The Matanuska River: Caribou to Glacier Park

Raina got invited along by some friends to go raft Lions Head on the Matanuska River, and since we were going to do something that day anyway, I got to come along. I've floated various sections of the Matanuska river, but never the infamous Lions Head.

Raina Pack Rafting the Caribou River

 

I was super tempted to try and float Lions Head in my pack raft because we were accompanied by 2 big rafts and a kayaker, but I am SO glad that Raina's level headedness made me reconsider. I would have gotten swallowed and pummeled. Those waves were huge and savage.

The Big Boat

 

I didn't get any pictures of the rapids on the river because I was to busy paddling and holding on. I don't think I have any desire to float huge water in my pack raft, its just to powerful.

Lions Head

 

Super beautiful day out in the sun.

 

Floating Down the Placer River

Some days I'm really glad I get the paper, I forget about things like taking the train or ferry as possibilities sometimes, and I saw an add about the whistle stop at Spencer Glacier. For only $32 dollars each, Raina and I caught the train near Portage and got dropped off 1.3 miles from Spencer Lake, and 1.4 miles from the start of the Placer river.

Train Tracks

 

After an easy hike down a wheelchair accessible path we stopped at two benches 15 feet from the lake and inflated the rafts. There were lots of beautiful icebergs floating near the shore.

Spencer Glacier Iceberg

 

Raina and I with Spencer Glacier in the Background

 

Raina on the Placer River

 

There were two super fun sections of rapids, where it was like being in a rodeo, but after that it was more booze cruishish without any booze. It took us about 3.5-4 hours to float the whole thing with lots of take outs...would love to do it again on a sunny day.

Windy River Valley Revisited

Earlier this summer Ry and I tried to go down the Windy River valley up and over a pass and down to the Sanctuary River....long story short, we took every possible wrong turn made a 5 hr hike into a 15 hr hike and ended up looking down the wrong pass without a compass or GPS....we turned around. Since then I have wanted to go back and figure out where we went wrong.

Kellie and I fortunately had coinciding days off. I picked her up from the airport and we headed up to Cantwell. We camped off the Denali highway, slept 12 hours and started our hike in the drizzly rain the next day.

Kellie Heading Uphill from the River

 

We easily found the pass, and instead of going to the low point, we went up to the high point and got an awesome view of the valley below.

Kellie Heading up to the Pass

 

We made it up and over the pass in good time. Kellie was itching to fill the day and wanted to go up a peak....As the rain was coming up the valley I have to say I wasn't as motivated, but was happy in the end that we went. The views up there are beautiful.

Kellie Enjoying the Morning

 

The next morning we only had a short float ahead of us, so we tried to go up another peak....the ridge got a little hairball and we bailed after 1,500 ft....Wich was ok since I was so excited to check out the river!!

It was about a 18 mile float, give or take. The Sanctuary river is fed by multiple small creeks that dump into the Refuge Valley. By the time they all meet up into a main channel, it was knee to thigh deep in most places. At times the river braided out and would be less than 6 inches deep, I only had to get out of the boat once, and was able to butt scoot the rest.

Getting Ready to Float!

 

The Sanctuary river flows directly under the Denali park road, which is very convenient. We pulled out of the river, walked ten feet and were standing on the road. From there we picked up a park bus, which felt like an Alaskan Safari, because it stopped 3 times in 20 miles to watch wild life....very cool!