TR: 20 Mile Pack Rafting

**carpathian** · 10-06-2011, 11:13 PM

Hey Boat Floaters! We had a nice adventure floating down 20 Mile River here in Alaska last week...

Started the day at 9am by driving south down the highway about 10 miles for the truck drop. Notice the exceptionally high tide:

Met up with Dearnly and Thom and split up the beer rations accordingly

Left the house at 10:30 on foot. Cracked first beer as seen here at noon

We had to walk for about 6 hours to the put in at the westernmost headwaters of 20 Mile. Cool waterfall.

Looking back to the backside of Alyeska Mountain. We started on the frontside and and came up the long valley

Finally reached Blueberry Pass

Thom says "that way". He has done this trip a few times and it is a first for Dearnly and I

Gotta get to the river!

Here we are, need more water. I feel like we are being watched. Deep in griz country

Had to get across this little side channel to main current. Dearnly's feet were already wet so he went for the wade. Thom and I had rubber boots on so we decide to juke upstream into the the alder thicket to navigate across the alder strainers and keep dry feet. About 150 in, as we struggled for a clean line, Thom say's "Did you hear that?!" I say "No" then a second later I hear distinct WUUFFF! over the rushing river noise from very close proximity. Could be nothing other then giant brown bear, at least based on deep gut reaction the sound had on me.

We said fuck it and darted back to where Dearnly had crossed as he called to use.
I got across the stream and on to the open sand bar and looked back upstream to where a large mama bear and THREE large juveniles were ambling out way.

So much for another beer as we very quickly filled our rafts up with air and nervously watched the family move our direction

Fuck you bears! we are out of here 4:20 on the dot

100 yards later a walk around

We've had some major precip events with like 6-8 inches of rain in 48 hours in the last week. The river was low again but it was like the main channels had been blown out and we had a fair amount of shallows to deal with.

Is it just me or are we in the middle of nowhere and it is getting dark?

Why yes, it is getting dark. And no, no one has a headlamp

8pm

When is iPhone going to come out with an outboard app?

Remember that high tide way back 12 hours earlier? Well, we were hoping to have navigated the upper river faster then we did and hit the highway before the tide affected the current 2MILES upstream from ocean. It actually kind of fucking sucked.

The air temp was hovering around 40 and and if you stopped you got cold and the tide was so high that it over flowed the banks into the alders anyway. No beaches, no light, no reprieve from incoming current except by staying right next to shore an using tiny strip of dead water. By this time the the river is about 50 feet deep and a couple hundred yards wide, littered with huge logs going this way and that. The last faint sliver of silver finally faded to pitch black as we JUST KEPT PADDLING. I would stop on occasion and listen for Dearnly bringing up the rear. We were in no way able to respond to a capsize if we even knew it happened. I could here the highway in the distance so we knew were were close, but what is close if you are moving forward 1/4 mile and hour while paddling as hard as you could for the last 3 hours?

Anyway, we eventually saw the parking lot light and felt a burst of energy but it still took another half hour to the truck. At the pull out both Thom and I could not even get up out of our boats and I literally crawled up the bank and scared the shit out of a trucker having a smoke break.

Is it ski season yet?

**Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer** · 10-07-2011, 10:54 AM

Real cool TR.

**Woolly the Mammoth** · 10-09-2011, 01:23 AM

Nice! Daylight goes fast this time of year.

**406** · 10-10-2011, 01:13 PM

thanks for the tr.

**carvedog** · 10-11-2011, 07:58 AM

No headlamps? That's pretty funny.

**carpathian** · 10-11-2011, 04:51 PM

I was really laughing as we used the almighty iPhone as beacon for Dearnly to follow.

Hey, we had beer though!

**XXX-er** · 10-11-2011, 09:09 PM

Originally Posted by carvedog

No headlamps? That's pretty funny.

IME just hold up your lighter concert style to serve as beacon and the fishing boats won't run you over

I pad 2 has a nice GPS/map

**ak_powder_monkey** · 10-17-2011, 05:17 PM

badass.. any fish up in that upper?

**carpathian** · 10-17-2011, 06:43 PM

Yeah, there were a fair amount of humpies and some reds. The bear family were chowing down.

**Chugachjed** · 10-19-2011, 01:45 AM

I miss running the jet boat up there.

**grubbers** · 10-20-2011, 07:28 PM

This TR is pretty awesome. Thanks for putting it up.

**.simonb.** · 11-01-2011, 09:48 PM

Nice TR, darkness always adds a nice twist to a paddling trip. Were all of those pictures shot on your iPhone?

**carpathian** · 11-01-2011, 11:23 PM

^^ Canon Rebel XTi

**.simonb.** · 11-02-2011, 01:50 AM

Originally Posted by carpathian

^^ Canon Rebel XTi

Would have been cool if they were iPhone shots. I really like the Rebel line, I've got a T1i myself. You guys ever think of getting kayaks or do you like the mobility of those little rafts?

SB · 11-02-2011, 08:58 PM

5 lbs pack raft or a 40+lbs kayak

I would have taken my thrill seeker but that is still 20 lbs to lug around in bear country.

**Tye 1on** · 11-02-2011, 09:57 PM

Originally Posted by carpathian

Remember that high tide way back 12 hours earlier? Well, we were hoping to have navigated the upper river faster then we did and hit the highway before the tide affected the current 2MILES upstream from ocean. It actually kind of fucking sucked.

The air temp was hovering around 40 and and if you stopped you got cold and the tide was so high that it over flowed the banks into the alders anyway. No beaches, no light, no reprieve from incoming current except by staying right next to shore an using tiny strip of dead water. By this time the the river is about 50 feet deep and a couple hundred yards wide, littered with huge logs going this way and that. The last faint sliver of silver finally faded to pitch black as we JUST KEPT PADDLING. I would stop on occasion and listen for Dearnly bringing up the rear. We were in no way able to respond to a capsize if we even knew it happened. I could here the highway in the distance so we knew were were close, but what is close if you are moving forward 1/4 mile and hour while paddling as hard as you could for the last 3 hours?

Anyway, we eventually saw the parking lot light and felt a burst of energy but it still took another half hour to the truck. At the pull out both Thom and I could not even get up out of our boats and I literally crawled up the bank and scared the shit out of a trucker having a smoke break.

Is it ski season yet?

HOFF!

kickass tr...

**.simonb.** · 11-02-2011, 10:02 PM

Originally Posted by scottyb

5 lbs pack raft or a 40+lbs kayak

I would have taken my thrill seeker but that is still 20 lbs to lug around in bear country.

Makes sense, but still would have rather paddled against that tide in a kayak. Perchance is this the scottyb who's diesel 70 I happened upon in a tree?