First trip of the year to the cabin

[NightTrain]

Yesterday a buddy of mine and I decided to make a trip up to the cabin. The NOAA site said the water level was good to go... but it wasn't.

Still, we were there with a boat, so it was our duty to give it a whirl. The boat is a 16' with a 90 HP Yamaha, very nimble and lots of power for such a small hull. It's my buddy Lee's boat, and I'm teaching him how to run a river without beating the hell out of equipment.

This kind of an extremely low water level is ideal for showing him the ropes.

This is the launch in Talkeetna, and usually the water is halfway up the concrete slabs you can see here. The water to the right is about 2 inches deep, so we couldn't launch there.

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7167&stc=1

[NightTrain]

We backed the boat up about 300 yards down the riverbank until we could get the boat floating in a deeper bit of water. The water is barely enough to get your ankles wet beside the truck there, the boat launch is up to the right in front of the truck.

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7168&stc=1

[NightTrain]

Finally got her in. Next we float down to under the railroad bridge where it's deep, and get her up on step.

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7169&stc=1

[NightTrain]

Heading up the river. I was way too busy to take pics where the water was just a trickle, so this is pretty much the only area where I took a few shots.

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7170&stc=1

[NightTrain]

Still not quite spring there, even though there's lots of leaves sprouting all around my house right now.

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7171&stc=1

[NightTrain]

Made it up without touching once, but I really had to make that boat dance a few times. There was a lot more ice than I anticipated. Parked in the usual spot below the cabin.

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7172&stc=1

[NightTrain]

Lee and my son Tanner. I let him play hooky so he could go up with us.

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7173&stc=1

[NightTrain]

I'm always nervous about bears breaking into and tearing up the cabin in the Spring before we get there, but as usual it was good to go.

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7174&stc=1

[NightTrain]

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7175&stc=1

[NightTrain]

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7176&stc=1

[NightTrain]

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7177&stc=1

[NightTrain]

Last pic from the trip yesterday. When the water comes up another 6" - 8", I'll take the big boat up.

We ended up "rocking out" on the way down, I was talking to Lee and explaining something and missed my turn... we hit but I chopped throttle right before we did, we skipped across the gravel bar and I powered on when we reached the other side again. Sucking gravel through the Jet Unit is hellishly hard on it, so I always chop power before impact.

I screwed up my perfect record for the season!

River - 1, NT - 0

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7178&stc=1

[LongTermGuy]

`....Good stuff NT :cool:...Thanks for the pic`s...and explanations...Did you have the cabin built in that location?

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7174&stc=1

[jimnyc]

Damn, I still wanna get there badly. Every time I see your cabin I just wanna hang there on the porch with a beer, walk down and do some fishing, come back and enjoy a fire at night - and some peace and quiet, and just hope that I don't get eaten by a bear, or worse, bit by a 1/4 spider that will send me into convulsions! :)

[LongTermGuy]

Damn, I still wanna get there badly. Every time I see your cabin I just wanna hang there on the porch with a beer, walk down and do some fishing, come back and enjoy a fire at night - and some peace and quiet, and just hope that I don't get eaten by a bear, or worse, bit by a 1/4 spider that will send me into convulsions! :)

`Ya know Jim...I too can definitely handle that...The bears and spiders we can handle / avoid.:thumb:..

[NightTrain]

`....Good stuff NT :cool:...Thanks for the pic`s...and explanations...Did you have the cabin built in that location?


We built it ourselves, we started construction in '90 or '91 or so.

Most of the material we hauled up behind snowmachines in the winter and then built it during the summer.

[LongTermGuy]

We built it ourselves, we started construction in '90 or '91 or so.

Most of the material we hauled up behind snowmachines in the winter and then built it during the summer.


`​...Thanks NT....I had a feeling you did....wanted to verify ...again thanks for the Great share!`

[Bilgerat]

`​...Thanks NT....I had a feeling you did....wanted to verify ...again thanks for the Great share!`


I'll add to that my thanks!

[red state]

So, NT, are you from that general area. I see that it is due North of Anchorage. You wouldn't, by any chance, know (not heard or know of) but really know a Mr. Paul Ritz would you? I believe it is around supper time there (I'm in the Memphis area and I've only managed to get through to Paul only once). Just wondered if you are from Anchorage originally and possibly knew the guy.

Anyway, thanks for the photos....hope to see a HEAPIN' mess of fish on a stringer soon enough.

~Red

[red state]

You ever put the boat out right here?

http://susitnariverlodge.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/7511_10152837404625162_412604392_n.jpgtalkeetna</strong> spur rd talkeetna ...">

[Jeff]

Beautiful NT, man if I was still young enough I would love to live up there. But I don't think my body could handle all the work you need to do to live up there any longer.

[NightTrain]

So, NT, are you from that general area. I see that it is due North of Anchorage. You wouldn't, by any chance, know (not heard or know of) but really know a Mr. Paul Ritz would you? I believe it is around supper time there (I'm in the Memphis area and I've only managed to get through to Paul only once). Just wondered if you are from Anchorage originally and possibly knew the guy.

Anyway, thanks for the photos....hope to see a HEAPIN' mess of fish on a stringer soon enough.

~Red

Don't know him, but is it this guy on the right?

http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7180&stc=1

I've lived here about 39 out of 44 years now. The guy on the right is a Paul Ritz and he does look vaguely familiar.

[darin]

Very good stuff, NT.

Does the water ever get high - and close to the cabin?

I think that's the shitter on the right, facing the cabin - with the vaulted roof? If so, looks world-class...for a shit-house. :)

:D

[NightTrain]

You ever put the boat out right here?

http://susitnariverlodge.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/7511_10152837404625162_412604392_n.jpgtalkeetna spur rd talkeetna ...">

That looks like the subdivision - if that's where I think it is, then it's not really on the Talkeetna Spur, it's about 2 miles above the boat launch. It's all private property, so usually not. Occasionally we have put in there, but we've usually got several vehicles (or 10 plus on a 3-day weekend) so while it's handy to launch there, it's not cool to abuse someone's good nature by letting us use their launch and then fill up their area with trucks & cars. Using the public launch is what we normally do.

I think this was taken during the big flood a couple of years ago. If you look across into the trees, you can see the level is way up on those trees and can't even see the bank. At the height of that flood, there was about 3' between the bottom of the Rail Road Bridge (see pic #3 in this thread) and the water! It was a monster flood.

[NightTrain]

Very good stuff, NT.

Does the water ever get high - and close to the cabin?

I think that's the shitter on the right, facing the cabin - with the vaulted roof? If so, looks world-class...for a shit-house. :)

:D


http://www.debatepolicy.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7181&stc=1

Yes, the water does get close. The "100-year flood" that happened a couple of years ago that I was just talking about was the biggest in recorded history. The river was over the deck, and was 6" below the floor of the cabin. The floor is 5' off the ground, we built it purposefully that high for flooding. At the time, we figured we were 18" higher than any flood would ever reach, but then the big one happened! I was sure the cabin was a goner, but she survived no problem. We had friends fly over it and take pics for us after the flood peaked... what a relief to see it still there.

And, no, that's the sauna! lol

The shed is on the left, then the cabin, then the sauna on the right. You can see the stovepipe coming out of the wall on the right there.

[NightTrain]

Beautiful NT, man if I was still young enough I would love to live up there. But I don't think my body could handle all the work you need to do to live up there any longer.

Living out there is a tremendous amount of work until you get set up. To live at the cabin, you have to prepare to be unable to get to town every fall and every spring while the river is freezing or breaking up and that takes about 5 weeks for each one, so you have to lay in a LOT of supplies. Or own an airplane... there's a huge gravel bar out front right now that would make a beautiful landing strip.

We have a diesel stove in the cabin for heat - I chopped enough wood as a kid to last me a lifetime and I'm not interested in doing it. Homie doesn't chop wood! :happy0203: Propane 4-burner stove with a purely mechanical thermostat for the oven (very hard to find anymore), propane lights, DC lights and AC lights (generator). Propane lights are extremely efficient and as a bonus put out a lot of heat... those are definitely the ticket for someone who wants to live out there.

No running water yet, but at some point we'll put a well in. As it stands now, we have a trail that runs about a quarter mile to a small stream that comes down to the river and we run the 3-wheeler & trailer with two 5-gallon water jugs.

If I wanted to live there, it would actually be pretty easy. I'd just have to stockpile diesel, food and gas. And ammo for the occasional moose that delivers himself to your doorstep... but the dumb ones have been pretty much eliminated from the local gene pool, if you know what I mean. We lived out there for most of the '80s.

[Gunny]

Yeah that water level's looking right up there.:laugh:

[NightTrain]

Yeah that water level's looking right up there.:laugh:

I wish I would have had Lee filming as we ran downriver, especially where I screwed up and we skipped across the gravel bar to the other channel... that would have been an awesome clip. There were a few times that the channel I was running in was 8' wide and 3" deep, and more than a few times I had the boat at a 90 degree angle to make the upcoming switchback at 40 MPH... there's no room for error when it's this low!

Good times! I love the challenge and it gets me pumped up on a run like that.

My favorite line when we're about to embark on a run like this : "I feel I'm man enough to do this." It makes Sharon cringe every time. :laugh: