Killik River, Alaska (2000)
Scansport,
On short notice, my partner Linda and I were invited on a trip to boat on the Killik River in Alaska. There were several problems regarding this trip. Though we had tripped in my 40 year old Old Town Guide canoe, we had never paddled white water together, nor did we have a boat in Alaska. We bought airline tickets without resolving the problem of a boat, and I searched for river transportation.
Because of the restrictions for carrying hard-shell boats on bush planes, the available craft for hire in the Brooks Range was mainly inflatables. Having grown up with an Old Town, I resisted this offer in search of a more nimble craft.
When I came across the Pakboat web site, I had a feeling in my gut that the Pakboat could be a boat that I would be happy paddling. I walked over to my local REI in Salt Lake City, and from their customer service desk, phoned the store in Anchorage. They had a 17′ Pakboat. I asked the sales assistant in Anchorage “are folks happy with their Pakboats”, and when he responded without hesitation, I bought the boat.
We saw our boat for the first time as we unloaded it from the Beaver float plane, many miles north of the Arctic Circle. Our friends had boated Alaskan rivers in FeatherCraft and Klepper kayaks, and wondered how we would fare in our canoe.
Linda and I paddled the class II+ river with cautiously at first, but each day with more confidence. The “roller coaster” effect of the flexing canoe was a blast over standing waves, and the stiffness fore and aft with the trimming we accomplished by loading the canoe in the center made for a maneuverable boat.
We impressed our kayaking friends with our speed, maneuverability, and enviable load carrying capacity – we carried more than our share. I think that these friends will try to include a Pakboat on all their kayak trips from now on.
For a long time I have not been excited about any other boat than my Old Town Wood and Canvas canoe. Linda and I are looking forward to more trips in our Pakboat.
-John Lee and Linda Peer,
Salt Lake City, UT