Our trio was enjoying the whitewater rodeo of the river's upper half, where the average gradient sits at a very steep seventy-five feet per mile. My partners were two other Alaska adventure junkies from Anchorage: Agnes Stowe and Seth Holden. The last time we were together was a year ago on the gigantic alpine wall of the Mooses Tooth, getting pummeled by freezing spindrift. Here on the river, the weather was perfect for hypothermia; a steady drizzle hung in the air while the afternoon temperature soared into the low... forties. We were on the lookout for the second crux rapids where the Aniakchak drops eighty-three feet in one boulder-strewn mile. Our plan was to scout this section to gauge the danger to life and limb. We would play the conservative card; any injury out here would be a serious situation. Besides, in this weather, just going for a swim would be life threatening. You gotta love early July in the Aleutian Range.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Crux Rapids on the River
- Packrafting the Aniakchak
- Hidden Creek
- Remoteness by the Numbers
- Back to the Rapids
- Wooly Worm and Wily Char
- Sockeye Rocket
- Winding Down
# WORDS: 3640
# PHOTOS: 15
Member Exclusive
A Premium or Unlimited Membership* is required to view the rest of this article.
* A Basic Membership is required to view Member Q&A events
Discussion
Become a member to post in the forums.
Companion forum thread to:
Aniakchak Adventure
What a great adventure story! I read the article twice to pick up every morsel and will probably read it again tomorrow.
Great read, Matt!
Gorgeous photos!
THE BEST story i have read on BPL in a while!!! For those of us who understand how to boil water with our camp stoves, I was glad to see this article this morn.
Great story, well written, and wonderful pictures!! Thank you for sharing!!
Matt,
Have you ever had chunks break off your AB Manta Ray? It is not uncommon and didn't notice any paddle repair material in your kit except for possibly the 1/2" clamp; how is this used?
You carried a homemade 50' Dyneema throw rope. My experience is that this material sinks and tangles in the rocks during a WW rescue; have you considered a 1/4" polypropylene rope which is near the Dyneema weight but not the strength.
With the water temps you experienced water flushing during a swim could be quite incapacitating. I assume that Sheri’s paddling pants you wore had ankle gaskets. You rain jacket did not and would have allowed copious water flushing in a swim. A gasketed top would have dramatically lowered the cold water flush rate and would also serve as a rain jacket when hiking. Did you consider this option?
Have you tested your Sea to Summit 35L pack liner’s protection of your pack contents during a flip in rapids? I noticed Agnes carried a WxTex dry bag which my testing showed works perfectly in WW dumps.
The Bear Spray was in the Consumables total; in your environment that makes sense but what about UL lists in general?
Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Wow, thanks for the great write up!
Alright Richard-lots of questions to answer here.
After five years using the Aqua Bound paddles, we've found them to be very durable for our purposes. We find them much more durable than the Sawyers. They are the right weight, durability and price for us. No paddle repair other than duct tape. Breaking a paddle on the Aniakchak would mean that you'd have to hike down to the lower river. And miss all the fun.
Our Dyneema cord has a neoprene sheath and floats well. Worked it hard in swiftwater rescue set-ups. We carry ltwt ascenders for rescue ops that would shred neoprene cord.
We determined that full-on paddle top would be overkill for the one day of whitewater. Much heavier to carry and we find the neck gasket can chafe (for ten-days continuous wear). We stayed dry, with bit of dampness creeping up our sleeves by days end.
Sea to Summit pack liners work great. We use a heavier WxTex bag for the easy-access bag for more durability. But came back with punctures in those bags.
Matt-
Matt,
Thanks for the comprehensive response.
Fantastic story
Thanks
Some years ago I spent three weeks in Aniakchak, one in the caldera, one hiking to the ocean, and the last week on the coast. I chose to backpack and not raft the river. In my opinion the river is not a particularly great choice, rocky, steep and brushy initially followed by a rather placid outrun to the ocean. However, for Alaska, it is almost ideal hiking terrain comprised mostly of volcanic pumice. Walking gave us a tremendous opportunity for wildlife viewing, and indeed there is much to see in this regard. The large bears are everywhere. We also saw wolves and caribou, including a very close encounter with a wolf who had fallen asleep on the tundra, allowing us to approach within feet before awakening. However,I am sorry to see this special place receive much publicity. When we visited we were the only people we saw except for a botanist and park ranger companion doing research in the caldera. The rest of the trip was pure solitude until we saw commercial fisherman on the coast. I hope it stays that way. Perhaps the cost of getting there will help protect it.
This is the best story I've seen in a while too… More please.
You list food as 1.2 lbs per day x 10 days, That figures out to 11.5 lbs pre day yet you list your consumables weight as 3.0 lbs. How does that work?
Hi Matt-
Amazing photography and great story! Question: What camera/equipment setup did you bring? How was it waterproofed and/or accessible in the raft?
Thanks,
Kevin
Become a member to post in the forums.