After our exhilarating glacier hike, we found ourselves driving an hour to the NOVA office the next day to ride a raft down the river. You can read about the hike here if you missed it. They issued us rain gear and rain boots to keep us dry. We dressed for the trip along with three other people who were rafting with us. One was a local guy, plus his family that came in from Phoenix and Chicago.
Once we had our gear on, we loaded into this little white school bus and drove for fifteen minutes to the base of the glacier. The river and the glacier have the same name – Matanuska. Since the water has just melted from the glacier, it is very very cold! Like 32 degrees cold!
We got lucky with some sunshine during the day, and the mountain tops were clearly visible on both sides of the river. The Chugach Mountains are on the south side and the Talkeetna Mountains line the north side.
Colin was our guide and he grew up in Anchorage. He leads rafting on the river during the summer and works in Girdwood on the slopes in the winter months. What a life, huh?
We opted to sit in the back of the raft, but we did get splashed with cold water a few times. Colin called it a glacial facial! The river gets pretty wide in spots and many little streams empty into it along the way. Wildflowers grow naturally along the banks and on top of rocks.
We rode down the river for about seven miles according to Colin. Since the river is fed by melting glacier ice, there are not many fish in this section of the river. Therefore, we did not see much wildlife along the way.
The views were enough for me! The water is not clear because of the silt from the glacier, but everything around us was lush and green.
We passed by a tall cliff that looked familiar. I remember seeing a video on the local news and on Facebook of a car that was launched off the bluff into the valley on the Fourth of July this year. You can see that video here. Colin saw them getting prepared for the launch, but he wasn’t there when it happened.
The longer and harder rafting trip goes through Lion’s Head rapids. That river comes from another mountain range and feeds into the Matanuska River just before the glacier. The name comes from a rock outcropping that is shaped like the head of a lion. Earlier this summer, an older gentleman died in that area while out in his inflatable kayak. We were afraid of the cold water there!
After we got back and took off our fashionable rubber suits, it was time for lunch. We drove about 20 minutes toward the town of Glennallen and ate at the Sheep Mountain Lodge.
The lodge is named after the Dall Sheep that live on the rocky upper section of a nearby mountain. A tour bus pulled in just after we sat down to order. This is very common throughout the summer in Alaska. People come from all over the world to see the last frontier.
Rafting and hiking were so much fun. I would definitely do both again. NOVA offers a package deal so you can do both in one day if you have a limited amount of time.