Stories from Southeast
Adventuring and Protecting on Our Public Lands
We made it. Finally floating down Baranof River. This was so much better than traveling through the thick brush. Never mind that we spent the last 3 hours rappelling alders and only covering a ¼ mile. It’s a lot of fun being an amateur packrafter: I get nervous and excited about the smallest rapids. I love moving with the pace of the river and the anticipation of what is coming up around the bend. From the air I wasn’t sure if Baranof River would be deep enough, but things are always different from the air and low draft of the packraft has no problem hovering over the boulders. Soon the small whitewater opens into Baranof Lake and we have to start paddling. However, this is a victory paddle and hot springs are our prize. It feels good to navigate a new route across Baranof, but I cheated.
