Our float trips will start with a forty-five
minute flightseeing trip over the Tanana Hills. The first part of
the flight will be in a four-place plane to a gravel strip and then
a short flight in a two place Super Cub from the larger strip to
a short gravel bar on the upper Goodpaster or Salcha River. From
there it is a leisurely five-day float on the upper 50 to 60 miles
(81 - 97 km)
of one of these wild and scenic clearwater rivers. Grayling fishing
is phenomenal with fish in the 16 to 18 inch (40.6 to 45.7
cm) range very common.
The majority of our float trip area has seen little trace of man
since the early 1900's gold rush era.
Wildlife
Sightings Abound
The boreal forest along these rivers has a variety of wildlife.
You can expect to see moose, caribou, black or grizzly bear, and
possibly wolves. Several of our float trip visitors have seen wolves
-- the highlight of anybody's trip. These expeditions are in extreme wilderness
with no contact with man except by satellite phones which we carry
for emergencies. Along the route you can visit hundred year old
trapping and mining cabins. On another historical note, the Goodpaster
River was the route for a telegraph line from Fairbanks to Eagle
in the early 1900s. Both this river and the Salcha river run through the summer
range of the Fortymile Caribou Herd which is going through some
unique wildlife management, including non-lethal predator control.
The herd has increased as a result of this work.
An Intimate Wilderness
Experience - Fully Guided or Drop Off The float trip will be limited to four to six people using two or
three canoe rafts which carry about 1500 pounds (680 kg) each, and a kayak
raft. Only one float trip party is scheduled on each river at a
time. Fully guided trips are available as well as unguided drop-offs.
At the end of the float trip you are once again flown from a gravel
bar back to Delta in a four-place Cessna.
To insure the preservation
of the beauty and wildness of these rivers we adhere to Leave No Trace principles.
