This past weekend several members of the CiPEHR team and I had the opportunity to go canoeing in the winter.
The Delta Clearwater River is the largest spring-fed tributary of the Tanana. This crystal clear river is 20 miles long and flows into the Tanana River 20 miles upstream of the Richardson Highway Bridge. Access to Delta Clearwater River is via Clearwater State Recreation Site, a state campground and boat launch located on Remington Road.
http://dnr.alaska.gov/parks/units/deltajct/floatgde.htm
Delta Clearwater Float Guide from the Alaska Parks and Recreation website. We canoed from the Delta Clearwater Campground Boat Launch to the Clearwater Lake Boat Launch.
On the lower part of the Delta Clearwater River past One Mile Slough off the Tanana River. Notice the large flock of geese we have scared up off the river.
Jim Lokken an accomplished whitewater enthusiast and friend invited us on a daylong paddle of the Delta Clearwater River. The weather was projected to be in the high 20’sF with snow. We figured it would be cold but the trip had high potential as an adventure.
The instigator of this adventure Jim Lokken and passengers Sophie also known as poodledog and Lizzie on the upper part of the Delta Clearwater River. Sophie jumped in the freezing water shortly after this picture and had to be rescued and dried off.
After a 2-hour drive on the Richardson Highway west from Fairbanks we put our canoes in at the Clearwater Creek Recreational Site Boat Launch. During the canoe the snow did not materialize however the temperature remained cold and a stiff breeze from the north created mostly sunny but freezing conditions. Four hours later we pulled out 12 miles away on the ice at Clearwater Lake.
John Krapek gives the thumbs-up at the Delta Clearwater Boat Launch prior to the canoe trip down the river.
Here we are on the Delta Clearwater Creek. Chris Sanville (yellow life vest) is in the bow of my canoe. To the left is the back of Jim Lokken in his racing canoe. To the right is Catherine Johnston (bow) and John Krapek paddling smoothly.
This intersection between the Delta Clearwater River flowing toward you in the center then left up the outflow creek from the Clearwater Lake (lower right in picture) proved to be fairly difficult to negotiate. Fortunately no one dumped their canoes here.
As we entered the last stage of the canoe into Clearwater Lake a large flock of migrating geese and ducks lifted off the lake. See if you can pick out the large white trumpeter swans.
We had to walk a couple hundred meters across the ice on Clearwater Lake to the boat launch there. There was some concern regarding breaking through the lake ice so we stayed near the canoes as we slid them across.
John in the stern and Catherine head towards the ice in Clearwater Lake.
We had stashed a bicycle at the pullout. Jim then rode the 6 miles back to the boat launch and retrieved the van.
Here we are pulling the canoes on the snow covered access road from the pullout on Clearwater Lake.
Mount Hayes in the Alaska Range peaking through the clouds from a pullout on the Richardson Highway near the Tanana River on the way back from canoeing the Delta Clearwater River.