Resurrection River is a large river on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska that empties into the Resurrection Bay in Seward. With beautiful wilderness surrounding us , this river rafting was another of those “once in a life time experiences” we had decided to take up.
We had booked online from India with Kenai Backcountry Adventures for this half day rafting expedition.
On the appointed day, Pierce, our guide arrived at our hotel to pick us up. We had been advised to dress in layers for the cold and also have rain protective gear which we were prepared with. He drove us to their office and there, we had to complete some consent forms and other formalities. Travis , the guy at the office helped us with the formalities.
Meanwhile, Pierce was getting his equipment ready and stacking his bag with all essential things. Soon, he asked us to change into gumboots and also got us our life jackets . Then again he drove us down to the starting point of the adventure. Leaving the vehicle behind, we accompanied Pierce and Travis down a slightly slippery slope onto the river where the expedition started.
The starting point of the rafting adventure
This was an interactive, team adventure that involved everyone paddling the raft with precise direction from the guide. That added to the thrill of the trip as we got to manouvre the raft ourselves.
We were the only two booked for this adventure on that day and so we had a cosy private rafting trip!! Pierce gave us some safety instructions and ensured that our life jackets were properly worn. Soon we were on the raft all charged up to row down the river.
Pierce first instructed us on handling the paddles and how it was important to lock our feet below the seats to prevent being thrown out in case of strong currents. Then he demonstrated the various paddle strokes like “forward”, “back” and commands like “stop”, “rest”, “start” etc. There were ropes on the sides of the raft to which we had to hold on at the rapids where the raft could turn suddenly or violently because of the sudden gush of water.
All set to start the adventure…
We started rowing and initially the strokes were not synchronous and Pierce alerted us about it. Soon we got used to the rhythm and were comfortable.
Pierce said that every trip he did was different as the river was constantly changing through the dynamic landscape. The river was surrounded by towering mountains on both sides. The scenery was awesome. Got to see some waterfalls as we rowed along.
Serene nature….
We called it “Bald Eagle Day” as we saw plenty of them resting on the small shrubs along the sides of the river. We would row close to them and they would sense it and take off before we reached. Had some fun with the eagles as we rowed along.
A Bald Eagle …he was unhappy with us!!
We also got a glimpse of Exit Glacier as we rowed along. A more sunny day would have made the views clearer though!!!
Exit Glacier views
Gradually we reached the deeper parts of the river and faced some stiff currents. Take a look…
The Resurrection river flows swiftly by…
A small photo halt as we neared the rapids (with approval from Pierce)
We also got to see a glimpse of the Resurrection peaks though it was very foggy as we crossed them.
Resurrection peaks covered by fog
Manouvering the rapids and keeping ourselves on board the raft, we continued the adventure. At places, small trees had fallen down and were obstructing the path. At such places, Pierce would get down in knee deep water and walk along the sides to see which way we could best row along. If possible he would move the fallen trunks out of the way.
Pierce had a small surprise up his sleeve too. He asked us to get the raft alongside at a shallow spot and get down. He and Travis hauled the raft up on to the shore and set up a mini picnic of sorts. He had some hot chocolate in a flask and some goodies too. We all really enjoyed it in the cold weather and occassional drizzle.
Picnic by the resurrection banks with Pierce (left) and Travis.
As we sipped the drink, we enjoyed the scenery around too. Some pictures for you….
Alaskan wilderness for you!!….
After the much needed break, we boarded the raft again and continued the adventure and reached the end point of the rafting. There again we had a small surprise. There was a small pool of water and there were some salmon there.
Salmon swimming around and dead slamon on the right..they die after spawning
Tad tired, but with a feeling of fullfilment we got off the raft and posed for a picture ….
The smile of having completed the adventure successfully…
Returning back to the office, we collected our things and were dropped back at our hotel.
This was really a novel adventure; escaping into the Alaskan Wilderness on a raft…enjoyed every bit of it. Hope you too got the feel of the rafting experience. See you soon with more unique adventures. Till then, do keep your comments and feedback flowing like the rapids on the Resurrection river…
Travel-along.in 