Canoeing in the Nancy Lake Area

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In early June I had the opportunity to do a several day canoe trip with a few guys from an adventure group that I am a part of. No worries, it is nothing like last years death trek, in fact this trip was quit relaxing. We set in at Tanaina Lake right off of the Nancy Lake Parkway about an hour north of Wasilla. We backpacked in with our gear and canoes and set off. As for wild life we saw plenty of loons, eagles and of course the state birds were out (misquotes).

Mark, Ted and Ryan were great canoeing buddies. It was very peaceful venturing out with people I had never met before. In a sense it was as peaceful as going alone. There were no distractions of outside responsibilities and dwelling on past experiences that took away from the immediate reality. At the same time I was on this journey with people who valued the same peace and stillness of our surroundings.

During the first day we crossed 7 lakes, portaging our gear and canoes over hilly roots and mud. Though the treks were sometimes long and steep, we lounged on the lakes in the sun and took our time. There was a rewarding balance between these two extremes. It was interesting to find that all of the portages were marked for only .01 mile. There were obviously several portages that were at least half a mile and a few others that were a quarter, some weren’t even a tenth of a mile. It was quite bizarre. We scoped out some of public use cabins while we stopped for lunch; these peacefully isolated in different parts of the lake.

After we found our campsite we made a fire and all hung out and talked about other adventures we had been on or planed to do. Mark and Ted had been doing this together for years and had some great stories. As it got late the guys went to bed as i stayed up to watch the fire die. The sun out shown the coals at midnight while the loons made their unbirdly noises and and one of the tens snored, dew began to accumulate on the topsy turvy canoes while the coals would relapse into flames. In the distance i could hear the thunder heavy clouds grumble. I would rain tonight. The rain was renewing and cleared the way for a fresh new day.

It felt really incredible to leave my cell phone behind. No one could bother me and it was almost as though time stood still. We ran into very few canoers, most of which were fishing.

Over all we went through 13 lakes and two winding marshes. No difficult passages, no fuel spills. It was beautiful.

By the end of the trip I was not ready to leave. I stayed behind and relaxed in the sun for a few hours before heading back. It was an incredibly relaxing weekend.

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