Packrafting Crow Pass

Last weekend Brad, one of Alaska's packrafting gurus, took me out to show me how to packraft. We climbed up over Crow Pass from Girdwood and packrafted out the Eagle River to the Eagle River Nature Center -- a 26 mile trip total. It was a great day!

I wrote up a first-person account about the trip; it'll come out Thurs. as my next Outside the Ordinary column.

Packrafts were developed several years ago by an Alaskan. It's been a well-know, well-explored niche activity in Alaska for a while, but it's just starting to catch on Outside (our term for any place not in Alaska). Basically packrafts weigh 4 to 10 pounds and can be carried in a backpack, along with a lightweight, breakdown paddle.

Packrafts open up the backcountry in a whole new way -- all of the sudden you can combine walking trips with river trips, mountain traverses with white water adventures. Try it once, and you'll never look at a map in quite the same way.

Check back next week for the play-by-play of our adventure, aka my article.

The hut on top of Crow Pass

Bear tracks

Raven Glacier on top of Crow Pass

Fall colors and water falls

A very cool bridge crossing

Brad, stopping to take in the view, as we descend toward Eagle River

Getting the raft ready to launch

Me on the river

Check out those class I rapids ; ) It was a really peaceful float out. The views of the huge cliff faces descending off of craggy Chugach Peaks, splashed in fall colors were... well, spectacular!