Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Chandalar Shelf to Venetie?

What's the feasibility of floating a raft from the Chandalar Shelf Airport (Chandalar Camp, Dalton Highway) to Venetie?

KC

I would be more worried about the villages out in that area. A lot of them are not very friendly to outsiders... To include regular Alaskans.. also a lot of them “rivers” are running low so might be whole bunch of dragging. If I were you I would hit up Larry Bartlett he will be able to tell you whatever you need to know.

There ain't enough money for this white boy to go to Venetie.

If you want to float an Alaska River, look into floating the Kanektok River from Pegati Lake down to Quinhagak . Fly commercial from Anchorage into Dillingham, charter a floatplane from Freshwater Adventures LINK to the headwater of Pegati Lake if you want to camp and fish for Lake trout, or have them drop you off at the outlet of the lake where the Kanektok River begins.

Roughly 90+ river miles down to Quihagak. Go the last week of June and you'll find that the Grayling are throughout the river along with big Rainbows and some Red Salmon. Two weeks later and you'll be encountering fresh Chum Salmon that will fight like crazy. They make great smoked salmon, too!

Last trip I made down the river we took two weeks to float that, spending several days at almost every stop.

Normally, you won't see another person other than a game warden and a Native Fisheries guy (traveling together) until you get down below the weir and then you'll start running into the temporary guided fishing operations. You have to camp on the gravel bars as all of the land is Native owned.

Every morning, about 10:00, two jetliners would cross the sky, one headed east, the other headed west. We would look up at them and say "Damned glad I'm here instead of up there!"

Once you get down to Quinhagak, you can catch a commercial plane to Bethel, then back to Anchorage.

You can rent rafts for this type of trip. If you do, I strongly suggest you rent catarafts, not "D" or "Oval" rafts. You will need all the maneuverability that a cataraft offers, plus it is far less tiring to run.

I owned my own cataraft, so that wasn't an issue.

It is one of the most serene places I have ever been in. We have seen Grizzlies, Caribou, Moose, and Beaver along the way. It is a crystal clear river whose depth will fool you if you think about wading...

Ed

Water from the shelf?? Floating ? Draging more like it...I've had wetter armpits.....watch the movie " naked prey" and pretend you are not the last guy in the movie ...cause u will be be one of the 3 prior lol ,....when u get to venetie take a trip around town and enter-duce yourself !

You like Quinhagak but don't like Venetie?!?!

I have friends from both places and they argue over which hates gusuqs the "best!"

I went on a nice week long float down the Goodnews River.
No hostiles encountered there. Plus saw 13 griz, fox, bou and salmon.

OK I kind of guessed that those problems might exist. The thing that looks inviting about this plan is that you could do it without using a bush plane. Hitch a ride (I haven't figured out how to do that) to Chandalar Shelf and float all the way to Venetie, then take the mail plan back to Fairbanks. But it doesn't sound like it's feasible.

KC

Yup. When you come into Quinhagak on the river, you get to the airport long before you get to town. Take out at the little landing there, pack your stuff up, walk into the "terminal" (read "shack") and sign up for the flight to Bethel.

If any of the locals want to see you, they will come find you, mostly to see what grocery items (or leftover booze) you want to give away. Be warned, Quinhagak is a "dry" village an bringing ANY alcohol into the village is a felony.

The Eskimo Ranger was a very friendly, helpful guy and the Natives there at the airport were also very friendly and outgoing. As opposed to Venetie where I received death threats just standing around at the airport.

Ed

I'm not aware of a waterway that you could possibly access at the Chandalar Shelf, and float to Venetie, or anywhere for that matter. Unfriendly locals are the least of your worries on that plan, 'cause you're not going anywhere from that starting point.

Jeff

Beware what the maps call "rivers" in the Brooks, and beware what the maps call "creeks" everywhere else...particularly as they pertain to wilderness travel...

Hey michiganroadkill,

Pardon me for asking, but where did you put in at, what time of year was it and how many bou did you see?

We crossed a creek once.. with extra tuffs on barely IIRC. Maybe 6-8 feet wide if my memory is correct. Thought we were still in our unit. Got lucky and didn't kill anything. Had a look at a map later at camp.... yeah I know.... , and found we had crossed a "river" and were not where we were supposed to be.

A pard and I floated the middle fork of the Chandalar just below Ackerman Lake down to the main river and were picked up on a gravel bar a little south of Venetie. We were told by a few people to NOT go there as we would not be welcome so we took their advice.

Heya KC,

There are some wonderful sights to be had up in that country. A couple educators ran one of my canoes, some 800-900 river miles from Nenana, past Venetie, and on up to Arctic Village. They're good people, and as guests to the region, they enjoy the communities of Venetie and Arctic Village:

https://chasingpiggens.wordpress.com/tanana-yukon-chandalar-2017/

Having dated a Gwich'in gal related to people from Venetie, Arctic Village, Aklavik, and Inuvik, I find the region to be very welcoming to guests. Good luck on your adventures. Always wanted to run my dog team up there in March. You're a lucky man if you pull the adventure off, some very untraveled country, wild. Also, I see that you may be a Marine Corps vet? If so, I could possibly link you up with some old war veterans out thatta way who could watch out for you, on whatever put-in/take-out you plan. Do your homework!

Well aren't you the playboy of the native villages.. running your hands through your long locks of hair telling them yes I use head and shoulders.. ol crazy Walt needs help over on AOD he's asking the same questions as well.. next time I'm in delta chicken gizzards on me at the iga!

I don't know nuffin about the Venetie run, except I spent a Looong and hostile day in Venetie a few decades back (1980) Another place I need never go again.

Nor do I know anything about the Kano, except from pics a CO friend showed me a few months ago. I'll be elk hunting with him 2nd rifle season. That looks like a great river, and he too commented on the clarity - said you could see bottom 20 feet down.

But I did spend 6 weeks on the Goodnews in 1980. Fabulous River! All 5 species of salmon (got it right this time, Art! ), rainbow, Dolly, grayling. Fly into Redfish Lake, float down to the village (which also isn't that friendly to whites). Puddle hopper to Bethel (I spent a week there one weekend....), Alaska Air back to Anchorage.

I was in a F&G camp about 17 miles up from the village, so didn't get around much - only down to the village a few times - only saw a couple griz in the whole time, and ptarmigan. I believe F&G put in a permanent cabin there the year or two after I was there- we were establishing a brand new fish counting site, out of a Weatherport, with only a Coleman to cook with, no heat. Fun! These modern kids are puzzies.....

Heya KC, my apologies on a more thorough follow-up. 79s had mentioned that your inquiries occurred on AOD as well, and it appears that you're attempting to rent equipment from a local company. I've no experience with Walt, nor know how all that equipment rental stuff works but I will say this about a wild river trip:

The fear of the unknown is real. It's what drives us to do these trips. These rivers in Alaska, they throw so much at us. Plan as we might, some guys don't make it back. Some loose all their gear. Planning for a trip is so important, as USGS mapping is based off 1954, and rivers have changed so much. The wildness and remoteness of our rivers, and the communities on them, are alluring. Racial tensions suck, they suck for everyone involved. Fear of one another on our own soil, not good. I've lived it, as I'm mixed race. Some adventurous idiot from a Catholic Italian neighborhood called.......you guessed it...... Little Italy(my father), decided to run up near the Canadian border and chased a Mi'kmaq Indian woman. Thus I was born, and spent a life-time being different than everyone. I've had racial tensions, even within my own bloodstream. At least it's AMERICAN. I love my country, so much so that I decided long ago, that I would register as a non-partisan/independent. I won't hate on my fellow Americans who are conservative, liberal, nor anywhere in between. Being a veteran, you were force-fed to work with every race, ethnicity, and type of person known to man, working together to do the nation's dirty work and better yourself.

You can handle a wild river in Alaska.

I remember drinking a beer with Gouex Vogt from Anchorage at his home many years ago. Gouex was an old man, originally from Louisiana, though I haven't seen him for many years, Gouex told stories of running the wildest rivers in Siberia, during hostile times back in the 70's and 80's. He had the thickest Cajun accent I've ever heard. It was about the river for him, and I believe he looked down the barrel of an AK-47 a time or two. Goeux made friends, goeux gained trust and respect. Goeux saw some wild country. It was a major risk, few of us would take.

Hudson Stuck, a white Catholic Arch Deacon, and an Athabascan named Walter Harper first summited North America's tallest peak together: Denali. That was the first ascent ever recorded. Don't let fear stop up adventure.

You're a veteran of our nation you deserve respect, and to enjoy the wild places our nation has to offer. Alaska Natives and American Indians have the highest rate of military service of any other group of people in the country. Indian country is littered with ole vets who are a little more versed about the world. The possibility of a close-minded intoxicated individual that's rude or aggressive is a possibility, even in places like Anchorage. If you floated down Cambell Creek, you may float right through a homeless encampment full of drug use, violence and theft.

Anyhoo, TCC in Fairbanks flies staff in and out of Venetie often for health related things. There are probably clinic staff like nurses and physicians assistants that fly up there often. Many of these staff are outsiders. If you ask enough people enough questions, maybe one or two tidbits of gold will occur:
https://www.tananachiefs.org/contact/village-contacts/

The school system has folks flying to and from that region and I already linked a blog of some of their educators that already ran a lot of that country by boat:
http://www.yukonflats.net/Yukon-Flats-School-Locations.html

I just ran into Brian Hirsch yesterday. Years ago, he worked up there on a renewable energy project. He spent years traveling up there:
https://www.adn.com/commentary/article/partial-solution-rural-alaska-energy-challenges/2015/10/25/

https://www.deerstoneconsulting.com/

A raft rental guy from outside Glennallen may not be the ideal source of information. He's never been up there, nor does he seem to know anyone up there. You may consider doing some of your own homework, as it sound's like he's reluctant to rent you gear, based on his own fear of the unknown, solidifying his decision based off AOD forum input, which is slightly lame.........