[Reporting information sent to the Fairbanks Paddlers email list, including the Anchorage Daily News article link. This information was compiled by John Schauer. Neither he nor I were there.]
On July 6, The Anchorage Daily News reported on a rafting accident on the East Fork Chulitna River that claimed the life of Craig George on July 5.
https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2023/07/06/search-ongoing-for-utqiagvik-man-missing-after-raft-overturns-near-cantwell/
The article was based mostly on the State Troopers incident summary dispatch:
AK23039859
Location: Cantwell
Type: SAR
Dispatch Text:
On July 5, 2023, at 1:06 pm, Alaska State Troopers received a report of an emergency activation of a Garmin device. A party of five rafters in two rafts reported that one of the rafts had overturned in the Chulitna River and one 70-year-old male was reported to be missing, last seen in the river. AST and AWT Troopers responded on foot from approximately mile 182 of the Parks Highway. Helo 2 responded from Fairbanks and four rafters were rescued. John George, age 70 from Barrow, Alaska, remains missing. All persons were wearing life jackets. Search efforts for John George are continuing.
I reached out to Troopers for additional specifics by email, but have not received a reply as of yet.
This morning ( July 9 ) I saw a post on the Knik Canoers and Kayakers Facebook Page from Jeanne Molitor, who was on the trip. I contacted her via Messenger, and shortly afterwards she called me. We spoke for about 25 min. She is understandably still quite emotionally drained and distraught. Recovery efforts for her close friend are still underway. Jeanne wanted to share information that might prevent others from experiencing such a tragedy. She encouraged me to make this information available to the boating community.
I want to respect the grief and emotional trauma of Craig’s family and friends, many of whom are likely to read this. I hope that providing accurate information about the location and nature of the incident may help other boaters avoid a dangerous situation. I’ve tried to share details as accurately as I could while my conversation with Jeanne was fresh in my mind. Any mistakes or inaccuracies below are mine. I’ve intentionally omitted names of other party members.
Jeanne indicated that the "huge log jam" was on a blind corner just below the confluence with Antimony Creek and about 1/4 mi upstream of the railroad bridge that crosses above the Middle Fork confluence. The raft Craig and his partner were in did not overturn as reported in the Trooper dispatch and news article. According to Jeanne, Craig was knocked out of the boat by a sweeper while trying to avoid the logjam. When Jeanne spotted their boat, he was attempting to re-enter the raft. He was swept into the logjam and the boat became pinned. Jeanne’s cataraft stopped on the mid-stream gravel bar on which the logjam had formed. They initiated the rescue with the InReach from that mid-stream bar. The coordinates she sent me for that location are:
Lat: 63.110165
Lon: -149.509749
The waypoint on the Gaia satellite / topo shows the location. Group members had ropes, pulleys and rescue equipment, but were unsuccessful in freeing the pinned raft.
State Troopers and Wildlife Troopers were dispatched in response to the InReach SOS message. A helicopter picked up Craig’s partner and Jeanne, who was comforting her, from that location on the mid-river bar. The other party member were accompanied by troopers through a dense brushy and forested area about a mile to the gravel pit between Mile 181 and 182 on the Parks. (lower right corner of first image)
The group was experienced on this river. All were wearing PFD’s. Several in the group had run it on Memorial Day weekend this year. Jeanne indicated that she had done this trip probably 15 times previously. She indicated that it was not particularly high on July 5. She said that the root wads and leaves on the trees in the logjam provided evidence that at least some of the logs were new.
I ran this section of the Chulitna on June 23 this year at a very high bank full level. There were a number of sweepers in swift current in this section, and several significant log jams including just above and below the railroad bridge. The 4-person 12’ paddle raft in our group broached on a log jam just below the bridge, but were able to get out safely on the logs and free the boat without swimmers or injuries. The rapids immediately above and below the railroad bridge were the busiest on the river and rate a solid Class III at that level. It was difficult to stop and get to shore for a long ways below the bridge with few raft-sized eddies, steep cut banks and current flowing into the brush at high water.
When I floated this section on June 22, 2022, there was a major new channel cut a couple of miles upstream, and it is probably contributing to new logs being deposited downstream.
I have plans to float this again in July. I may reconsider. If we go, I will mark this area on the GPS and stop well upstream to scout.
Be careful out there. Have fun and be safe.
Please share this information if you know of anyone planning to float the Chulitna. Once sent, the link to this message can be found, copied and shared publicly from https://groups.io/g/fairbankspaddlers .
Images in the original message were downsized when the message was sent and too small to be useful. I have uploaded higher resolution versions to the Fairbanks Paddler's website:
https://www.fairbankspaddlers.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Chulitna-River-logjam-location-1.jpg
https://www.fairbankspaddlers.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Chulitna-River-logjam-location-2.jpg
