Above & Beyond in Alaskan Wilderness

20th July - 2021

Now this is a blog that you do not want to miss.

Rolling the clock back 8-years to 2013, almost to the day, my son Nathaniel & I had the experience of a lifetime on a 10-day rafting expedition down the mighty Tatshenshini River which winds its way through the tenth most remote wilderness area in the world.

One of our fellow adventurers for the next 
10-days of our rafting expedition was
super model, Tiffany Richards

Our adventure started with a 45-minute ferry ride from Skagway, Alaska down to Haines, Alaska. In Haines, we hooked up with Colorado River & Trail Expeditions tour group for our 10-day rafting journey starting out inside the Tatshenshini-Alesk Provincial Park in the Yukon Territory of Canada. 

The Tatshenshini-Alesk Provincial Park contains almost one million hectares of glacier-cloaked peaks, wild river systems, grizzly bears and a large diversity of wildlife & plant communities. It has been designated a World Heritage site.

Father & son all frocked up and ready for departure
on our 10-day river rafting adventure

We headed due north out of Haines, deep into the remote wilderness, where after a 3-hour coach ride we reached our embarkation point. Our raft trip will launch from a small place just north of the British Columbia border near Dalton’s Post in the Yukon Territory. We arrived into the Aspen and Alder forests of the Yukon. This is where the Tatshenshini River threads its way through the river valleys of the Tatshenshini-Alesk Provincial Park down into the very north-west corner of British Columbia.

Sitting on the river’s gravel bar edge at Dalton’s Post, our five fully provisioned rafts were waiting for us. Not a house or a human in sight. Upon arrival at the Tatshenshini River we were introduced to our five guides that would be totally responsible for us for the next 10-days, including our safety from wild animals & the dangers of the raging, white-water rapids of the Tatshenshini River.

Tiffany Richards' brush with fame...
myself on the left, Tiffany, John Nash

Our party consisted of ten adventure seeking participants from various walks of life. We gathered around the water's edge getting to know each other while we prepared our kit bags & personal belongings for the journey ahead.

John Toner, our Team Leader briefed us all on what we had ahead of us, most importantly the safety requirements, if we were confronted with any wild animals such as moose, black bear, grizzly bear, bison, etc. In our pack we were all issued with bear spray & a pressure pack horn to hopefully scare away a grizzly bear should it decide to attack.

 Our fearless leader John Toner armed 
with his non-lethal deterrent can of Bear spray

If we were confronted by any of these wild animals while on any of our hikes to the various glaciers, or even in our camp at night it was imperative that we follow John's instructions. John also carried a big hunting rifle that hopefully would stop a moose or a grizzly in its tracks. 

Moose are twice as dangerous as grizzly bears, I didn't know that previously, I thought that the grizzly bear would be the worst. Out here, you certainly learn something new every day.

An inquisitive grizzly bear approaching our camp
as he patrols along the edge of the gravel bar

Let's get started conquering the mighty Tatshenshini River.

Day 1: There were five rafts in our entourage, two adventurers per raft & overseen by one raft commander, very cozy, we definitely were not overcrowded. Once we departed Dalton’s Post we enjoyed a gentle introduction to the river & the running rapids.

Our first introduction to the gentle rapids on
Day 1 of our adventure.

Our raft commander Greg Williams from Moab, Utah, is a 65-year old River Rat that spent most of his life as a guide working expeditions on the Colorado River with countless years of experience, so I felt very comfortable with him in charge of my life. Today we only spent 3-hours on the river making camp around 5:00pm to erect our tents beside the river.

Dewey gives us the heads up for our first night's
camp set up on the banks of the Tatshenshini River

During the afternoon rafting down the river we were fortunate enough to spot numerous magnificent bald eagles. This bird is the National symbol of the United States. It was wonderful to be able to see the bald eagle soaring high above the trees & mountains in the wild. The bald eagle was on the verge of extinction when the US Federal Government declared it an endangered species in 1978 under the Endangered Species Act. Today, there are more than 9,800 nesting male & female pairs across the USA. We also spotted three sets of white swans on the river.

While dinner was being prepared by our Guides, there was another most important chore to do. As you can see in the photograph below. Due to very strict environmental concerns, whatever you take into the Tatshenshini-Alesk Provincial Park must also come out of the Park. Check out the community 'Dunny' with hand deodoriser & wipes (below). When the ammunition cases were full, they were then sealed with their lids & loaded onto the rafts for disposal at the end of the trip. Our guides enforced this rule as they really genuinely cared for this majestic piece of planet earth.

Our makeshift loo that we carried with us.
All contents have to be carried to the end of our journey

Day 2: Waking up early to enjoy the magnificent weather & scenery, breakfast was prepared & served by our guides (pancakes, sausages with all the trimmings, fresh fruit tea & coffee). John briefed us on today's events. We would be spending 6-hours rafting on the river today before making our next camp where we would be spending a 2-day slip. 

Camped by the river’s edge, the evening dinner included hamburgers, bratwurst sausage & salad. After dinner, we would all sit around the warm campfire under a chandelier of stars discussing the day's events before we retired to our tents around midnight.

Day 3: Brekko, bacon & eggs (cooked to order mind you; scrambled, poached, fried, boiled, even eggs benedict). John’s briefing included the day’s activities, we had a choice to climb a nearby mountain or pan for gold. I have to tell you that I chose the far less strenuous option of panning for gold. Nathaniel chose to climb a nearby 4,000ft mountain, his group left camp at 11:00am. I hung around camp & watched through binoculars as they reached their first ascent marker around the 2,000ft level.

We were continually marveled at the spectacular
scenery at every turn of the river.

One of the other more senior members of our group decided to come panning for gold with me. We had some good fortune & managed to retrieve some minuscule pieces of gold from the river. However, I decided that I was not going to strike the mother lode like the gold rush days around these parts in the late 1800s. I called it quits after about an hour of panning.

Nathaniel, Tiffany, Mark, & Mike along with their guides Bill & Dewey carrying their rifles & food supplies eventually climbed to the summit of this towering and steep mountain above us. They did not return to camp until 6:00pm, completely exhausted. They were gone for a total of 7-hours. I was so proud of Nathaniel's effort, the comments I received from the guides of his determination & behaviour were exemplary.

Later that evening while reminiscing around the campfire Nathaniel told me that it was the hardest thing that he had ever attempted in his life. This evening's dinner menu was spaghetti bolognese & salad, followed by after dinner a chat around the campfire before retiring to our tent at 10:00pm.

Nathaniel & the others preparing to climb the 4,000ft
mountain with mountain in background

Day 4: Today was more or less a rest day because of the events of the previous day (climbing a mountains & panning for gold took it toll on us). We packed up camp after lunch and proceeded down river. We were only on the river for a very short time today until we made camp around 4:00pm. We were continually marveled at the spectacular scenery at every turn of the river.

The weather was superb, today the temp was 70°f/21°c. Shorts & t-shirt weather. Once we had set up camp & erected our tent Nathaniel sat beside the river catching up writing his journal. I enjoyed my first real wash in a side stream from the main river. Let me tell you the river water was very piccadilly, but so refreshing. 

Picturesque mountains, sculptured icebergs, & our very
own glacial mermaid Tiffany, making even the permafrost melt

Our gourmet bush dinner was served, steak & vegetables, not too shabby. After dinner around the campfire I realised that I had not worn my thermal underwear on the whole journey, we also have experienced no rain, almost unheard of in this part of the world.

Day 5: We had a very challenging 7-hour day on the river today. On the way down the river today John warned us that we would experience the most turbulent and roughest rapids so far on our journey. Sure enough our raft took a very large wave over the bow that engulfed the whole raft, resulting in a complete soaking of us & everything else in its wake.

Eventually we made camp just north of the Alsek River. Our campsite position was by far the most beautiful campsite we have stayed in on the Tatshenshini River to this point. We camped on a river delta with 360° views from our tent. Let me try & explain our uninterrupted views of, glaciers, snow capped mountains with valleys and peaks all around us, and among these geological masterpieces, we had peace & tranquility. This is where the Alsek River & the mighty Tatshenshini River join together. After an enormous day on the river it was a quick bite to eat & jump into the cot.

The river varied in widths, here as we get closer to the delta
and with tributaries flowing in, it grows bigger in volume and wider

Day 6: Was our biggest day for spotting wild animals. During the peace & quiet of night while laying in my sleeping bag I could hear the growls of the Grizzly bears & also the high-pitched scream of the Moose. I would think to myself, I wonder how far these wild animals were from visiting our camp & what on earth I would do if I was actually fronted by one of these wild beasts. Didn't happen, so I rolled over & went to sleep with my fingers crossed.

Whitney spotted a mighty-sized Moose that morning crossing the river not all that far from camp. Later on in the morning we all went for a walk along the foreshore of the river with our Grizzly Bear spray, our pressure pack horn & the Guides were armed with their hunting rifles just in case we would meet up with adversity.

Nathaniel spotted a Black Bear 200m behind us, he was only a little fella so there was no need for any serious panic, more Bald Eagles & their large nests. After our walk along the river we went back to camp & enjoyed lunch. After lunch I decided that it was time for me to have a Nanny nap so I strolled back to our tent & fell asleep immediately.

Breaking camp and loading up the rafts was
a regular chore after our overnight riverside stops

Then all hell broke loose, Nathaniel interrupted my sleep, he burst into the tent & yelled at me “Dad get out of here because there is a monstrous Grizzly Bear heading our way towards the camp”. I jumped out of my sleeping bag with my heart thumping furiously in my chest & ran down to where everyone else had gathered. It’s far safer to be gathered in a larger group. All our guides had their hunting rifles in their hands, at the ready, just in case our inquisitive friend wanted to have a piece of us for lunch. At this moment, Mr Grizzly Bear had our full attention, trust me.

When he was around 75mtrs from our group he stopped walking towards us, he stood up on his hind legs (all 8ft of him & I would say weighing up to 360 kg (800 lbs). He was such a beautiful specimen of an animal not to mention the gorgeous reddy colour of his beautiful coat. What a moment for all of us, this is exactly what we had come here to experience. He just looked at us all to check us out then decided that it was OK for all of us to come play in his backyard.

One of our rafts approaching the
terminus of the Walker Glacier 

He went back down onto all fours then wandered off into the wild. What an experience, by far the most exciting & dangerous day we have enjoyed all trip. I know that sounds strange, however how many people have experienced that exhilarating moment in their life with a real live close encounter with a hulking Grizzly Bear breathing down your neck?

I know this tale is becoming bigger than Ben Hur, however this blog is not only written for whoever wants to read it, it is also a recollection of our trip to Alaska for my son & I. If I am boring you, you can always opt out by clicking out of this adventure.

Day 7: Before departure from this wonderful campsite our Team Leader John wanted to show us all a very, very special rock carving. This is called a Petroglyph. They are rock carvings made by pecking directly on the rock surface using a stone chisel & a hammerstone. I realise that my photograph of this Petroglyph is not very clear.

Hard to make out the details, but this is the petroglyph
or rock carving that pre-dates modern explorers to this region 

However what you are looking at is between 100-2,000-years-old, the experts can’t agree on an exact age. I found this to be truly amazing because I have never seen anything like this in all my travels around the world.

Another huge day on the river today, travelling time to our next camp at Walker Glacier 6-hours where we made our campsite in the foreground of the Walker Glacier.

Our entire team prior to our challenging walk
on the slopes of the Walker Glacier

Day 8: Today, the entire team went for a hike on the ice-age landscapes of the Walker Glacier. We hiked up onto the glacier & took photos of the Crevasses. Along the hike we passed rushing glacial streams and spotted signs of bear & moose scat. We also saw evidence of where the bears had been digging for roots & food. The glaciers come right down to the river’s edge.

So far the weather has been exceptional, apart from a little rain on day six & a little drizzle on the morning of day seven we have been blessed. Tonight’s camp fire and clear skies is filled with a full moon.

The view from our campsite of a full moon rising
over the nearby mountain peaks was just so spectacular

Day 9: This definitely has turned out to be a bigger adventure than any of us could ever have imagined. We departed from Walker Glacier this morning to spend another 3-hours drifting down the Tatshenshini River towards Alsek Lake. 

Setting off on our trek across the accessible edges
along the sprawling face of the Walker Glacier

We drifted past the spectacular Mt.Kennedy far off in the distance. Mount Kennedy (17,400ft) is a peak within the Kluane National Park in the Yukon, the summit lies within 10kms of the Alaskan panhandle.

The Canadian Government named the peak in honor of the 35th US President John F Kennedy nearly a year following his assassination on 22nd November 1963, at that time it was the highest peak in North America that had not yet been climbed.

Mount Kennedy in the far distance, this aerial shot gives you
a perspective of the kind of extreme and remote territory we were in

We also witnessed Mount Fairweather (15,500ft) way off in the distance. This mountain is in the Saint Elias Mountains on the border between Alaska & British Columbia which is the highest mountain in Canada. When we finally arrived at Alsek Lake where we had to navigate our way through all the icebergs that break off from the hundred of glaciers & then flow down the Tatshenshini River towards Dry Bay, Alaska & finally find their way out into the Pacific Ocean.

Alsek Lake was teeming with icebergs including this little
cluster that I named 'The Three Sisters'

Tonight was our last night of camping, we made our final night's camp on an island overlooking three imposing Glaciers. In one of the photos you can see where our tent was situated with thousands of icebergs flowing down the river in the background, some of these icebergs were as large as a small building. All night you could hear these icebergs breaking up & moving down the river, very eerie indeed. We are now on our last night in the wilds of Alaska.

The weather is still perfect, our team leader John made a comment that evening after dinner when we were being serenaded by Sabrina & her guitar with a good old sing song gathered around our last campfire, that in the seventeen trips that he has made down the Tatshenshini & Alsek rivers that this trip has been the best trip weather-wise that he has experienced so far, so how lucky were we?

Nathaniel mans the oars, carefully sculling, while navigating
the raft through the narrow field of icebergs

These photographs are pure gold, where else on the planet can you navigate your way through icebergs in a rubber raft. Where else can you paddle a raft in between icebergs, in the distance you can hear sounds like thunder, that noise is coming from the icebergs breaking away from the huge glaciers and the tumbling rocks falling down the glacial streams. Tonight is our very last night on the Tatshenshini River before we drift on down to Dry Bay tomorrow to conclude an experience of a lifetime.

Day 10: Today being our last day on the river. We’d had so much beauty and excitement wrapped into the last 10-days. I was touched with pangs of sadness that it had all come to an end, besides the clouds are very low today over the majestic mountain ranges, with only a 3-hour journey on the river before we entered the small fishing community of Dry Bay, it really didn't matter if it rained.

Packing up all our equipment and deflating the rafts
everything has to be loaded back onto the aircraft for departure

Dry Bay is located inside Alaska's Glacier Bay National Park. We moored our rafts near the bush air strip’s runway where there were three aircraft waiting for us. Our final job was to deflate all the rafts so that they would fit inside the aircraft’s baggage holds, pack up all of the equipment & load everything into the aircraft.

Once everything had been cleaned up & packed away it was now time to say our good-byes to everyone, board the aircraft for the 1-hour flight back to Haines International Airport.

Our aircraft on finals for a safe return to 
Haines International Airport in Alaska

Here's my summary of our sensational 10-day adventure on the Tatshenshini River in Alaska. July 15th - 25th July 2013.

* We covered a distance of 132 miles (212kms) in the 10-days on the Tatshenshini River.

* We didn't see another person in those 10-days other than the people in our group.

* We saw an abundance of wildlife in their natural habitat. Grizzly bears, black bears, moose, deer, caribou, bison, mountain goat, foxes, bald eagles, salmon, trout. Countless types of bird life that call Alaska their home especially in the summertime.

*Observation of most of these wild animals we witnessed from our rafts as we floated down the river.

* 4x2 day camps, 2x1 day camps.

Nathaniel and I under the wing of our fully loaded Cessna 206
preparing to depart Dry Bay for Haines, Alaska

*Gourmet, delicious, quality and unique meals delivered by an engaging crew of helpful, caring and accommodating people.

* Nothing was ever too much trouble for our guides to deliver the best time possible to each & every one of us 24/7.* The camping equipment, wet & cold weather gear & rafts supplied by Colorado River & Trail Expeditions from (Salt Lake City) were First Class. Absolutely no expense spared.

The amazing success of our trip was due to all of our guide’s hard work and truly professional and caring outlook to the journey makers and our safe passage through this pristine environment.

Nathaniel & myself loved the extreme remoteness of this part of the world, how often could you go 10-days without seeing another person, anywhere in the world. The Tatshenshini River is real wilderness, natural beauty personified. It does not come any better than this.

Our Tatshenshini River journey map.
With the 'put in' at Dalton Post and the 'take out' at Dry Bay

We have experienced as father & son something very unique together & absolutely loved & adored every minute of this real life adventure that has left us both with everlasting memories that we will take to our graves.

In closing, I can highly recommend our expedition company to you; Colorado River & Trail Expeditions - who are celebrating their 50th year of operations this year.

Thanks for letting us share our story with you, I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed reading this blog & enjoy looking at the phenomenal photographs that we captured along the way.

Warbo

The resurrection of 'Bruno'. Rego No. JT205N.

13th July - 2021

This journey started way back in December 1999. I received a phone call from my friend Graeme Bethell one Saturday afternoon, he was in all sorts of strife. He was calling me from Burraneer Bay where he was stranded in his boat on a sandbar in the middle of Burraneer Bay. He asked me if I could check out the tides to see when the next high tide was due. 

The original condition of 'Bruno' when 
we purchased her in August 1999

Reason being he had run aground in his 'Putter' & wanted me to rescue him from the sandbar. As luck would have it the tide was on the turn & would be on its way in again in a couple of hours.

I said to Graeme, hang in there mate & I will come & tow you off the sandbar in a couple of hours when the tide has risen high enough, in the meantime I organised my dinghy with a tow rope & proceeded up the river to where he was stranded.

Mission accomplished, I was able to drag his boat 'Bruno' into deeper water. We motored back to my place & celebrated with a few cool beers.

A second aerial view of 'Bruno's' original condition
when we purchased her in August 1999

During the afternoon Graeme mentioned to me that he was completely over the boat because he was also having engine problems & the vessel also needed a heap of tender loving care as he had not kept up with the maintenance, & as every boat owner knows there is always plenty of work to do on a boat that is moored in the water all the time, as you can witness by the first photograph in my story.

For better or worse we came to an agreement that I would take his boat off his hands for the pricely sum of $500. Heaven only knows what I had got myself into as you will see as my story continues.

Family tradition: In 1960 my Dad purchased this 18ft
half-cabin clinker hulled launch - it was named 'The Gem'

I have a very soft spot for 18ft half-cabin (clinker built) launches, because in 1960 when I was but a lad (13 years old) my Dad purchased an 18ft half-cabin (clinker built) launch named 'The Gem'. We moored the boat at the Gunnamatta Bay Marina as you can see by the black & white photograph (above), for those of you that know Gunnamatta Bay Marina this was way before the current multi million dollar marina that is built there today. 

Our family spent many wonderful days out on the water enjoying the magnificent Port Hacking estuary and the Hacking River in the Shire in the early '60s. I suppose those delightful memories made me jump at the opportunity to turn back the clock 39-years to my youth to reminisce about that period of my life.

I needed the help from my mates to turn the
hull over before starting to repair the hull. 

I was still flying with Qantas Airways as an International Trolly Dolly in 1999 when I purchased 'Bruno' so I had plenty of time on my days off to resurrect this dilapidated old craft.

Once I had removed 'Bruno' from the water to commence the restoration it suddenly occurred to me that I was in for one hell of a job. Anyone that knows me realises that I do not do things in half measures. The transom of the boat was completely rotten out & from the top plank of the hull including the cabin was also in not much better condition.

To ensure it was water-tight, I completed a Fibreglass
encasement & covering of the old wooden hull

I decided the only way to repair this boat to my standards would be to replace the transom & completely rebuild the half-cabin from the top plank of the hull up. Needless to say this was turning into a huuuge restoration, I could not do all the woodwork myself, so I decided to hire the services of a professional Shipwright (at mind you $55 per hour in 1999). 

I was his lackey, I completely burnt off all the old paint from the hull & dismantled the transom & removed the half cabin & decking from the top plank of the hull so we could start all over again. As you can see in the photo I needed the help from my mates to turn the hull over before starting to repair the hull. 

I had also made another major decision regarding the hull. Everyone knows that has ever owned a wooden boat that they (all leak water), I decided that we would overcome that future problem by completely fiber-glassing the clinker hull with very fine fiberglass. I still wanted to retain the clinker look of the hull that is why we used very fine sheets of fiberglass that would follow the shape of the planks on the hull as is witnessed in the photographs.

I firstly installed a 2-cylinder Volvo Penta diesel engine
but I later replaced that with a 189 Holden engine.

As you can see in the photo above, the boat was fitted with a 2-cylinder Volvo Penta diesel engine. I also needed to make the decision of 'do I retain this engine or replace it with something like a petrol power plant?'. More to that decision later in the story.

Towards the end of December 1999 the boat was ready to be relaunched, (see photos below). We spent many hundreds of hours restoring the boat & not to mention the many, many thousands of dollars to get the boat to this stage. (more on that later).

We launched the boat to much fanfare, including smashing a bottle of French Champagne Veuve Clicquot over the bow as we launched the boat back into Port Hacking.

Towards the end of December 1999, the
boat was getting ready to be launched

Another major decision before relaunching, I decided to retire the name 'Bruno' & relaunch my new 18ft half-cabin clinker launch with our family's original boat's name from the 1960s. 'The Gem'.

My parents were delighted that I renamed my boat, especially my Dad. He was overwhelmed. Before their passing we also spent many wonderful days reminiscing about our time spent on our original 'Gem' half a century ago cruising up & down the picturesque Hacking River on the new 'Gem'.

In this shot you can clearly see the classic lines 
of the completely restored unique clinker hull

Not that long after I relaunched 'The Gem' in the early 2000s, I also had to make another major decision about the engine. The 2-cylinder Volvo Penta diesel engine was a pain in the butt. When cruising you could not hear yourself think, it was so damn noisy & vibrated right through the hull of the boat. I bit the bullet & decided to fit a 189 (petrol) Holden engine, I completely marinised the engine & fitted a silk drive Borg Warner gearbox. Pure Gold.

Now I was completely satisfied with my new toy. It is now 15-years since I installed the new power plant & gearbox, not one ounce of trouble, & guess what, the hull does not leak one egg cup of water.

What 'The Gem' a classic 18ft half-cabin clinker
looks like today - some 22-years later

My son Nathaniel is now 30-years-old, he has grown up with this boat, he actually uses it more than I do. When he was younger we would invite his mates to go fishing, Wow! What a great time those young boys enjoyed over the years, my son & I have taught dozens of our friends, male & females, to catch their first fish. It is such a delight to witness someone catch their first decent sized fish, trust me. There is nothing like feeling that tug on your fishing line & landing your catch successfully.

The final photograph (below) show you the finished product, hanging off my pontoon in Port Hacking. I am very proud of the restoration & over the years our family has enjoyed countless experiences that money can not buy.

Now for the Nitty-gritty that I know you are all hanging out for. Remember earlier on I told you that I purchased 'Bruno' for $500 after hauling Graeme off the sand bar.

Now I have a classic 18ft half-cabin clinker
boat that nobody else can have

What you see now in the latter two photos, 'The Gem' actually owes me $50,000 & that does not include my labour, however, I have a Classic 18ft half-cabin clinker boat that nobody else can have, of which I more or less rebuilt myself, this was not a cheque book restoration.

Summing up this journey, as you know I love old things that nobody else can have, it takes a lot of time & energy, however the final result is very satisfying. If that is not a good story, I don't know what is.

I sincerely hope that you enjoy it. Stay safe, cheers for now from the 'Squire from the Shire'.

Warbo


NB: My next episode will be to tell you all about our Canadian Yukon & Alaskan adventure. Nathaniel & I spent 14-days on a raft traveling down the Alsek & Tathsenshini Rivers which is the 10th most remote place in the world where we encountered experiences with grizzly bears & icebergs.