locals requires going sleeveless or shirtless when firing a 12 guage at beer cans in Alaska. Here's Mike taking his turn with Molly. |
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Unfortunately you can't hear Bruce yelling "LIVE FREE OR DIE!!!!!" as he cranked out 6 buck shots in under 10 seconds...he may have been up here too long already.
Note the dust plume by the log where he has just "wasted" a can of MGD. |
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We did get on the river this day, feeling much better about our chances against the perils of Alaska, and the sun was shining! |
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After an intense paddle through a canyon with 500 foot walls we made it to the Chitina River!!!...and had a snack. |
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We then found a campsite, with only 1 set of bear tracks we felt it was the best we could hope for....Mike took this (and many others) just to prove there were bears. |
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Day 3 - Chitina River to Copper River |
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Back on the river the next day and no bears, doesn't Mike look pleased about that?
Note the touques though. |
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We ferried our crafts across the Copper River to the Town of Chitina where we restocked on the essentials - Beer, Tostitos and Duct Tape. |
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Continue down the Copper River |
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Sign the guestbook |
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