Float Hunting: Dangers of the River

[Johnboy]

I went on a float hunt in northern AK for the first time in September 2016. My buddy and I killed a 63" bull moose on day 2, and with the extra 800+ lbs of cargo in our raft, maneuvering became more difficult, and at times unnerving. There was a long stretch of river ahead of us that was going to be swifter, more winding with lots of sweepers on the bends. We ended up being picked up early (day 5 of a planned 10 days) and far upstream of our originally planned takeout location because we felt like we'd achieved our primary goal and saw no reason to take any unnecessary risks.

We're heading back this September for a very similar hunt in the same region. We have some rafting/rowing practice planned this spring and summer, and we plan to be as ready as possible for whatever we might encounter on the river.

I thought I'd toss this out here for discussion. What are some of the dangers you've encountered while hunting on rivers, and what did you do to stay safe and dry?

 

[Larry Bartlett]

In that country waterbourne illness is a high potential. Boil AND purify your water.

Tie up your raft, every time you leave it. I've had small bears play and push my rafts, and if untied you could be easily stranded. Bears on salmon rivers see a lot of rafters before hunting season, and they are trained that we bring goodies and playful trinkets. If blood odors enter the equation...tie off your raft.

stay aware of bears, especially in areas with high grass like South and Western AK. Later in the season in September, bears frequently drag their catch up onto a grassy bank to feed and bed nearby in thickets. Some of the closest bear encounters I've had have been in that region of the state during moose season.

Be respectful of natives and different views and push through impatience and frustration.

Be prepared for rain.

Call moose to you and where you can safely dismember it. In that country shooting a bull where you find it vs where you want are often vastly different ground types.

lb

 

[PNWGATOR]

Sweepers command my full respect. Floating a heavily laden, often sluggish, raft necessitates your attention.
Mike Strahan’s Float Hunting Alaska’s Wild Rivers is a great resource.

 

[Redside]

If you can, take a swiftwater rescue course, something similar to what these guys offer below. You'll learn a lot about different dangers like sweepers, entrapment ect. Also learn basic rope work like a 3:1. You'll swim in the river practice other rescue techniques. It's good course for river runners.

Getting as much river time as you can this summer is a good idea. You'll learn to read water better, row better know when to push vs pull.

https://www.whitewaterrescue.com/

I'd love to combine a river trip/moose hunt someday. Good luck!

 

[Achigan1]

New guy here at ROK but not new to rafting / floating. Absolutely agree with the comment about swiftwater rescue class - I've participated in several and you will gain a new respect for the power of moving water.

Also agree strainers / sweepers deserve respect and all the room you can give them.

Rivers can and do rise unexpectedly - dragging the raft up and tying it off securely as high as you can get it is a good idea - we awoke one night in Alaska to a gentle rain (where we were) and decided to check the raft. Said raft was fully afloat and by daylight we were rapidly running out of island - had the raft not been tied up very well that could have been a long walk out.

Escounting might help these days but we (I say we - I was on the oars) picked the wrong channel one afternoon on an AK float down in the lower river braids. River kept braiding and getting smaller until we ran out of water - the few hours it took us to get back to the main channel in brown bear central was ax experience I don't want to relive.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

Where do you live now? I've found that even if you can't get a raft and crew, throwing on a wetsuit, helmet, and PFD (Lower 48 Personal Flotation Device, not a Permanent Fund Dividend) and boogie boarding smaller rivers has really taught me a lot about reading a river.

Learning is important. A good Swiftwater Rescue class is very valuable. Additionally, learn about how to wade in shallow water. It sounds intuitive, but there are techniques to make it easier, safer, and more stable.

Use a paddle, oar, or other probe to determine the depth of water you can't see the bottom of. One of our guys learned that just because the water on the Starboard side is ankle deep, doesn't mean that the Port side is the same. He went in up to his neck.

Wear your life jacket. If you hate it, get a different one. I've recovered a lot of drowning victims, very few had life jackets on.

Never tie yourself to your boat. Period.

Get a throwbag and learn to use it. Practice with it. Learn to stuff it. Learn to re-coil the rope and throw it again.

 

[Brian in AK]

To help answer your question, what type of raft were you using? If you were both in one big raft you might look at getting two rafts and splitting the load. Would be much more maneuverable.

 

[Beendare]

Wow...some good advice above.

I would agree, Running rivers with an experienced guy...or taking that class is the ticket. Hopefully you won't need it BUT its Nice to know how not to get Maytagged [reading a river is a skill] ....or extracting a wrap

 

[Johnboy]

To help answer your question, what type of raft were you using? If you were both in one big raft you might look at getting two rafts and splitting the load. Would be much more maneuverable.

We rented a Levitator from Larry for the first trip and have one reserved for the upcoming trip.

 

[Johnboy]

Also agree strainers / sweepers deserve respect and all the room you can give them.

This is my main concern. On the last trip, we never got down to the section where the trees were continuously tight to the river banks, so sweepers were few. But we grew concerned about the potential for them downstream because we observed how difficult it was to influence the route of the heavily loaded raft through the twists and bends of the river. There were at least a few times in which, if there had been a sweeper or log pileup in the middle of a bend, we might have been in trouble.

 

[Johnboy]

stay aware of bears, especially in areas with high grass like South and Western AK. Later in the season in September, bears frequently drag their catch up onto a grassy bank to feed and bed nearby in thickets. Some of the closest bear encounters I've had have been in that region of the state during moose season.

Funny you should mention bears, Larry. About 5 minutes after we killed the bull, a grizzly showed up within 20 yards of the downed animal. We thought for sure it was going to steal our kill, and darkness was falling quickly. We waited and watched the bear slowly mosey on downstream, quickly hiked back to camp, got our (your) raft, floated back down to the kill on the far side of the river and made our approach. The bear was nowhere in sight, and thankfully never returned. But it sure made for a tense night of slicing up the moose!

 

[Johnboy]

I took some screenshots from video I captured. The downed bull is buried in the willows on the near side of the bear in these photos.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Dos XX]

I don't know where you are located, but these guys give rowing lessons on the river and they do swift water rescues classes. I got swift water rescue certified. there. The class was civilians like me as well as several Rangers. I think they were Black Canyon Rangers. Those guys were advanced students for sure. I think they were there to keep there certification current. It was well worth it.

https://www.dvorakexpeditions.com/

 

[Johnboy]

I don't know where you are located, but these guys give rowing lessons on the river and they do swift water rescues classes. I got swift water rescue certified. there. The class was civilians like me as well as several Rangers. I think they were Black Canyon Rangers. Those guys were advanced students for sure. I think they were there to keep there certification current. It was well worth it.

https://www.dvorakexpeditions.com/

I live in Wisconsin. There are some decent rivers around here. Perhaps I can find something similar closer to home.

 

[Brian in AK]

One thing you can do is float the river ahead of time and gps mark all the areas of concern, being such a remote river that's really not feasible. That said, if the pilot would fly the river route en-route to the drop off spot you could see what your up against. Call the flight service several times this summer and ask about the river conditions, ask them to survey the river any chance they get. Maybe Larry will have some intel from other floaters he can pass on to you?

While the Levitator is capable of hauling two hunters, their gear, and a couple moose you will find it very sluggish while loaded that heavy. I would recommend using two rafts and splitting your load, twice as many oars in the water...

 

[snowcamoman]

I used to be a rafting and fishing guide, but have done quite a lot of my own float hunts as well. If at all possible, take another raft with you, even a small raft that you can float inside a bigger raft is handy. Once you get an animal down, being able to put a few hundred pounds of meat inside another raft, plus a guy rowing makes it a LOT safer and maneuverable. Be extra careful to watch downriver and give yourself plenty of time to row to safety. Many people underestimate how much power it takes to row a meat laden raft plus gear to a safe spot, especially when the current is faster and the situation gets stressful. Always have a throw bag on the raft and be sure to practice throwing it a few times. Inspect the raft frame for any sharp burrs or threaded bolt heads sticking up. I've seen many a good wader ripped open on day 1 from those things. Throw a wrap of tape or an NRS strap around them to protect your waders. If you start off the trip with damaged waders and wet clothes, it can go downhill fast from there in terms of comfort and mindset. Be extra careful getting into and out of the rafts. Most round-boat type rafts, and even catarafts have a hand-line around them. Those lines are very useful, but can easily snag a boot heal and put you in the water fast. Always bring a spare oar and have it easily accessed and strapped to the side frame of the raft. Check to make certain that every single drybag and piece of gear in the raft is lashed down or has a strap through a handle. There's nothing worse than getting into rougher water and having to stop rowing to grab a bag floating down the river. Stay hydrated!!! It's too easy to sit on a cold, wet raft all day rowing and not put fluids into your system. Have a Nalgene bottle nearby to keep pushing fluids. Getting cramps while rowing is no joke and will make it very difficult to safely get a boat down the river. Be able to have fast access to fire making supplies. If someone goes into the water and fills up their waders, being able to quickly make a big fire is priceless. Get into camp with daylight! Don't try to row down a river with the light vanishing on you. I've seen boats floating by my camp as the daylight is fading fast and I'm always concerned for their safety. Being able to spot sleeper rocks in a river with low light is difficult and trying to get a raft off of a big, flat rock in the middle of a river is very dangerous, especially when it's dark out. Also, people start to make more foolish decisions when they're cold and hungry from sitting all day on a boat. Plan ahead and try to make camp and setup tents in the light.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

There is a free app called "river data lite". It has 269 river gauges in Alaska. If your river is listed there, or others in the region, you may be able to use it from home as your trip approaches to understand the levels in the river prior to your trip. If levels are unseasonably high or low, you may be able to plan ahead and adjust your plans.

 

[Achigan1]

Forgot the spare oar - good catch. A spare oar in two pieces hidden in the bottom of the boat is better than nothing but not by much. I too like my spare (put together lol) hung with quick release straps on the port side of the frame, blade forward.
If you row enough you will catch a downstream blade on the bottom,a rock or a snag and eject an oar. I have broken a blade a couple of times and beat the snot out of a brand new drift boat once at low water after an oar launch. A fully loaded raft with one oar makes you a passenger.

 

[Dhosera]

PM Sent Johnboy .....You and I have talked in the past

 

[Johnboy]

PM Sent Johnboy .....You and I have talked in the past

Got it! Responded!