Chapter-4

Actual River With Forest Debris

Convergence
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Remembering those final moments as I stood on submerged trees chest deep in the strong currents of the cold murky glacial river. With one hand I held the rope to my kayak which floated behind me, and with my other hand I held on to branches of fallen trees sticking out of the water all around me. Beneath the dark waters my feet felt for tree trunks to step on trying to make some kind of forward progress. I looked to my left only to see a four foot high vertical shore line with its many fallen root systems of trees whose very foundation had eroded away by the powerful river current presenting a formidable obstacle that dropped straight down beneath the river’s surface. I considered what it would take to climb out onto the shore line and realized that it was impossible because there was nothing to stand on that would allow me to reach the crumbling river bank; even as I surveyed an escape route, large sections of dark sandy soil would drop off into the river as the erosive process continued very rapidly.

Ahead of me was the lead edge of the small island I was next to. Like the bow of an eroding ship, this little island I was next to, parted the glacial river into two branches, one branch about a mile wide with a very strong current and the other branch fifty feet across with a similar strong current. My only choice was to try and get into the smaller of the two rivers but my forward progress by trying to walk on submerged trees was made difficult by the many trees that I couldn't see but only feel with my feet; in this I tried to advance toward the divide in the river. Right where the lead edge of the small island was, an accumulation of many dead trees had piled up creating a shield against the river’s ability to quickly erode the small island but these many trees stuck out into the river forty to fifty feet where the current was most forceful; there was no way that I could get over the log jam created by the trees and for every step I took forward I found my kayak getting jammed in the trees and branches near the surface. I would try and pull my kayak over the branches trying to be careful not to puncture the hull with the sharp broken ends of trees; I pulled my kayak as I stepped forward to find there was nothing under my foot and suddenly found myself in waters over my head being pushed down stream along with my kayak. This process of trying to pull my kayak through a jumble of broken branches and trees on the river’s surface and slipping and falling under water was taking its toll of the last of my strength.

I stopped and finally tried to get as close to the log jam in front of the island; here the current's strength was blocked by the pile of dead tress stacked up. I waited and tried to catch my breath; as I did I noticed that the river bank next to the lead edge of the island was still too high to climb up on but not so high that my hand couldn't get near the top. I gathered the rope to my kayak and pulled it over some branches just behind me. Once my kayak was next to me I could reach the camp gear stored on the back end; I realized that the speed and agility of my kayak that I had been familiar with was being compromised by all the weight of the camp gear I had packed on the rear of the kayak, especially the six gallons of water I knew I would need for this journey. Carefully, I balanced on a submerged tree about three feet below the water line, yet about six feet from the upper edge of the shore line. I looked up to the grassy surface of the island’s lead edge and simply decide to to unload as much of my gear as I could. Much of my gear was hanging askew off the back of the kayak creating a lot of drag to any movement made in the river. I remember lifting one three gallon water container and throwing it on to the grassy lead edge and with it went my camp stove and totally wet duffel bag with my extra clothing. I had reached the point where I had no strength to care about what happened to this gear I put on the island or if I would ever see it again; I simply had to let go of a lot and this I did simply in an effort to survive..

The actual glacial river of the convergence with shot of small island and the areas of stilt and quick sand.

Now with my gear unloaded from the kayak I found it to sit higher in the water, I still couldn't climb up to my gear and even if I could, I had no way to securely get my kayak out of the waters. Why would I care to take my kayak out of the water rather than just let it float with the rope secure to a tree far from the river’s edge? In the picture above you have to understand that the trees and log that you see had to get to where they were either in a log jam or caught on a sand bar and to do so they must float. The reality of floating trees and logs made a dangerous river not only a hazard form swift currents but it turned the river into a perpetually moving obstacle course. Many people are familiar with how heavy large trees are, and when you put these weighty objects in a powerful river, you have to imagine what it is like to stop a rolling truck by hand when you have nothing to stand on but roller skates. My kayak may be nineteen feet long but it is made of fragile wood which would be crushed instantly by any of the many floating trees in this river.

The time was fast approaching nine thirty PM, the sun was occasionally shining through the high alto cumulus clouds. My wet suit had been a real life saver for the lengthy time in the cold glacial waters but going a long time without eating and frequent dehydration had made me feel weak and tired after such a long battle with this river of nightmares. I had no other choice with the position I was in. My kayak was now lighter as I waited behind the wide forty foot long log jam that was blocking the strongest part of the river's current that lay just beyond the lead edge. Could I do it? Would it be possible to get in my kayak leaving all my gear behind and try and beat a current that was flowing faster than I could run, a flow with a speed I have never been able to paddle fast enough to beat? I balanced myself with a protruding branch and got into my kayak holding the tree branch to steady myself in the mild current just behind the log jam. I sat waiting and watching the huge curling wake in the swift dark muddy waters at the end of the protective log jam blockade making a slurping sucking sound like a hungry beast ready to swallow anything that entered its huge dark rolling tongue. If I lose to the swift dark current, I will be swept down a river into the depths of the Alaskan bush and on to a mightier convergence when it flowed into the Yukon River and finally weeks later into the Arctic Ocean. If I win, it would be a miracle.!

To Be Continued In Chapter 5

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Convergence

Actual River With Forest Debris

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