Last minute repacking at the water. Can't seem to fit the six-pack in here anywhere....
The Swan lake system is about 3 hours south of Anchorage, Alaska by car, although it is only about 50 miles as the crow flies. There are several routes you can take through the system, all of which require portages between the lakes. Portages can be as little as 20 yards, or as much as 3/4 of a mile.
I was able to carry everything in one trip if I balanced things carefully. On the longer portages I'd do two trips. Obviously having a nice light inflatable canoe makes portages much more pleasant.
A water portage - this stream between the lakes is only 6 inches deep.
Campsite 1 - dinner is a dehydrated beef stew followed by dehydrated ice cream. Yummy.
The fire keeps the mosquitoes away, and hopefully the bears.
Hanging all food and perfumed items (not that I had any) should also reduce the chance of bears pulling your campsite to shreds.
Swan lake - the largest in the system. The water is warm enough to swim in, but not for too long.
Campsite 2 - probably the most persistent and numerous mosquito population I have ever encountered. It was so bad that I had to paddle out into the breeze on the lake to read my book and eat my dinner (Dehydrated beef stew followed by dehydrated ice cream. Yummy.)
10:10 pm - still 2 more hours of light until sunset, then 4 hours of twilight followed by sunrise.
People laughed when I packed these, but they definitely paid off.
Day 3 - early morning before any wind has picked up yet. Day started with a 3/4 mile portage through mosquito heaven to the Moose river, which will take me back to Stirling - about 12 miles as the crow flies, considerably more with the winding river.
The Moose river had may obstructions - beaver dams, fallen trees and shallow water. The water temperature was a lot lower than the lakes as it was sourced melting snow on the mountains. Mosquitoes are still plentiful - stopping is not an option. I'm glad they don't have malaria here (must check that this is true...:)
The pullout point. This picture is taken from the bar where I was enjoying a very cold (and well deserved) beer.