Making lemonade. My camping summer thus far.

[eagle55]

My wife and I live in a fairly unique place, in Southeast Alaska, which has normally a road out that hooks up to the famous Alcan highway 160 miles away (see map) in the Yukon CA. But this year the border is closed to all recreation, so we are stuck in our own backyard, with approximately 60 miles of road, and 2 state parks. Normally we never stay here at the local parks because when we want to go camping, we like to hit the road, but that ain't happening thus far..

So last weekend we went out to one of the campgrounds here. Called Chilkoot state park, it is on a beautiful lake with mountains and waterfalls cascading down thousands of feet to the lake which is about 3 or 4 miles long.. Breathtaking! Our spot on the lake allowed us to keep our inflatable boat tied up at the campsite which encouraged several sightseeing trips around the lake.

Normally this is a popular spot with the tourists but there are no tourists here due to customs closing the border. Anyway here are some pictures from last weekend. Out of 35 spaces, we had the entire park to ourselves! We did have a friend come along with her camper van and she occupied the adjacent spot. Nice having all that solitude, but I do miss the interaction with other campers, especially the Canadians which I usually enjoy our conversations with very much.. But solitude it is this year, stuck in our little corner of the world, at least until July 20, at which point it will likely be extended another month..

Map showing our severe limitation..Closed at Canada border

[Jagiven]

Wonderful location. Wish I had that in my backyard.

[Parcany]

Wish I was there. It is beautiful.

[DaveT]

I'm trying hard to be sympathetic :-)


Is that a crane on the truck?

[Tunce the traveler]

Is that a crane on the truck?[/QUOTE]

He uses it to haul the fish out of the water, i on the other hand use my tropical fish net!

[norty1]

Beautiful place. I envy your predicament and hope it does not last forever.

[Tunce the traveler]

Beautiful place and it’s in your back yard and to think campers drive all the way from the lower 48 for days & days and many, many tanks of gas just to have your spot that’s just down the street.

[eagle55]

Originally Posted by DaveT

I'm trying hard to be sympathetic :-)


Is that a crane on the truck?

Yeah, I do feel lucky in some ways, actually I love it here, it's home! But when I hear of RV'ers getting behind the wheel and traveling around the country, I would trade places in a minute!

Yes, it is a little davit I rigged up to lift the inflatable boat up on the rack I welded up for the truck this spring when CV19 was keeping us isolated (I needed a project!). The thing, as crazy as it sounds does work well for the boat. I need a better option than the come a long I'm using now..

[eagle55]

Thanks for the reply's everyone! It is nice here, but a little too confined right now..
Here is a video I put up on YouTube last fall on the same lake, running the little boat around. It is a 15 foot boat with a 5HP propane outboard, and it will plane with me and the 65LB dog! I probably should have gotten a larger OB, but this little boat is just for using when camped out on some lake, and at those times I am in no real hurry anyway. 55 LBS for the 5hp is a lot easier to lift out of the truck than say an 8hp 2 cylinder at more like 85lbs.. Got to think of my back here!

https://youtu.be/r6tRBwOsscE

[Tunce the traveler]

Thanks for the boat ride this afternoon and I was smiling the whole way.
BTW was that an Eagle I saw fly by in the upper left corner?

[KCSA75]

I've got to admit, I never heard anybody griping because they had to camp in Alaska.

Ya'll live in a beautiful part of the world. Was there about 15 years ago. Gotta get back.

[eagle55]

Originally Posted by Tunce the traveler

Thanks for the boat ride this afternoon and I was smiling the whole way.
BTW was that an Eagle I saw fly by in the upper left corner?

Yes it was! It bolted out of a tree and I wasn't fast enough with the cellphone camera to get a good shot of it.

[AKRUEBBE]

Pure heaven!!

[eagle55]

Originally Posted by KCSA75

I've got to admit, I never heard anybody griping because they had to camp in Alaska.

True enough, but it's the lure of the open road that drives me! My camping world has been reduced from untold thousands of miles of road to just 60 miles! That is what it is. Last night I wrote to my state Reps from my district about the situation where one whole region of the state is now cut off from the other, in the hopes that they may be able to reach out to Canada to work out exceptions that allow for travel across the Yukon into the main part of Alaska. It's about a 300 mile stretch, and all that would be needed is one stop for gas. Canada has had a policy during this crisis of letting Alaskan "snow birds" return home from the lower 48 so long as they were self sufficient, carried enough food to where they only had to stop to buy gas at self serve stations. My hope for the rest of the summer is that they can do the same for Alaskans wanting to visit the other part of Alaska. I have 2 brothers that I usually visit every summer in Fairbanks, and I missed out last year. Nobody is getting any younger!

I guess the good news is I don't burn much gas these days, and save my truck from wear.. To think that gas is so cheap now and there is no place to use it!

Originally Posted by AKRUEBBE

Pure heaven!!

It certainly is for many who love the wilderness..

[Jagiven]

I like your boat lift. I have a 12 foot Portabote. Since my shoulder surgery it is to much to lift in and out of the back of the truck by myself.

How long does a 20# propane tank last? Have thought about them, just concerned about running out.

[Marcm157]

Wow! That is absolutely breathtaking!

[eagle55]

Originally Posted by Jagiven

I like your boat lift. I have a 12 foot Portabote. Since my shoulder surgery it is to much to lift in and out of the back of the truck by myself.

How long does a 20# propane tank last? Have thought about them, just concerned about running out.

Thanks! I tried loading that boat last fall into the roof rack of my smaller Ranger pickup and I hurt for a few months! I had pains that caused me to wonder how I was ever going to use my brand new little boat! After thinking about it over the winter a plan came together (not all my plans do!)..

According to the Tohatsu manual, 20lbs (the regular size that you see at Walmart for exchange) will run this motor 11 hours at wide open throttle, so if you are like me, probably one refill will last the season.

When I went online to shop for a motor for the inflatable (also purchased online) that was the first time saw the Tohatsu propane motor and it got me thinking. I really don't like carrying smelly gasoline along in the back of the truck. Just so messy I guess, and a bit of a fire hazzard as well. With propane I carry a 20LB bottle along, and if I do ever run out they are easy to get refilled, or in a pinch I can remove one of the 30# from my trailer and use that until I get back to civilization. That propane never goes bad, never needs to be poured through a funnel etc, put me over the edge.. So far I have ran it maybe 8 hours and really love the little thing!

[DaveT]

Originally Posted by eagle55

Yeah, I do feel lucky in some ways, actually I love it here, it's home! But when I hear of RV'ers getting behind the wheel and traveling around the country, I would trade places in a minute!

Yes, it is a little davit I rigged up to lift the inflatable boat up on the rack I welded up for the truck this spring when CV19 was keeping us isolated (I needed a project!). The thing, as crazy as it sounds does work well for the boat. I need a better option than the come a long I'm using now..

That's pretty awesome. Please tell me about your boat. I have a canoe that I'm considering "retiring" in preference to something like that.

[eagle55]

Originally Posted by DaveT

That's pretty awesome. Please tell me about your boat. I have a canoe that I'm considering "retiring" in preference to something like that.

Thanks, We started out with a canoe as well, but our dog just can't sit still for that long and it got tipsy because of that. So we decided to get an inflatable and the one we got is called as a "Kaboat", I presume it is some sort of kayak/boat hybrid maybe? Anyway, here is their web site:
https://www.boatstogo.com/kaboat.asp
The one I have is the 15' heavy duty. I see they have a 16 foot out again, that wasn't available when I bought mine. Probably pay no attention to the site wide 50% off, as they seem to always be 50% off! I do like the longer more slender design, as they push easier with a small outboard than a shorter and wider design. Mine will plane out with me and the dog, at about 14mph which is pretty good with just 5hp!

What else, it is surprisingly stable, rows reasonable, especially for an inflatable, and as we can attest, we got caught out in a sudden wind and whitecaps, 2-3' seas which we easily handled for about an hour coming back from down the inlet. These Saturn's are PVC, so not as good as Hypalon but if you take care to leave it out of the sun when not in use they will last for years. I have had 3 other inflatables and this one appears to be constructed as well as the Avon and Achilles boats I have owned before..

Be sure to check out some of the videos that others have posted on their web site. Running whitewater rivers, and shallow rivers with small outboard "jets"..

[Bayoutalker]

It's amazing how we tend to ignore what is in our own backyard in favor of something we have to make a long drive for.