Alaska Day 10 - McCarthy SEAG River Rafting

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Today is River Raft trip day! Cold cereal, milk, fruit and I am ready to go. I am sure to take an extra layer of clothing since the nice day starting out does not necessarily equate to a beautiful afternoon. I include rain gear just in case. We are late summer and heading into their fall.

I decide to treat myself to parking down at the footbridge today. I have this great conversation with the gentleman attendant there. He gives me some of the local gossip and then I am disappointed to find out I will miss open mic night at the town Saloon tomorrow night which he tells me is an absolute hoot and also Friday night baseball which is a weekly town event, not just a game! These are exactly the types of events I would have liked to have attended but extending is just not an option since the next place is not refundable and it would be full pay if I cancel. I have a hunch if I would not have made reservations for accommodations, I would never be getting on to all the places I planned because I’d always want to stay that one or even two extra nights every place. I start thinking maybe there will have to be a “next time” for Alaska after all. Even after almost ten weeks, I will have barely scratched the surface of all the culture, charm, and character to all the different places – and that’s just so far. I head across the footbridge with that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you meet and talk with special people.

It’s not long before the special van comes for pick-up. I laugh when I meet Russ again who was the guide for the Kennicott town tour I did the other day and now will be one of the river raft guides today. I learn he also does ice climbing, hiking, and others of the tours SEAG (St. Elias Alpine Guides) offer. Evidently most of them flex among the trips based on schedules. We get to their headquarters - a series of buildings that also make up their accommodations. They are obviously historic buildings. The other folks staying in town arrive followed by introductions, instructions and gearing up. I can tell that both of our guides, Russ and Lisa, are experienced. They basically look at each person, size us up, and then pick out the gear each of us will need. In most cases, they are exactly right including the children. We load up our personal items into waterproof bags and then by van, head to the river.

The rafts were readied by Lisa and Russ earlier. Life jackets are on and final instructions about what to do if we go over board are seriously addressed in spite of one of the kids comically trying to demonstrate every instruction he provides. The family will go with Lisa and Don and I will go with Russ in the second raft.

The river is definitely choppy to ride and it isn’t long before we go over a very short jerky piece that lands a splash of water at us. It is icy glacial cold. It is totally unexpected which adds to the experience. Then it levels out again to a light, smooth, bumpiness. And please don’t ask me to explain those conflicting adjectives. I’m just articulating how it felt which I conclude does not have to be logical…lol.

All senses come alive out here – sight, sound, smell, hearing, and just overall awareness. We ask questions about the rivers and the surroundings. There are houses built way up in the mountain sides. Russ tells us 15-30 people are yearlong residents. They do take care of McCarthy Road a few times throughout the winter and then there is always the mail airplane that comes twice weekly with mail and supplies ordered. Evidently a ride can be hitched as long as being on the mail run schedule can work. Personally I can’t imagine being in the bitter cold all winter long here especially with it being dark so much. Most of the lodges shut down by mid-September. That is why they start preparing for the next winter at the crack of spring – cutting and splitting wood, etc. There is so much to be done during the short summer months.

Every turn on the river presents a new stage of mountains, greenery, and hidden gems. When nobody speaks, the silence combined with the scenery is truly tranquil. Most of the mountains are almost always snow-capped. I doubt I would ever tire of seeing them. Perhaps I should have been born a mountain girl…lol. The time seems to speed by. Russ is pointing out our lunch break location when it seems like we had just set off not very long ago. It is a great place with crowning peaks, valleys, sparkling brooks, and colorful fireweed accentuated with other plants I don’t know the name. Hopefully someone will be able to identify the whitish, fluffy, cottony topped plants. They are all over the place up here providing a soft frontage to the tall pines and shrubberies. It is a different kind of beauty to the mountains.

Lunch is a great spread of sandwich makings, cheese, fruit, veggies, and beverages. Anything hot seems to be the most popular as the clouds have increased putting a bit of a chill in the air. We are hopeful it won’t rain for quite a while or perchance not at all. We laugh as the guides tell us this is their most favorite trip to do all because they too get lunch with “real” food. They do add especially amidst the scenery and with the people but it is quite obvious the food is a special attraction for them. It is quite amusing to hear their stories. They give up a lot of comforts to live the life they do – different places to guide each year providing a discovery of sorts for them in these young years of their lives. We see prints in the clayed sand. We decide it is bear because we can see the claws. Russ and Lisa agree it COULD be a “small” bear’s tracks. Before we are done looking at all of them, we concoct a story of a mom bear with one…no two…cubs romping in the area while mom scrounges for food. It is believable right?! We think so and that becomes our story. Lisa and Russ relay other stories from their obviously fulfilling guide lives. I could sit all afternoon just listening but alas, there is a timetable to be managed so we are herded to the rafts. Actually only the kids are herded; the adults simply follow direction. Excitement grows with the description of a vast canyon we will be going through is given.

The canyon is deep, winding and downright amazing to travel through on the whims of the river. Russ commandeers our raft through the curves of the canyon and the twirls of the river pointing out the dangers of a river. We talk about the rankings of river rafting. This was considered a three though class of river rafting is more important as he explains. One would think no matter what the rating type, they would be based on current strength or breaks in the water to be traversed. However Russ clarifies that rankings are generally based more on survivability. In other words, if you were to fall in, how long could you survive or what is the potential of death within a timeframe. Hence, the raft trip we are on now is not rated so much because of the flow but because it is glacial water (colder) and it is so wide that there is greater risk to survival so to speak. We all agree we will not test it. It is one of the reasons they are so emphatic about not wearing cotton clothes though. Cotton doesn’t breathe and also retains water weighting a person down plus making it harder to warm which increases the risk of hypothermia even out of the water I guess. I still cannot recall all the terminology or explanations he provided about the areas he avoided or stories of when a hazard was not circumvented. There are some who tackle the rivers by themselves because it looks like it is calm or otherwise innocent. There is always reason to respect the water even if a trained professional such as Russ.

We spot two moose on the side of the river. They look up and I presume decide they don’t want to be bothered with us so they head into the woods. We feel badly that whatever we did that scared them off means the folks in the second raft will not see them. We also stop to investigate a cabin hut on the river before getting to the place the planes will pick us up. We go into the forest to find it and also see a high meat catch where food must have been stored so bears would not get at it. We assume it was a trapper or hunter cabin and obviously no longer used since the small cabin’s roof has collapsed. It is being consumed by the country side. We head back to the river and load up for the short journey to our rendezvous point.

Two planes come in from above with perfect landings. By then, Lisa and Russ have dismantled everything including the rafts. Equipment and people are loaded across the two places per the pilots’ direction. It is perfect timing since raindrop sprinkles have begun. We see from the air the rivers we rafted – Kennicott, Nizina, and Chitina. By the time our flight see is at the glacier, it is actually raining. It was a great flight but of course, does not compare to the one I had Day 4 compliments of Bob, alaska.org. He had recommended this rafting trip as well as the Caribou Cabins where I’ve been. So far Bob and alaska.org are exceeding all expectations from their web site and conversational recommendations. What an awesome day overall!!

I am convinced to stop at the saloon with folks upon our return. Lisa and Russ said they will join us after getting gear put away and other things done. They never show which is disappointing but understandable. However, I do meet Terry, one of the Shuttle drivers who had a day off and taken a bike/hike excursion. We talk and I find out all kinds of things about being a seasonal worker. Terry has done it for years here in McCarthy and is actually a college Professor in Montana the rest of the year. We talk about lots of different things – all very interesting but one of the things that sticks most is the thought of being a seasonal worker up here May through mid-September. Mmmm…Perhaps that’s the way to make it back – work a summer up here as a seasonal worker. Would be directly opposite from those in Wisconsin who go to warmer climates during our winters and stay in Wisconsin spring/summer/fall. I must be weird to even think about this. I’d also have to miss my grandson’s baseball games. OK – so not as easy a call as originally thought. I file it for future thought. It is rather intriguing. Sadly, I bid Terry farewell when the last shuttle to the footbridge arrives. He provides his card with email and Facebook page which I seem to have since misplaced but will hopefully come across it again amidst everything. I’d truly like to stay in touch. He’s a very interesting person in a very good way. I was supposed to send him the link to this travel blog so he could critique my English (yikes) and be one of the people who keep me honest in what I report. I am very hopeful I will find the card he gave me.

I head back to the cabin to pack things up. I have a Glacier cruise booked in Valdez at noon so it will be a very early start in the morning to get there in time. Today is done; tomorrow another dream. Sometimes I still cannot believe I am here in Alaska! It truly is a life dream trip coming true.

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Photos

...and we are off
Kennicott River

Another view
I suspect they might all look the same to viewers but trust me - they are all different angles of different views as we travel down river

Fireweed
I'm told the plant turns bright red after the flowers are done. Perhaps I'll see it in September.

This is the unknown one
See it all over but still don't know exactly what it is

Bear prints in the clayed sand
...at least we presume it's bear

Moose spotted
...they weren't impressed with us - skittered into the woods

Comments

[Vickie Hart]

Another awesome journey...
Wow Rita - this is so cool. You know me and water - not so liking each other but this looked so neat. Glad you had a great day!

[Judi]

Your Adventure
Rita, I really enjoy reading about your Adventure. The pictures are awesome. I am sure that someday you will return to Alaska......jjm