Weird Wild Kahiltna

    “Woah.”  We had stopped in front of the Kahiltna River. Not because we wanted to, but because things just weren’t right. The water flowing in front of us was unabashed and undeterred.  Instead of a nice hard-packed trail leading across to the other bank, the river was wide open.  Apparently it never got the memo about you-know...winter.

River crossing anyone?

     Just then I noticed a man snowshoeing along the far bank.  “Hey look that must be Ed on the other side.”  He waved to us and then motioned down river several times.  I quickly figured out that there must be a safe crossing down river.  Ed had to have gotten over there somehow.

    We followed his trail downriver a mile or so until we found his crossing spot.  Sure enough it was the only safe spot to cross for miles around and he had it marked with survey tape and he had made faint snow machine tracks on the ice to follow.  After we crossed the river we continued to follow the barely-discernible tracks along the edge of the river.  The frozen edges of the river were our only path up river along the bank.  The tracks weaved around and dangerously close to open leads.  The Kahiltna is a roaring, glacial fed river and is not one to be trifled with.

    “Hi Ed.”  Ed was snowshoeing back to his snow machine when we caught up with him.  I knew exactly what he was up to.  He was meticulously testing his route by way of snowshoe and careful observance.

    “Who’s that?”

   “It’s Steve Harrison.”  There was a pause.

  “Steve, what the heck are you doing out here?”  I was glad that he remembered me.  I didn’t want to come across as a couple of yay-hoo’s lost in the woods.  Dad and I were simply trying to get to the cabin.

    This marks the 7th year that we have been passing this way.  For years and years we always ran our snow machines to the cabin from Deshka Landing in Willow.  I discovered the run from Amber Lake (accessible from Oilwell road in Petersville) is much shorter and offers several distinct advantages.  For one it's warmer and we don't have to run 50 miles of river constantly negotiating overflow and open leads. This new way leads us to the Kahiltna crossing near Ed Ellis’s mining camp.

     Ed has six kids.  I have taught all of them in P.E class at Susitna Valley High.  Small world.

   “We’re headed to the cabin.”  I told him.  We made small talk and eventually picked our way up river with him to the normal crossing area.  We said our goodbyes and began breaking trail to the cabin; another fifteen miles yet.  

    As is par-for-the-course, we had a brilliant time at the cabin. We packed down our normal trails and cooked some pretty fabulous cuisine.  In the video dad is tending to the bacon and beans on the woodstove while the curry chicken is sizzling on the stove. The diced peppers, onions, and carrots are waiting their turn on the counter. This is how we roll. Life is too short for Mountainhouse and granola bars.

    Imagine our surprise on Sunday when we returned to the Kahilna to find that the water had risen considerably.  No longer was is safe to scuttle down the side of the river on Ed’s forsaken trail.  It had washed out. After carefully checking out all options we decided to back-track, cut through the woods and hopefully pop over the bank near Ed’s crossing.  

     In the end it was the right decision because we were able to make it through the thick woods and over the bank.  It took plenty of time and effort to do so and I had to use my winch and chainsaw to coerce forward progress at times but at no time were we frustrated or disgruntled.  As it turned out it was an exercise in problem solving and decision making and these are the things that make life interesting and rewarding.   It took us six and a half hours to get home this time but we were okay with it.  Sometimes you get to drive straight to the cabin and back without incident, other times it doesn’t quite work out that way.  

    After safely crossing we checked in with Ed to make sure that he was  safe.  He told us that he was worried about us too because he knew of the deteriorating condition of the river.  

    It was good to connect with him and I found out during the course of our conversation that he has discovered opals in the Kahiltna!  They are called jelly opals and they are the first opals found in Alaska!  Ed and his wife Anne run the Diamond Gold Corporation and spend their time mining gems in the Kahiltna and the Yenlo hills.  I’m looking forward to checking out their gem store the next time I pass through.  Anne handed me a brochure with a website link detailing their efforts.  Check it out at www.diamondgoldcorporation.com

Another trailer casualty on the Yentna this year.