We had the plane stuffed full. No sense going light when rafts are carrying all your gear! We finally got out of Bethel around 4pm on a Friday.
Compare the scenery from photo 1 to photo 2.... the difference? Mountains! Ahhh.... I do miss mountains.
We got camp set up on the lake, did a short hike and prepared to embark on Saturday morning. Friday had been a little questionable with the weather, but once we were out to the lake we had gorgeous blue skies. The only disturbance was the occasional helicopter coming through. There is a gold mining exploratory group not too far from the lake.
Saturday we got a mid-day start. Not having much paddling experience, I started off on the oars. Unfortunately first up on the river was a challenging rock garden obstacle course. Well, a few rocks never hurt anyone, right? As we began down the river, bright red salmon were all over fighting their way upstream.
Bethel has had a pretty cold summer. When my parents came to visit everyone (myself included) commented on how beautiful it was one day - True weather was in the mid 60's with partly cloudy skies. But up on the river, the gods of weather smiled down on us. The weather stayed great, and we took some time to enjoy the views and sunshine. I wouldn't say it was warm that day- it is still Alaska after all- but it was very pleasant....
3 comments:
how very awesome! This looks beautiful. Were you fishing too? Your very un-outdoorsy sister is even tempted by that nature.
Beautiful lake and river. I envy you being right there with the salmon. Your river trip looks like a good adventure for our next Alaska trip!
Mom/Julie
Post a Comment