packraft crow pass

     So there are several local floats I had yet to do, sometimes being limited by logistics, starting in one place and finishing in another.  Waiting for it doesn't get it done, so the next time the Crow Pass float opportunity presented itself I pounced, and it paid off.  Crow Pass is about a 23 mile trail connecting Girdwood to Eagle River(ER).  It starts at the end of a mining road, goes up through a valley with an obvious mining history, over a pass with views of high mountain lakes, glaciers, streams, you name it.  It then traverses down to the valley bottom, crossing the gorge a few times before dropping down to the Eagle River, crossing it, paralleling it out to the Eagle River Nature Center.  It can be done in a long day hike, a few-hour run or multi-day hike.  It turns out it(the river) can also be packrafted.
     We took advantage of the incredible fall weather we had been having and started hiking from the Crow Pass Trailhead.  The weather held: sunny, cool, calm.  Less than 1/2 mile from the pass we thought we heard a jet, which was unusual as not many flight patterns go over this area.  Nope, not a jet.  We noticed alders quivering in the windless valley and the rumble was steady.  While scratching our heads about it the whole ground began moving back and forth and we realized it was an earthquake.  My first thought was rockfall.  We were right in the fall-line should anything large break loose.  The sound of all the loose rocks bouncing down the valley walls was both incredible and slightly unnerving.  It continued for some time, the longest one I have felt and the only one in the backcountry.  I wondered if we would come out of the backcountry to civilization in chaos.  It was recorded as a 6.2 with a deep epicenter in nearby Willow, AK.

Down in the valley headed to ER.

     We continued on, taking in the always amazing views on a clear day in Crow Pass.  We saw some sheep up high, moose down low, and some tracks we didn't know for sure but could have been wolverine.  Fall is a great time to hike muddy areas when they freeze over, it was easy-going down to Eagle River's edge.  We gambled with the water level a bit thinking that if it was too low we would just hike the trail out. It was about 3.5ft at the ER bridge at Glenn Hwy and looked low for this far back.  Were it higher we would have hiked upstream a way but we put in right where the trail first sees the river.

The descent to ER.

     The fall colors were in their prime and reached up the valley walls in streaks of yellow and orange and some green hanging on for a super-vibrant effect.  The sun was still high enough to warm the valley bottom despite the tall mountains on either side.  We did a fair amount of butt-dragging and had to walk one 100ft section, but it was do-able and I wouldn't try it any lower.  We saw plenty of sheep and goats, bald eagles including one that was eating a salmon.  The salmon were still running but not looking good.  I had no idea there were so many large waterfalls back there until I saw them from the river.  From the trail they are shrouded by woods or bad angles but from the river their full height and width can be seen much better.
     As the day went on, the sun got lower, the feet and hands got colder.  We had to portage one log-jam lower down, easily seen and avoided.  We stopped and pulled out before Echo Bend rapids and hiked out to the nature center to warm up.  I would definitely recommend this float, especially with slightly higher water, but the pleasant weather and fall colors redeemed that.  We concluded with some beer and food at the ER alehouse.  Another hash on the tally-board of great AK outings.  Can't beat it.

 Photos: Adam Baxter