2009 Summer Schedule

June 5-7 TBA
June 12-14 Jim River
June 19-21 TBA
June 26-28 Tangle Lakes
July 3-5 Tangle Lakes
July 10-12 Jim River
July 17-19 Tangle Lakes
July 24-26 Lower Chatanika
July 31- Aug 2 TBA
Aug 7-9 Tangle Lakes
Aug 14-16 TBA
Aug 21-23 TBA
Aug 28-30 TBA
Sep 4-7 TBA

Delta River (Tangle Lakes) Aug 29-Sep 1

The weather couldn't have been better. We had three of the most beautiful days of the summer on this trip. A couple of people from Palmer joined us at Round Tangle to put in for a beautiful Tangle Lakes trip. The fishing was great, mostly towards the lower lakes and in the rapids, and the wildlife was plentiful. We saw moose, eagle, grouse, ptarmigan, muskrat, beaver, and much more. The water was a bit low that late in the season and the inflow from Eureka Creek was as low as I have ever seen it. We had 14 people in 6 canoes and 1 kayak and we even retrieved a canoe from the rocks in the rapids to emerge with 7 canoes. The nights were chilly, we woke to frost on the 1st of Sep. Overall this was one of the best Tangle Lakes and upper Delta trips we have ever had.

Tangle Lakes fishing trip Aug 15-16

This was an overnight trip to Tangle Lakes for the purpose of fishing. As always the area was gorgeous and the fish plentiful. There was plenty of wildlife and this late in the season the hunters were out reconnoitering.

Gulkana River July 17-20

The weather was varied and so was the trip. The Gulkana river trip often starts with a 3 mile paddle through Paxson Lake. Despite the light drizzle and some wind the first night spent along the lake was pleasant. The next day we encountered the first section of river. We had high water so the 2.5 mile section of class II rapids before the confluence with the Middle Fork Gulkana River was bumpy but mostly floatable. We unfortunately had an aluminum canoe that was eager to stick to rocks and ended up traveling a little slower than planned. After the confluence the Salmon fishing picked up and we even caught (and released) several rainbow trout. The portage around the waterfall (at the high water level it was only a 3 foot drop) brought us to the 7 mile section of class II-III rapids. This section is not for the faint of heart or the inexperienced, especially at high water. After running this section the river calms greatly and, despite some intermittent rain (and a little hail), was pleasant and beautiful. The lower sections are slow and the fishing dropped off the lower we got and by the time we reached Sourdough (the take out) we were happy to have taken the trip. There was a plethora of wildlife, and the fishing was fair, only one King salmon with 3 reds and 2 lake trout (and lots of Grayling). All in all a great trip but be careful of the water level. Take care if using open boats like canoes or open kayaks.

Hungry Hollow July 11-13

Hungry Hollow is an absolutely gorgeous setting with several lakes connected by a small stream. The beavers are especially active in that all of the lakes we visited were dammed at the outlet. We paddled to the dams and pulled our boats through the stream to the next lake a couple of times and then walked downstream for a while. The scenery is tranquil mountains with many hidden lakes just over the rise. There was a large variety of wildlife very remeniscent of the Tangle Lakes area not too far away. All in all, a pleasant valley that we would like to explore for an entire summer.

Tangle Lakes July 3-6

There almost couldn't be any better weather for this trip! We had 3 1/2 days of gorgeous sunny weather with a little rain on the morning of the 6th. The fishing was great and we had only one near capsize in the rapids that was easily fixed with a little bailing. We had 8 people, 5 from the Fairbanks area and 2 from Eagle river with one from Anchorage. Everyone enjoyed the trip and we saw quite a bit of wildlife including caribou, moose, swans, bald eagles, marmots, beavers, muskrats, and many more.

May 24-25 Upper Chatanika trip

Altogether an excellent run. We encountered fairly low water at the 60 mile put in site and a fairly constant series of class II rapids most of the 25 miles we paddled. We had a couple of people rolled by sweepers but that isn't unusual... definately drives home the need to waterproof. We didn't catch any fish but it is still early and we didn't pause very often for that purpose. A couple of logjams have been removed (thanks Billy and the chainsaw), but there are still many low trees and even one hazard to carry around. The weather was a bit drizzly the first day but improved greatly the second. We took four canoes and 8 people with one large dog (the dog won't be joining on difficult water again due to causing one tipover). All in all a great success. Hope to see you on our next trip.
Tony

Upper Chena

May 17-18 Upper Chena
The trip was great!
We started at Angel Rocks and pulled out at Rosehip campground.
The river was medium flow rate and mostly open. There were a few spots we had to line around trees and logjams. The overall class rating was I and various sections at II excluding blocked sections. The challenge rating would be a 3 of 10 with 10 being the hardest. Some river canoe experience necessary to attempt this section. The weather was great with a few sprinkles and highs around 60f with around 40f at night. About 12 to 14 river hours.
We saw moose, eagles, beavers, various ducks and Grebes, and even one grouse.

Schedule , summer 2008

May 17-May 18 Upper Chena (see blog)
May 24-25 Upper Chatanika (see blog
July 3-7 Tangle Lakes (see blog)
July 10-13 Hungry Hollow (see blog)
July 17-20 Gulkana (see blog)
Aug 15-16 Tangle Lakes (see blog)
Aug 30-September 1 Delta River