Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Beyond the Savonoski River...


...lay our next adventure! This trip was spawned by Jeff and his need for exploration. Perhaps it was boredom? Maybe just a need for adventure? Whatever the reason, Jeff came to me last week with a question: "Hey Luke, have you ever thought about running up the Savonoski river?" Actually, I had never given it much thought. All that I knew about the river was that it was really far away, and it was a part of the Savonoski Loop kayak route. I was going to be shipping the boat home in a few days and really wanted a good trip to end the "summer" for us. I knew quite a few people locally who had floated down the river in route to completing the expected eight to ten day float trip, but I had never heard of anyone running up it in a jet. This plan was starting to intrigue me. We immediately hit the internet to drum up some kind of information on this river. It was actually surprisingly hard to come up with anything tangible! A few accounts of canoe trips and some out dated National Park literature, and that was it. We pulled out the GPS' and the TOPO software and started to make a plan. This was going to be a one night trip, and we would need a lot of fuel. One thing was sure- Jeff, Dan, and myself were going to have fun! We hope you enjoy the ensuing photos and thanks for reading.
All good trips must start somewhere. For us- it was in camp. Luke and Dan go through the final checks of the boat and gear. Our trip would go as follows: Launch at Lake Camp and head for Brooks Lodge. Once we neared Brooks we would aim straight for the cut in the lake and break out in the Iliuk Arm of Naknek Lake. This was new territory- none of us had ever been to this arm before. We would then run the entire length of this lake to the mouth of the Savonoski river. We would run up the Savonoski until it's confluence with the Grosvenor river, then take this shorter river into Grosvenor lake. Once in Grosvenor we would do a little fishing and spend the night. The next day would be the return trip home with plenty of time for exploration messing around.
We start this photo log inside the Iliuk Arm. The mountain views were spectacular! This is a southerly view of Mount Kato and I believe Mount Katolinat. These two mountains stand over four thousand feet and are inactive- though many inside Katmai National Park are actually active volcanoes.
Another view of Mount Kato that I liked...

The weather was chilly- but clear as we raced across Iliuk. We could deal with the chill- it was wind we feared. A flat bottom skiff with a jet pump is not the best transportation when the winds pick up on a mountain lake. Here, Luke and Dan enjoy the views with Mount La Gorce in the backdrop...

...in fact it was so pretty I almost quit drinking beer. Almost.Here is a satellite image of the mouth of the Savonoski river and it's confluence with the Eluk river.This is an aerial photo of the same confluence. The Savonoski river is glacial fed and runs heavy with silt. This makes for an interesting run up it. The river has split into many braids and at the top of each braid lies many log jams! This was going to be fun. Due to the silt build up at the mouth and the cloudy condition of the water, we could only guess as to what would be a deep enough channel to allow us entry. As it turned out- this would prove difficult!...

...first try- stuck in the mud! Yeah, I know- I am a hack. But look at that flat and tell me that you could have picked a channel out of it!It worked out alright though- I brought along Dasher and Dancer to pull this sleigh! Just kidding. Jeff and Dan did their part to walk the boat out to deeper water, and that included going over their boots! Sorry, guys!

With the worst of it behind us we were staring at the rest of our challenge...

...but first we needed to fuel up! As mentioned earlier we were going to need a lot of fuel for this adventure. The plan was to remain as light as we could in the boat, and that meant "cache-ing" our fuel along the way...

Dan and Jeff are doing just that right here. We weren't so concerned with hiding the fuel from people as we were with keeping it from the bears. Bears are curious and would
think nothing of tearing open a fuel can just to see what was inside of it.And from the look of this mudflat we stopped at there was plenty of bear traffic along this river! Moose and wolf prints were in abundance too.

Looks quite a bit bigger than the average hand print......and such sharp toes they have!

This is the confluence of the Grosvenor river and the Savonoski. The Grosvenor is a short, gently flowing, deep glacial blue stream that contrasts considerably with the silty Savonoski.

We are now in the Grosvenor river and heading towards Grosvenor Lake. Once again we were taken away by the raw beauty of this remote wilderness.
Swans were numerous on the quiet eddies and bays.
Finally- we are at the headwaters and Grosvenor Lake sits beyond.
A more picture perfect view would be hard to find...
Everywhere we roamed on this lake we were met with gorgeous mountain views...We eventually found a likely looking creek to try and catch some fish at...
The sockeye were definitely there! It is amazing to think of the journey these fish embark on in their life cycle. From birth till death they are little more than a part of the food chain- travelling untold thousands of mile out to sea and back to spawn in the same rivers they were born in.

Evidence of the food chain raises it's head. Dan holds up a pretty Arctic Char that he caught while fishing beneath the hordes of sockeye heading into the mouth of this creek. The Char and Trout like to hang out with the sockeye and eat both the eggs that they are laying and the decaying flesh of the spawned out salmon...
The trout that we were catching here were just amazing. Not the biggest trout around- but the fight and color of these fish was incredible.
We also found evidence of some other fishermen around. In Alaska- if you find salmon, there is bound to be bears close by...
and sure enough, we weren't in this spot long before this guy came ambling down the beach.
He made it to just about fifty yards from us before he noticed we were there- he seemed to stop a moment, assess the situation, and then he veered off into the brushy shoreline...
He reappeared a few yards deeper inside the creek and by all accounts forgot we were even around......that worked well for all of us. We got to keep fishing for fun- and he got to keep fishing for dinner. It was getting late in the evening and we still needed to find a suitable campsite- so off we headed to cruise the shoreline to see what we could find...
what we found was a LOT of bear sign everywhere we went! Tracks and poop- everywhere. We decided that an island might be the way to go. At the very least it would supply us with a false sense of security. This little shale rock beach looked to be just the ticket. Quiet, and protected from the wind that had just started to kick up on the main lake.
After an uneventful night, morning found the weather to be rather overcast and chilly. We had to stoke up the fire to warm us up for our big adventure home.
Running a river you have never been on can be an exciting time. Coming up it, against the current, can be a little easier- and it can be difficult. At best- the current against you allows for a little margin of error in decision making. When coming down a new river- you don't have that luxury. You need to be on the throttle to keep the boat up and planing in the very shallow water- and with the flow of the current adding to your speeds, decisions need to be made fast...
...when rounding a tight corner you have no idea what may lay ahead...
...where do you go? Which is the right channel? The Savonoski splits into so many braids, and takes so many turns, it was sometimes hard to make the right call on which ones were deep enough......and which ones weren't. Fortunately- this crash wasn't photographed or filmed. I chose poorly on this turn and ended up sliding out on a gravel bar and then into that clump of lumber behind us. But that is the great thing about sleds and pumps- you just drift out and continue on your way.Back on track and heading down the river... after one night and some two hundred miles of travelling we were tired and ready for our beds. A great trip and lots of memories. The best part is that we left the back half of the lake and it's connection to Lake Colville unexplored... I think we have another trip in our future!

3 comments:

  1. Good job fella's. NOW I know why Jeff has been on me about going with you--ausome!

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  2. Thanks for the great pics and story telling. I am glad you guys made it back. We started to get a little worried that last day. Looking forward to the next adventure. Next year, I guess.

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