August 9, 2015

Mileage is a little hard to calculate as we meander so much during the day and take numerous channels.  The night was cold and when we got up to pee we noticed there was a layer of ice on the canoe barrel. I (Donna) did not think twice about using my extra down sleeping bag. It was the perfect solution to add to my Marmot bag and I felt enveloped by warmth.  A breakfast of blueberry pancakes topped with rhubarb and applesauce earned a 5 star rating. As we left camp this morning, thoughts of Okak bend was on our mind. It is supposedly the last major rapids of this section. With the right water level it has the reputation of being challenging.  Not so today, as we approached the rapids it was quite obvious that there was a good route.  Don who was paddling in the bow did not even take on any water.  Another bird who is not appreciating our paddling is the Rough Legged Hawk. They scold us quite loudly as we paddle by their nests. The water is a bit muddy with all the rain so we have been getting water from side streams.  Lunch stop is a favorite as todays menu included blueberry trail mix, Kale soup, humus with bagel chips, cheese, almond butter and ziback bread. Stopping at 4:30 today allowed time to bake bread. Don volunteered to keep the dough warm while he snoozed. Since we didn’t think it was wise for both of us to sleep, I stayed on bear watch. There was wind from the North today. The weather is unsettled. We decide that we need to paddle every day so not any layover days for us.

Miles traveled 31

August 8, 2015

The rain continued all night so when we awoke we were relieved that the river had not risen too much. Unfortunately drinking tea at night increases our need to relieve ourselves during the night. Peeing in the rain has its disadvantages, but giving up tea and chocolate is not an option. Since we waited for breaks in the rain to pack up we had a slow start. It was cold as we loaded up the canoe. We are thankful for our paddle pants and warm neoprene gloves.  A fresh large wolf track near camp made us aware that we had been visited last night.  A short walk near Cutler Lake provided us with the blueberry allotment for the day. Some white fronted Geese were the birds of the day. Usually most gravel bars have pairs of gulls.  Even though we are past the nesting season, they are still quite protective of their territory.They often dive bomb us as we paddle by, coming quite close. This is the first day that we have not seen another group. Most groups have taken out by now. We are looking forward to the remaining miles of the river.

Miles traveled 30

August 7, 2015

Not so cold this morning as we broke down camp and were on the water by 8:30. Lots of rapids on this section, but similar to yesterday we are able to read and run. We are working well as a team and it is fun to avoid the rocks as we maneuver the rapids.  After finishing a section of rapids, we (Don) noticed a group of Musk Oxen.  They were on both sides of the river, but when they noticed us the one group which seemed to be males plunged into the water and swam across.  It was quite the amazing sighting seeing these large animals swimming across the river. We were mesmerized by these animals and watched as the young frolicked and the adults ate. Eventually they made their way to the top of a ridge. Before going out of sight they lined up and seemed to give us a parting look. We felt blessed to have seen them. As we were getting ready to start paddling again Don noticed another herd a little ways down. They were on top of a river bank. Perhaps we could stop below them and work our way up the bank to their location. Don slowly approached and then started the camera shooting. Soon he motioned for me to come and take a look. Unbelievable! They seemed to be aware of our presence but as long as we kept a certain distance they were content to not feel threatened. A large male with hair flowing to the ground was an imposing figure. At one point they moved as a group a bit farther away, but then laid down and seemed to be at peace with the world. Finally we decided that we needed to start moving again. Several animals in this group, like the first group that we had seen, followed us with their eyes. I (Donna) felt that they were wishing us well as we were sharing this great land. This day continued to be our wildlife day.  Our next sighting was that of a Peregrin Falcon family.  Two adults with a baby on the nest let us know we were in their territory.  The adults flew quite close overhead warning us that we should keep moving. The rain began falling as we looked for the Aniuk River. Again we did not want to camp near it for bear reasons and after seeing it we continued downstream looking for a gravel bank camping site.  It had begun to rain quite hard so selecting a site that had some elevation to it was important. The site appeared and so did a short break in the rain allowing us to set up a relative dry camp. I (Donna) decided that it was a good night for pizza. As we waited for the pizza to cook we enjoyed our tea and chocolate. The rain continued, the pizza was great and so was getting into our warm dry sleeping bags.

Miles traveled 32

August 6, 2015

Last night was cold! During the night, as we exited to take our ritual midnight pee, we noticed that our gear and tent fly was covered with frost. I (Donna) looked forward to getting up in the morning and putting on warmer clothes and having a hot drink.  Finally morning came and off to the kitchen I went. As I finished lighting the stove I scoped the area for bears and quickly noticed that a rather large one was heading my way. The bear was focused on eating berries and was continuing in my direction. A loud hey bear yell got Don out of the tent.  Fortunately the bear heard the yell also , got up on two feet and decided to go the other direction.  With my heart pounding I headed off to use the shovel. Nothing like a close bear encounter to get the digestive juices going. As we finished eating our breakfast, we noticed that we were very much into 'bear aware mode'. Not too far from where we camped there was another lake that can be used for a float plane take out. We decided to check it out and not only did we find the lake, but also the mother lode of blueberries. Our favorite trail food has become fresh blueberries mixed with nuts. Our bodies are becoming in tune with the feel of the paddle. It feels good to be on a long river expedition.

Mile traveled 24

August 5, 2015

The wind came up during the night and the temperature dropped. A few sprinkles fell, but after closing the tent up no more drops fell.  It was a cool morning as we ate our blueberry cereal and prepared soup for putting in the thermos for lunch. We were on the water by 8:30 wearing paddle pants and jackets. A bear was sighted walking along the opposite bank, we pulled close to the shore to watch his actions. To our dismay he started heading toward us in the water. As we contemplated our counter move, he quickly headed back to shore checking the edge of the river. It was at that time we realized he was looking for fish for breakfast and not at us! When he did notice us, he stood up, sniffed and headed away from the river. The river is becoming more technical in this section. It is, however, at a great river level enabling us to read and run the rapids. Having made good time today we decide to stop early and camp on the tundra above the river bank. As usual the spot is beautiful and a red color in the distance is likely to have blueberries. After our customary tea and chocolate we head out to forage for blueberries. We are not disappointed as we quickly fill our container.The local arctic squirrel shows us his best poses and seems to be quite curious about his camping partners for the night. Tonight we used the satellite phone to find our LAT/LON coordinates.

Miles traveled 25