We went on a jeboat tour today of the Susitna River, with Mahay Jetboat Tours. This is an all day adventure, as we will be on the boat for about 5 ½ hours. The tour takes us 65 miles upriver to Devil’s Canyon, where we will enjoy some class IV and class IV rapids!
Not too long after we started the trip, we saw a black bear
crossing the river! He was jumping out of the water onto the bank to get away
from us – cool!
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The tour guide was very informative about the area, pointing
out homes and telling about how some of the people along the river live off the
grid. Some of the homes are only accessible by boat and by the Alaska Railroad,
which runs along the river. His family came to Talkeetna in the 1970’s to
homestead some land, and they never left.
When we reached the rapids, Sam was super excited! This was
his favorite part of the trip! We rode
up the rapids, and the boat stopped in front of a class VI rapid! The boat
operator held the boat in position while everyone took photos – awesome!
During the trip, we also saw another black bear walking along the shore. He was watching us closely to make sure we didn’t come after him! We also saw a moose swimming through the river, along with four different bald eagle sightings.
We stopped on the trip back at a small island they had setup
to demonstrate some native Alaskan camping and living conditions. The other
tour guide, a young woman who was also born and raised in Talkeetna,
accompanied us on this portion of the tour, carrying a 12 gauge shotgun over
her shoulder. She said it is bear country, and they never go in the woods
without being armed, just in case!
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