Q & K Go Camping

And live to tell about it.

Our friends Sam and Kendra are the king and queen of the outdoors. They rock climb, ride mountain bikes, and go rafting and camping all the time. Q is very outdoorsy. I am not. So when Sam asked us if we wanted to come along for a weekend rafting trip, Q was surprised that I was the one that said yes immediately. In my eyes, if I’m going to go camping for the first time in 15 years, I might as well do it in the Alaskan wilderness, the most beautiful, untouched land around.

It started on Friday with a 3 hour drive down to the Delta River. We left one car at our end point and drove the other car to the start, 30 miles away. Sam and Kendra were each in a kayak and Q and I were in a 2-person boat. All of the things we needed for the weekend were attached to our boats and we were off. We paddled almost 5 miles the first day and set up camp next to the water. It was so peaceful. I’ve never been surrounded by so much beauty. The photos don’t even do it justice. We made some campfire food (dehydrated food where you just add water), made some s’mores and called it a night. Q and I slept in a 3-person tent. My question is how small do the people have to be to have that be a 3-person tent? With Q and I in the tent we were COZY. I had trouble sleeping since I kept thinking the rain and wind outside was actually a bear coming to attack us. I woke up every other hour and would push Q and say “What time is it? When can we wake up?” to which he would say “When it’s light outside. Not now.”

The food blogger needed a photo with dinner. 

Saturday we made breakfast (oatmeal and pancakes) and hit the river again. We did 11 miles with a stop for lunch and a portage (the boys had to carry the boats on land for half a mile to avoid going over a waterfall). We hit some class 2 rapids (that was SO much fun) and stopped that night to set up camp and dinner (another backpacker’s meal). It was raining a bit and cold, so we got back in our tents early for bed (9:30).

It was cold. I was not enthused. I’m also wearing 5 layers of clothes. Just call me marshmallow.

Picking wild blueberries to add to our pancakes!

Sunday we woke up and were off again for another 10 miles. The river was flowing quickly and at around mile 8 we hit some fast water and a quick turn. I was the steerer (in the back) and Q was the power (in the front). We were approaching a turn and I thought we would just bounce off the side of the river. Unfortunately our boat didn’t bounce. Instead it climbed up the side of the river and capsized. We were in the water for maybe a minute max and both made it back into our boat. We were just a little colder, wetter and more eager to get back to the car at that point. Luckily 2 miles later, we made it to the car. I sat in the front seat for 30 minutes with the heat on full blast worried I was going to lose my toes (Q reassured me that the water has to be freezing for that to happen). We packed up our gear (well the boys packed up), dropped Sam and Kendra back at their car and then headed back home.

Overall, I was out of my comfort zone and thrown into a totally new environment and I learned a lot. I learned I can survive cold and wet and rainy. I can make the choice to be miserable or not. I can take in my gorgeous surroundings and remove myself from the world for a few days and love it. We saw moose, beavers, bald eagles, ducks, birds, and swans. The beauty is beyond anything I’ve ever seen.

So I survived and loved it.

Tagged as: 2-person boat, Alaska, camping, capsizing, delta river, kayak, rafting, rapids, wilderness

Share this

Share

Email This