Moose Creek flows out of the Talkeetna Mtns and into the Matanuska River east of Palmer. The take-out is reached by the Glenn Hwy and the put-in is accessed off the Buffalo Mine Road. Proceed up the Buffalo Mine Road approximately 4 miles on pavement and another 3 miles on dirt before reaching No Trespassing signs at the end of the road. A small dirt track on the right leads to a bridge over Moose Creek. You can put in here or bushwhack/hike further upstream, although I don’t know exactly what you’ll encounter for river conditions upstream.
From this put-in the creek is fast action Class III for about 3 miles. Watch out for wood in the river, as there are roughly ten trees across this section. After about 3 miles the gradient lessens but the amount of wood in the river increases. I eventually bailed off the river after encountering multiple cottonwood logjams.
Although the water and rapids are quite fun at the 13’ level on the Moose Creek river gage, the sweepers and strainers are a major bummer. If you were able to keep going and reach the Glenn Highway, a mtn bike would complete the shuttle.
While Embick gives Moose Creek two stars in Fast and Cold I can’t say that I would recommend this one. A recent flooding event has rearranged this creek, making for a very messy run.