Alaska Adventures: Day 7--June 25

Fri. June 25: It had rained during the night when we got up this morning but didn’t seem to be as we hiked down to meet Ann & Shelb at the lodge. As we ate our quick oatmeal breakfast, they had signed us up for a float trip on the Kenai River. We were told to dress warmly and bring two pairs of socks for the big boots we would be given to wear. A lodge shuttle drove us across and down river to the Rafting and Fishing outfitter. They had hot muffins and instant coffee waiting for us as they suited us up in waterproof bib overalls, jackets and boots. Then our guide, Ben, loaded six of us into the inflatable raft and we were on our way. The weather was a mixed bag of very light showers and the sun peeking out between the clouds. The river is very swift and very cold; about 38°. We were between two lakes, running 12 miles which included a lot of nature reserve. We passed by where the Russian River joins the Kenai and the first run of about 90,000 red salmon has just begun. Just outside the preserved confluence the banks were lined with fisher-people. But Ben told us that when the second run, which will be about 2 million salmon, the people will line up literally shoulder to shoulder and jostling for space! The rest of the trip was seemingly wilderness area, although we realized on the ride back that the road was pretty close the whole way. Ben is a pre-med student at a Utah university but from Minnesota and seemed very skilled and knowledgeable. He clearly loves what he does and loves Alaska. He told us the river used to be a Class 4 river, full of rapids and rushing water. But the 1964 earthquake had completely changed and leveled its bed, so the most we experienced as about a class 2 rapids. We got some water in the raft and were splashed a bit but it was pretty tame. We saw many birds, including bank swallows, golden-eyed ducks, mergansers, ravens, land gulls, and, at one bend in the river, about 24 juvenile to adult bald eagles. The sight took our breath away as we spotted trees with 3 and 4 in them, some in the river, and others soaring, gliding and fishing. We pulled out of the river after about 3 hours, above the canyon and another lake. We ate lunch on the deck of the lodge overlooking the mountain which Ben told us has a herd of about 35 Dall Sheep. One time a year there is a lottery and one person is allowed to take one sheep. We were lucky enough to spy a few sheep as we ate, tiny moving dots, visible only through binoculars. After a couple hours of napping (Shelby) or computing (Marv on his ITouch and me on my netbook) we took both the half mile and one mile nature trails on the property. Returning to the lodge Ann, Marv and I shared 3 desserts. By then we could clearly make out 3 large and 3 small sheep, and a lone sheep apart from them. Then we all tried the river trail again. There was no excitement this time, just lovely scenery. We did our last cup-a-soup, crackers and fish supper, this time in our room. Commotion outside led us out to join a group of 8 or 10 people following a tiny dot on the far hillside that was a black bear, foraging its way up the hill. We returned to our room to play “Golf” (a card game) and ended the day with a soak in the hot tub.

1) As the land portion of our trip comes to an end, I think I'll do some reflecting on our experience:

1he1. The weather was nicer than we had prepared for and, according to folks we talked to who are up here for the season and longer, very unusual for Alaska in June. We had rain until early afternoon in Fairbanks on our first day, and the temperature then was in the fifties. But from then on the temps were very comfortable mid-sixties to mid-seventies. We were always fine in a t-shirt or light long sleeve shirt while hiking and only added jackets occasionally when we were less active. Yesterday we had very light showers during parts of our float trip but were totally dressed for rain or river water. The rest of the day it would sometimes “spit” for a while but didn’t even require a raincoat.

2) 2. The mosquitoes about which we had heard so many warnings were a nonissue. We saw some but far fewer than in our backyard at home! Some we saw were bigger than home, though. Our guide yesterday, Ben, told us that we were between hatches and that they had been bad before and would be bad again when the next hatch occurred. Lucky us!!!!!

3) 3. There is a whole culture of people who come to work in Alaska for the summer. We have met very, very few people who live here year-round and we have met only a handful of native Alaskans. Summer workers seem to fall into two categories. They are either college students, both domestic and international, who are here during their summer breaks and return to school sometime in August. Or they are retired singles or couples, who will winter someplace in the south. Some are living here in their RVs and will drive it to their winter home, with no permanent residence. It is an intriguing option. Pretty much everyone we have met loves Alaska and has been very upbeat, welcoming, and helpful. It has made being here a pleasure.