Greg-
Jack and I arrived at the Wrangell Ranger District offices at 6:30 today. We helped the Rec and Lands crew load a huge diesel powered jet barge with two 14 X 14's (20 feet long). The yellow cedar timbers were cut at Mike Allen's sawmill at the 12 mile marker on Zimovia Highway and would be used to replace a footbridge at one of the rec sites on the Stikine River. The USFS maintains two cabins near the Chief Shakes Hot Tubs shelters (fed by a natural hot spring) on the Stikine and the bridge leading to them had been severely damaged by early spring floods. Helping us load and unload these beasts were six members of the USFS timber crew. The barge also carried pressure treated posts and yellow cedar planks which would be used in the reconstruction of the deck and path surrounding the Mount Flemer cabin. After dropping the timbers at the hot tub landing, we motored off up one of the branches of the Stikine to the Mt. Flemer cabin where we offloaded the rest of the lumber. The mosquitoes and other flying insects were pretty epic and we moved as quickly as we could to get the lumber offloaded. Jack and I took the barge back to Wrangell as the crew would be staying overnight.
The Stikine (Tlingit for "bitter waters") is the fastest flowing river in North America and is considered one of the last remaining truly wild rivers in British Columbia. The Grand Canyon of the Stikine is a 45 mile stretch that John Muir called the "Yosemite of the North". The whitewater in this canyon is legendary - it's been successfully kayaked only 15 times since it was first tried in 1981.
The majority of the Stikine's 310 mile length falls within Canada with only the last 40 miles falling within Alaska's border. The mouth of the Stikine falls just north of Wrangell and navigating a boat through the narrow, constantly shifting channels deep enough to support a propeller driven boat is best left to the experts. The mouth must be five miles across and looks plenty deep at high tide. Outside of the channels, the water can be only inches deep - stranding many. Most prop boaters rely on GPS to help them navigate to the main channel.
Information on the Mt. Flemer cabin
Jack and I arrived at the Wrangell Ranger District offices at 6:30 today. We helped the Rec and Lands crew load a huge diesel powered jet barge with two 14 X 14's (20 feet long). The yellow cedar timbers were cut at Mike Allen's sawmill at the 12 mile marker on Zimovia Highway and would be used to replace a footbridge at one of the rec sites on the Stikine River. The USFS maintains two cabins near the Chief Shakes Hot Tubs shelters (fed by a natural hot spring) on the Stikine and the bridge leading to them had been severely damaged by early spring floods. Helping us load and unload these beasts were six members of the USFS timber crew. The barge also carried pressure treated posts and yellow cedar planks which would be used in the reconstruction of the deck and path surrounding the Mount Flemer cabin. After dropping the timbers at the hot tub landing, we motored off up one of the branches of the Stikine to the Mt. Flemer cabin where we offloaded the rest of the lumber. The mosquitoes and other flying insects were pretty epic and we moved as quickly as we could to get the lumber offloaded. Jack and I took the barge back to Wrangell as the crew would be staying overnight.
The Stikine (Tlingit for "bitter waters") is the fastest flowing river in North America and is considered one of the last remaining truly wild rivers in British Columbia. The Grand Canyon of the Stikine is a 45 mile stretch that John Muir called the "Yosemite of the North". The whitewater in this canyon is legendary - it's been successfully kayaked only 15 times since it was first tried in 1981.
The majority of the Stikine's 310 mile length falls within Canada with only the last 40 miles falling within Alaska's border. The mouth of the Stikine falls just north of Wrangell and navigating a boat through the narrow, constantly shifting channels deep enough to support a propeller driven boat is best left to the experts. The mouth must be five miles across and looks plenty deep at high tide. Outside of the channels, the water can be only inches deep - stranding many. Most prop boaters rely on GPS to help them navigate to the main channel.
Information on the Mt. Flemer cabin
En route to the Chief Shakes hot tubs.
Bob Lippert in action.
Jack and company in action.
Mt. Flemer cabin
It's great to see the pictures up so quickly. The cabin looks beautiful too.
ReplyDeleteLooks great! What exactly do you mean the river was only 'successfully' kayaked fifteen times? What happens during an unsuccessful attempt? Do they kayakers get rescued? or are they 'lost?'
ReplyDeleteP.S. Sounds like hard work! Good for you guys - pulling your weight around there!
ReplyDelete