Afonasi Lake Daytrip

[lowangle al]

It was good to be back on the water after not paddling since I got back to Alaska in early June. I hurt my back in Pa. last April but was still able to paddle since I live on a lake and didn't have to move a boat too far. Not living on a lake sure makes it inconvenient to get out when you are crippled. I was going to go for an over nighter a few weeks ago but when the packing proved to be too strenuous I figured I better give it more time.

So, I had been wanting to get down to the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge to see the damage from last years forest fires and finally got my chance on Wednesday. It was a beautiful day for the 2.5 hour drive and I was lucky to see a sow griz with two cubs on the way. Besides the scenery and the joy of paddling, the highlights were the rainbow trout fishing and trying out my new chair and brewing a couple cups of coffee.

The trip starts on Watson Lake which is on the East Fork of the Moose River. The river is easily navigable for about three miles where Afanosi lake is. The current is slow but the lily pads sure slow you down. Getting through them I stand with a six foot paddle. It not only makes them easier to get through but you can see the best route to take.

The fishing was great, I caught many trout and was going to only keep one but that little guy wasn't going to make it so I kept him too. I was relieved to see that the fire only affected a small portion of the lake and didn't burn my old favorite campsite or greatly affect the view. I was also glad to have my new chair and will bring it on all my trips. The coffee did it's job and I remained alert for the drive home. I had almost 5 hours total of driving and 5 hours for my little trip. It was a very good day. Now I'm ready for an over night trip and I am hopeful to be able to do a trip with portages in September.

 

[Robin]

Those are some very nice pictures, looks like you picked a good day. Hope that back gets better, the way you hoisted that 18’ royalex up on your shoulders by yourself at my house I guess that was pre back injury?

 

[dougd]

Beautiful pictures Al! As a sufferer of a bad back I know your pain but glad to see you got out! That is a lot of lily pads to get through! Thanks for sharing!

 

[ppine]

The Kenai has everything. I had relatives there for decades around Soldotna and Sand Lake.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Nice pix. Nice canvas pack.

I paddled the main Moose on Kenai six years ago in a rented canoe from Alaska Canoe & Campgrounds in Sterling, which had an atrocious selection of junky paddles. Your route looks more interesting.

I lost all my hundreds of photos of my three weeks in Alaska when, on my very last day, I lost my camera after paddling among small icebergs on Portage Lake. Not my photo, but I would have had a lot like this from Portage Lake with the bow of an OT Penobscot in the foreground.

 

[lowangle al]

Thanks for the complements on the photos. For a place that isn't really dramatically scenic I seem to get some good photos there.

My back is getting better all the time Robin. I was recently able to lift an OT Tripper with no problem. I was between injuries when I was at your place.

Doug, The lily pads weren't actually that bad. I think they would have been worse a month or so ago before the pads rose out of the water. I know there are different kinds of lily pads, does anyone have this kind that come 2 feet out of the water?

Ppine the Kenai is a great place for recreation and I believe if you own property and are over 65 you don't pay property taxes.

Thanks Glen. I've paddled the main fork a couple of times, one time guiding a group of 6 retired guys. Two guys flipped their boat which I still can't figure out how that happened.
Too bad about your camera. I was on a river trip in the Alaska Range and took a group photo on a lunch break with the self timer and never picked up the camera.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Too bad about your camera. I was on a river trip in the Alaska Range and took a group photo on a lunch break with the self timer and never picked up the camera.

My episode was similar. It was seven hours before a midnight flight out of Anchorage. I had just paddled Portage Lake (which is fed by a calving glacier) and had stopped at a pull-out along the Portage River to take my last photos of the trip. I put my camera on the hood of the car, and then went off to do something else. Came back and drove away.

On the way back to Anchorage there was a moose near the road. I stopped for a photo. Where the heck is my 10 year old Pentax Optio? Looked all over the car and realized what must have happened. Drove all the way back to the pull-out, looked around, looked carefully around the road on the way back, but never saw it. For a few weeks afterward, at home, I scrutinized the lost & found section of the online Anchorage newspaper. Nothing.

The Eagle River was a sprightly run, very close to where I was staying at a childhood friend's house.