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Other Whitewater Trips on the Honolulu Creek
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 Lodging in Alaska
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Paddlesports Schools:Zoar Outdoor |
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Located in:
Charlemont, MA
More Details
Our Website |
| At Zoar Outdoor, we create great paddling experiences! For adults, kids and families that emphasize the joy of kayaking or canoein (more...) |
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:: Wilderness Trip Whitewater Kayaking Trip
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Wilderness Trip Whitewater Kayaking Trip on the Honolulu Creek |
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Related River Guidebooks on AllAboutRivers |
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Wilderness Trip Info
Use this information at your own risk. See our legal notices. |
| Put In: |
Fly-In to Goat Lake |
| Take Out: |
Parks Hwy Bridge |
| Difficulty: |
Class IV
+ , Portage
First falls on run, Class V with decapitator rock
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| Gradient: |
100 Feet/mile |
| Run Length: |
12 miles |
| Good Level: |
Medium |
| Streamflow Comments: |
If the rocks at the Parks Hwy bridge are covered the level is good, if they're uncovered it's too low and if they're holes it's too high. |
| Season Comments: |
June, July
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| Primary Season: |
At the snowmelt peak or any time of the summer after some rain. |
| Permit: |
None required at this time |
| Character/Similar To: |
Nahatlach River, Arahura River. |
| Hazards: |
Remote Alpine Wilderness, first drop in upper canyon with a decapitator rock |
| Water Craft: |
kayak |
| Wilderness: |
Very |
| Camping on River: |
Yes, but best done as a day trip or with a night up at the lake above treeline |
| Location: |
In the Pacific Region (AK), 180 Miles North of Anchorage |
| Area Name: |
Denali Burough |
| Shuttle Logistics: |
Ray Atkins Guiding and Flying Service, 907-768-2143, out of Cantwell can take four paddlers and gear up to Goat Lake in three flights with his vintage Super Cub and will add a little old school Alaskan flavor to your trip. Drop one person at Ray's and then drive down to Mile 180 Lake to drop shuttle, Honolulu Creek is at mile 179, and meet Ray for the remaining flights. |
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| Wilderness Trip on the Honolulu Creek |
Alpine boating at it's very best. From Mile 180 Lake you fly straight up the Honolulu drainage into the high alpine heart of the Alaska/Talkeetna Range transition zone. Departing from thick Spruce forrest the fly-in takes you to treeless tundra carpeting a broad valley between snow speckled craggy peaks. Ray drops off on the beach beside his small hunting shack, a requirement of his wife if she was going to continue to head up to the mountains with him to hunt. Look for bear prints in the soft ground around the lake and eagle feathers on the higher ground, the remains of a spotting perch while fishing for dolly varden. From the lake, hike almost due north up and over the right side of a small ridge. Looking down at the creek, a V shaped convergence of two drainages, also visible on the fly-in, is the put-in. Bears, if around, will be visible from long distances for most of the hike, but as you make it closer to the creek and the tundra landscape gives way to low alders and willows, make sure to make some noise. After about half a mile a small creek will enter from the right, visible on both the hike and flight, a sign to eddy out on the right for the portage. The falls has been run, but most parties elect to portage because of the remote nature, and the lack of warm-up and the nasty decapitator rock that juts out from the right near the bottom of the falls. If it was lower down on the run the falls would probably be run half of the time. The upper canyon is tight and technical with some serious boulder chokes, but all the rapids are runnable and mostly boat scoutable as calm pools form above every rapid. One steep and twisting drop is run blind at the bottom through a narrow notch and over about a ten foot falls, but the river is still above treeline at this point so wood is not much of a concern. Between the first and third canyon is a short section of Class II boogy water allowing plenty of time to soak up the vast mountain landscape and the sheer beauty of the crystal clear creek. The middle canyon canyon has much the same level of whitewater in the solid IV-IV+ range, but like the upper canyon all rapids are scoutable if uncertainty exists. The general rule of thumb if the river splits is that the left side channel is better, but beware of sieves as the bouldery aspect of the run increases in the middle section. More Class II water provides a break down to the third canyon, easily identifiable as the dark, crumbly, and sharp shale gives way to polished bright granite boulders and cliff walls. A look down will provide a glimpse of the solid granitic slab which has replaced the freestone creek bed. The valley opens up more in the lower section as the technical boulder dodging continues and breaks in the slab create drops in the six to eight foot range. About 5 miles of Class II water will lead back to the bridge, finishing off with some new channels through the trees resulting from the flood of 2003. Don't fall asleep in here as log jams will likely be present. The car will be a bitter sweet sight after a long yet utterly complete day on the river comes to an end.
For a raft assisted kayak expedition trip or kayak lessons visit Kayak Alaska. |
Last Edited by allanwarren on 10/1/2007
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Towns near Wilderness Trip Kayaking |
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