Scattered Showers and Good Company

Day 3

It rained overnight. I woke up to overcast skies, the sun trying to break through. It was a nice morning, the sun peeking through while we ate breakfast. The valley seemed unsteady, ready for a change.

We had already decided we were going to spend the day walking, so we packed up our bags and got moving. We followed a well packed bear trail. Pooberry pies (aka bear poop filled with berries) were everywhere. We called out to the bear to make sure he wasn’t travelling the same trail we were. In some places on the trail it was only worn down in footprints, where the bear had stepped in the same place repeatedly.

We continued through on game trails, willow, and gravel bars. Always looking to be on the path of least resistance, anything to not go through willow patches.

The rain came and it quickly dampened our parade. We had no choice but to move through it. My backpack felt like a bag of bricks and would not situate to a comfortable position.

We ate lunch high up on a ridge as we began to feel a little chilly. Lunch was quiet as we battled our demons that came in forms of heavy packs, wet weather, and route finding.

After lunch we continued. We came down off the ridge we were on onto gravel bars for flatter walking. We moved quickly on the welcoming surface of gravel, fording small streams when we had to.

Finally I had had it. I needed a break, so I dumped my pack to the ground and I sat on it and rested. My spine decompressed as I sighed in relief. It ended up being a good spot to rest. Really, we all needed it, but mostly that there was a Dall sheep horn sitting on the gravel bar. Just feet from that, there was a caribou shed. We admired the sheds and ate a snack while we rested.

One last time we cleaned and jerked our backpacks on. And walked downriver. The river took a bend to the left and we had to either get up on the tundra above or start floating. The banks were steep and it was getting later in the day. We thought about it together and decided this would be a good place to finally put our boats in, but we would get up on the ridge and scout the river.

Since it was later in the day, we decided it was best to start packrafting fresh the next day. So we set up camp and then E and I went up onto the ridge above.

We climbed up the steep bank and were welcomed by a tussock, tundra field at the top. Not the most pleasant walking, but the blueberries were abundant and delicious.

The two of us made our way down the ridge to get a better look at the river. It still looked shallow in places, but most channels looked like something we could packraft! The excitement of not having to sling on my pack the next day was wonderful. We took in the view and then walked back down to camp.

We ate dinner along the banks of the Alatna. It was everyone’s favorite meal, mac n cheese, though I made the fatal mistake of not having enough to fill everyone up! We enjoyed each other’s company and then parted to our tents for bed.