paddling.Jimstrutz.com © 2008
Chulitna River - Class II-III
Based on three trips, 2004 & 2005
My Chulitna pictures are here:
The Chulitna is a multi-faceted river. The usual put in starts out on the East Fork as a small clear water stream with good fishing, and a little white water; becomes a moderately large, and finally quite large glacial river that goes through several canyons and open braided sections. There is enough variety to keep everyone interested.
The Chulitna has been canoed, and at low water I think it would be fairly easy for competent, experienced white water canoeists. At normal flows there is a Class III section that starts just above where the railroad crosses, and continues for a half mile or so. If you're starting from the East Fork put in, these rapids are maybe 3-4 hours down. At low water, it's just a matter of rock dodging through this section & no more than class II whitewater at the most. However, low water creates its own set of challenges, and just getting a heavily loaded raft down the East Fork without getting stuck multiple times is a feat all its own. However, at high water the rapids get quite nasty. I would probably do it in an inflatable kayak, but it is a better ride in a large raft. I wouldn't even consider a canoe at high water, but I have friends who would.
The usual put in is mile 186 on the Parks Highway, near where the highway crosses the East Fork of the Chulitna. This is in the beginning of Broad Pass, with Cantwell at the far end of the pass. Some people have put in right at the bridge where the East Fork crosses the Parks Highway, but it is easier to drive south about a half mile to where there is a large gravel lot, and go back in to where the gravel lot meets the river. There is plenty of room to set everything up for the launch, although the the actual place to put boats in is rather bleak and swift.
There is no glacier water in the East Fork, and high water comes from rain or snow melt. There were several raft groups in here in June 2005 when it was very high from heavy snow melt, and some of these parties reported problems at the time. One person had to be rescued with a helicopter. There were two inflatable canoes in one group and they reported 10 foot waves. They hiked out just below here as they didn't want to enter the canyon sections at such high water. Other raft groups were there at nearly the same time & they reported that perhaps the other guys were exaggerating their predicament, so I really don't know. I do know that rivers I considered a serious challenge at one time seem fairly domestic to me now, so perhaps experience is part of the equation.
I floated it in July of 2005 shortly after the water had receded a bit, and the biggest problem was finding a place to camp in the upper section. There are very few good places to camp most times, and high water makes most of those disappear.
For the whole float you're never far from the highway, but there are not many put in or take out options. Hiking out in the middle of the trip is reported to be very difficult as the brush is terrible & the climbing steep. Retrieval of boats and equipment after such an evacuation is best done by relaunching a new trip from the top.
The addition of the West Fork turns the Chulitna into a medium sized river with some glacial silt. Shortly after this you enter the first steep walled canyon for a few miles. At high water there are some very turbulent corners, with a lot of water pushing you into the
Based on three trips, 2004 & 2005
My Chulitna pictures are here:
The Chulitna is a multi-
The Chulitna has been canoed, and at low water I think it would be fairly easy for competent, experienced white water canoeists. At normal flows there is a Class III section that starts just above where the railroad crosses, and continues for a half mile or so. If you're starting from the East Fork put in, these rapids are maybe 3-
The usual put in is mile 186 on the Parks Highway, near where the highway crosses the East Fork of the Chulitna. This is in the beginning of Broad Pass, with Cantwell at the far end of the pass. Some people have put in right at the bridge where the East Fork crosses the Parks Highway, but it is easier to drive south about a half mile to where there is a large gravel lot, and go back in to where the gravel lot meets the river. There is plenty of room to set everything up for the launch, although the the actual place to put boats in is rather bleak and swift.
There is no glacier water in the East Fork, and high water comes from rain or snow melt. There were several raft groups in here in June 2005 when it was very high from heavy snow melt, and some of these parties reported problems at the time. One person had to be rescued with a helicopter. There were two inflatable canoes in one group and they reported 10 foot waves. They hiked out just below here as they didn't want to enter the canyon sections at such high water. Other raft groups were there at nearly the same time & they reported that perhaps the other guys were exaggerating their predicament, so I really don't know. I do know that rivers I considered a serious challenge at one time seem fairly domestic to me now, so perhaps experience is part of the equation.
I floated it in July of 2005 shortly after the water had receded a bit, and the biggest problem was finding a place to camp in the upper section. There are very few good places to camp most times, and high water makes most of those disappear.
For the whole float you're never far from the highway, but there are not many put in or take out options. Hiking out in the middle of the trip is reported to be very difficult as the brush is terrible & the climbing steep. Retrieval of boats and equipment after such an evacuation is best done by relaunching a new trip from the top.
The addition of the West Fork turns the Chulitna into a medium sized river with some glacial silt. Shortly after this you enter the first steep walled canyon for a few miles. At high water there are some very turbulent corners, with a lot of water pushing you into the
Hurricane Bridge - Railroad
Chulitna Camping
