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Boundary Waters / Quetico Discussion Forums >> Other Places to Paddle >> AK Swan Lake wilderness https://quietjourney.com/community/YABB.cgi?num=1339120845 Message started by old_salt on Jun 8^th, 2012 at 2:00am

Title: AK Swan Lake wilderness
Post by old_salt on Jun 8^th, 2012 at 2:00am

The attached video is from the Swan Lake Canoe Wilderness on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. It's not a trip I've made, but is on the list of places I would like to go. It looks a little like WCPP, but is definitely colder and further north. The fish are trout, Lakers, and some salmon. The Alaskans have a unique approach using inflatables. But canoes are also used. Enjoy!

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Title: Re: AK Swan Lake wilderness
Post by db on Jun 8^th, 2012 at 6:44am

Can you give us a better link? ...

Title: Re: AK Swan Lake wilderness
Post by old_salt on Jun 8^th, 2012 at 7:19pm

Seems to be a broken link. I'm not very good with cut & paste. I get glue all over my fingers. So, here is the long way around the barn. Go to:

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Click on 'Alaska Canoeing'. Scroll to Swan Lake Canoe Trail video. Scroll to link. Click on link.

Title: Re: AK Swan Lake wilderness
Post by db on Jun 9^th, 2012 at 5:35pm

This one?
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Title: Re: AK Swan Lake wilderness
Post by old_salt on Jun 10^th, 2012 at 9:20pm

You're the man! db. Or da boss. :dankk2 :thumbup :thumbup

Title: Re: AK Swan Lake wilderness
Post by db on Jun 11^th, 2012 at 4:59am

Those portages looked nice and wide but I'd be afraid to portage an inflatable. Pfft. Hisssss. :o

Title: Re: AK Swan Lake wilderness
Post by old_salt on Jun 11^th, 2012 at 3:39pm

Ya, me too. I would use a traditional canoe. There is an outfittter or two at Sterling, AK that rents both.

Title: Re: AK Swan Lake wilderness
Post by portage dog on Jun 26^th, 2012 at 1:12am

Thanks for the link OS (...and db). Neat trip, very low area, a bit swampy. I spoke with a fellow that I got some gear from off paddling.net that had done a trip up there. He said the BW/Q it ain't. Other than being a bit spongy on terrain, he said it was quite noisy, aircraft wise. You're on the approach to Anchorage and basically in bowl surrounded by the mountains and the sounds are bounced around and magnified he said. A decent trip he said, but would take the BW/Q over that any day for quiet and solitude. Hope you make up there if it's on your list.

Our August '11 trip down the Copper River From Chitina to the Million Dollar bridge was pretty cool, but rafts for sure. Too swift and cold a river to canoe like 45 degrees F! If you were to dump, there's almost no chance of making any kind of decent recovery. It's glacial fed, very silty and fishing is almost impossible. It was a scenic killer of a trip, though! Twenty mile views for days. Awesome experience.

pd