Talkeetna and The Tokositna

Packrafting the Tokositna, Part 1

So, this is the final big adventure on our 2 ½ month trip to Alaska, and it’s a pretty major one – a helicopter ride to the base of Denali to drop us and our gear, then packrafting 60 miles back to Talkeetna via the Tokositna and Chulitna rivers.

We faced a challenge, though. It had rained for three days and the river was at flood stage. The water was in the streets of Talkeetna. Entire trees were floating downstream. I’m pretty sure our little packrafts wouldn’t withstand a battle with a floating spruce tree.

So we pushed the trip back by a day, then another day. In the meantime, we gathered information. The local ranger said, “Don’t go”. A local jet boat guy said, “Well, that’s stupid”. A search and rescue team member said, “I can tell you that we are not rescuing you – we took our boats out of the water.” A local packrafter said, “Well, the rapid by the Ruth River confluence either got washed out or it will eat your boats.”

Out of that were two valid concerns. 1. A rescue. If we decided that if we needed a rescue, we have a satellite beacon and we would call back the helicopter. 2. Trees and rapids. We would have the helicopter pilot scout the entire route as she took us in. If it looked bad we’d just wouldn’t get out of the helicopter.

The river was dropping, and floating debris was getting hung up on visible snags, so it was clearing up. We gave the pilot a thumbs up, and she landed the helicopter, moving very slowly because everything had been underwater not long ago. Sure enough, the helicopter sank into the mud, but she was prepared for it. We took off again, and she searched for a site that could support us. Slowly, we landed, and this time it held our weight. Betsy and I got out and started to arrange our gear. All of our gear gets stowed inside the rafts. A high-tech zipper keeps the air in and water out (unless you rip it on a sharp rock or tree. That’s bad.) We have dry suits on in case we end up in the water for any reason.

Then we launched into the river.