RIVER TRIP DESCRIPTION: Begin your
trip by flying commercial airliner from Anchorage to the
western Alaska fishing town of Dillingham. (There are
less desirable alternative fly-out logistics available
from the village of Bethel). It is in
Dillingham that your Alaska float trip adventure begins.
Load up your gear and board amphibious flying boats or
smaller float planes.
Shortly after take off, you'll be flying through, snow-capped mountain passes of the
rugged Kuskokwim Range en
route to Kisaralik Lake. This flight truly inspires awe! After
steadily clicking the picture after picture and having
gone through a whole media card or film, an large outlying lake
appears. Soon thereafter you skim across Kisaralik Lake and
the plane taxis up to the shoreline. Stepping out onto the
beach, you'll unload, make a few last minute equipment
surveys, confirm the take out, and say farewell to any
sense of civilization for the duration of
your Alaska wilderness river float trip.
Kisaralik Lake's basin is
mostly tundra covered and is bordered
by hikable mountains towering 3,000 feet above its
mirrored surface. It is from crystal clear Kisaralik Lake that the
Kisaralik River flows steadily northwest 111 miles to its
confluence with the meandering Kuskokwim River 20 miles northeast
of Bethel.
The Kisaralik is a fantastic wilderness waterway offering
highly diverse scenery, wildlife viewing opportunities,
sport fishing, and
fun whitewater. The river runs through several distinct
ecosystems: rugged mountains, high mountain tundra,
moist tundra, sodden tundra, sub arctic taiga, and
remarkably distinctly separated forests of alder, aspen, birch,
cottonwood, and spruce. It is quite typical to find bears
fishing or feeding on blueberries, caribou roaming
around or migrating,
and moose along on the riverbanks. If we are in the
right places at the right times; other wild animals like
Fox,
Wolf, River Otter, Beaver, Eagles, Falcon, Ptarmigan,
Hare, and waterfowl materialize throughout the trip.
Sport fishing
on the Kisaralik River is outstanding for eight species of fish including Lake
Trout, Rainbow Trout, Arctic Grayling, and seasonal runs
of King, Coho, Sockeye, Chum, Pink Salmon and Dolly Varden
Char. Northern Pike are present but pretty sporadic.
Twenty years ago the Kisaralik River was one of southwestern Alaska's
best-kept secret sport fisheries. Today, there is
more activity, yet the river remains a wild and scenic
place.
The river itself can be challenging. In the
headwaters, expect to be drifting shallows with slalom turning
moves to
avoid closely spaced rocks and some boulder gardens.
In the heart of the float trip, be especially on alert for deep
cuts through razor-edged shale bluffs. River character
better described as several plunge, drop, and pool rapids
with small falls present at certain water levels.
As the river begins to flatten out prepare to negotiating sweepers,
strainers, and log jams. Some years the river will
change course running straight through the woods or thick
alders... so pay close attention. All these features make this river a dynamite
whitewater rafting or kayaking, fly or spin fishing, and
wilderness camping float trip adventure. The Kisaralik River
drainage covers 1,100 square miles of western
Alaska. This float trip in every way is premier,
wild Alaska. |
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