Parton River in da Yukon

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Just a short drive from Haines Alaska (hey you Juneau people…)

Park at the Samuel Glacier trail head (going up chuck creek). Walk that trail until it goes away then cruise down to the big gravel fan. Turn to the right and stay high on the bench. Pass Samuel Glacier. Consider dropping down to valley around the time you get to the next glacier. We cruised down some moraine. It was kinda sketchy, but not really that bad.

The Moraine to the right the glacier did not go. We didn’t have crampons but I wish we did. Walk up the glacier and down the other side. Then walk until there is enough water to float. About 6 miles or so when we did it.

River is shallow and braided for a bit. Then you will see some cut banks and then things get spicy. This river is very very very steep. Kinda of like a water slide over a boulder garden. Hard to grade because…it’s like…just keeping your boat pointed down river and hoping for best. I’d say it maxes out at class III.

Pull out at Bear Flats by the horse camp. Parton comes into Tat. You can line your boat back up the Tat for about 6 minutes to the dirt road off the highway. Or float another 3 or so hours to the Blanchard confluence and hike up. Or float another 4 hours past then and pull out at Dalton city. Or just really go for it and float to Dry Bay.

Tat Gauge was reading 40 when we did it. There was enough water to bump our way down, more water would have been okay…though with more flow expect less eddies. Good luck.[youtube][/youtube]