Little Nelchina/Tazlina

[ReAnn]

Headed to the Little Nelchina and Tazlina for the first time in a few days. Any reports? Anything to be aware of?? TIA


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[Gulkana Rafting]

You should have a great trip! The Little Nelc is running full which is a blessing. The first 2 miles look for sweepers on every turn. As the main Nelchina enters the lake it will become very braided so expect to have to drag a bit. Cross the lake in the morning or evening as the afternoon becomes windy and dangerous.

Enjoy!

Walt
Gulkana River Raft Rentals
907-259-4290

[ReAnn]

Thanks so much, Walt!! Looking forward to a nice float


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[Talcub]

On Sunday afternoon the Little Nelchina was deffinitley flowing hard. Be very carefull on this stretch as there will be lots of sweepers with enough flow to get you in trouble! Have fun!

[lak]

Perhaps this is a silly question, but can i safely do this Float trip in my Pioneer Pro? Have been looking at it for awhile and i'm open this weekend and would like to get away from the crowd of Valdez...The Pinks are in...

[Jim Strutz]

Pro Pioneer is certainly capable of running that trip, but doing it safely has more to do with your skill. It is possible to get caught sideways against a low sweeper in the little Nel or against a rock in the Tazlina. For that reason a conventional raft might be safer, but that is true anywhere. If you are comfortable driving the PP it should be a good trip. One of my favorites.

[akfarmer]

Nelchina / tazlina update; floated down on July14-17.
little Nelchina had a couple of sweepers that required lining a cataraft along river right for a sharp 90 degree turn to the right at a couple of partial log jams. River was not completely blocked but at the moderate to higher flows they would be difficult to avoid. The Tazlina had lots of larger wave trains and some haystacks. There was a pretty big hole on the river right of house rock that you would probably want to avoid though! All in all a great trip at current water flows. Definitely a trip for experienced paddlers.

[jwiso12]

what size cataraft did you take?

[Gulkana Rafting]

We rent our 14 footers for that trip and always include a kicker plate for the lake crossing. Remember to stay office the lake if the wind has picked up which is the norm in the afternoon

[jwiso12]

We rent our 14 footers for that trip and always include a kicker plate for the lake crossing. Remember to stay office the lake if the wind has picked up which is the norm in the afternoon

We are hunting moose with 4 people and I am worried that 2 14ft rafts wouldn't be able to handle the weight of the meat, people and gear. what do you recommend? We have 2 moose hunters and all 4 will carry bear tags.

[Gulkana Rafting]

Look at picking up another 14 footer or taking a rolled up 16 foot SOAR. Ours fit in a duffel bag and weigh 76 pounds. The reality is filling 4 moose tags is difficult at best.

[ChugiakTinkerer]

There are loads of discussions on this forum on what is the ideal raft for moose hunting. My take on reading many of those is that on slow rivers a 14' round raft is probably adequate for two hunters, their gear, and one moose. If you have big hunters, lots of gear, a huge moose, or a fast river then it's gonna be a bit more challenging, if not dangerous, trying to get that all down the river safely.

Were it me, I'd probably go ahead and run this float with a cataraft freighter and a round raft. You might end up doing some additional work in the Little Nelchina getting the cataraft around any log jams but you'd have the ability to carry all the cargo. Best thing would be to float it in the summer and see exactly what the conditions are.

[jwiso12]

Look at picking up another 14 footer or taking a rolled up 16 foot SOAR. Ours fit in a duffel bag and weigh 76 pounds. The reality is filling 4 moose tags is difficult at best.

we are hunting 2 moose and 3 bear tags.

[jwiso12]

There are loads of discussions on this forum on what is the ideal raft for moose hunting. My take on reading many of those is that on slow rivers a 14' round raft is probably adequate for two hunters, their gear, and one moose. If you have big hunters, lots of gear, a huge moose, or a fast river then it's gonna be a bit more challenging, if not dangerous, trying to get that all down the river safely.

Were it me, I'd probably go ahead and run this float with a cataraft freighter and a round raft. You might end up doing some additional work in the Little Nelchina getting the cataraft around any log jams but you'd have the ability to carry all the cargo. Best thing would be to float it in the summer and see exactly what the conditions are.

I just moved down south and cant make a run in the summer. I was planning on a cat and a 16ft self bailer. you think that is overkill?

[ChugiakTinkerer]

Overkill? Ain't no such thing! Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

Jim Strutz has a nice write-up on this float, but it looks like his web site is down. I'm pretty sure he took a couple big boats like you're planning.

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