The River

Our mode of travel on the Karluk was the ubiquitous four-man raft.   The upper end of Karluk River has a few riffles interspersed with long stretches of slow water.   Many sections are very shallow and we were required to disembark and pull/push the raft.   Here the rafts drift quietly on the slow water.

Besides the bears, wildlife is abundant along the Karluk.   This pair of Red Foxes frollicked along the bank as we passed by.   We also saw Bald Eagles, River Otters, and Sitka Deer during our trip.

We camped at four different sites along the river.   Established campsites are easily found, and in fact, exist in the most natural areas.   There were several other parties on the river, but not so crowded that we had to camp closer than about 1/2 mile to the next campsite.

The weather was fantastic during our seven day float.   Nevertheless, the water was still pretty cold.   We all felt the need for bathing, but the baths were pretty short.

The last half of the river flows through a canyon section and picks up a little more speed.   A King hooked in this water would usually turn downstream requiring the fisherman to follow.

Here we drift through the canyon section of the river.   Along the hillsides of the canyon were stands of trees that we had not seen on the upper river.

Our group photo on the last day as we broke camp and floated the remaining two miles to our pick-up point.

Our hero returns dejectedly after a crushing defeat at the fin of a fresh King Salmon prior to departure.

We were picked up at a beautiful tidewater inlet.   I am told that this is an outstanding area to catch Silver Salmon and Steelhead during August/September.

Our departure back to civilization.   We flew back along the Karluk for several miles.   Thousands of Salmon could be seen working their way up the river to their spawning beds.   We had barely scratched the surface.