4 Michiganders and 1 Minnesotan

In mid-September, with the autumn colors at their peak on the hills surrounding Aniak, four friends and myself decided to boat up the Owhut River. The water level of the river was unusually high so we tried to get as far upriver as possible. In July, my landlord and I took a very small boat on the Owhut and ran aground four times and did not get very far. However, the recent deluge of rain in the area made the conditions excellent for a larger jet boat.

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We twisted and winded our way up the river for about 45 minutes, dodging sandbars, rocks, felled trees, and logs along the way.

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The current was strong.

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The riverbanks were filled with birch trees with leaves of yellow and orange. At times, we could also see the distant Russian Mountains.

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We reached our halfway gas limit, and turned around to go back downriver.

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Unfortunately, we made a wrong turn into a side channel and in front of us appeared two large downed trees which covered the entire river from bank to bank, with the water rushing straight into them.

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“Oh, we are in trouble,” I heard.

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We hit the trees straight on, and our boat whipped around motor first, making us parallel with the trees.

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Four of us unloaded and got on to the bank while my friend tried to get enough power to head back upstream. The current was too strong.

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I grabbed the rope, flung it around my waist, and pulled the boat a little upstream. The motor was still not powerful enough to get out.

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The other side of the riverbank looked like a more promising area to pull the boat upstream as there were no trees in the way. So, a friend and I got on all fours, and slowly made our way across the two felled trees to the other side of the river.

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We grabbed on to the rope and pulled. I strung the rope around my waist again and looked like an ox pulling a wagon.

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We made our way upstream about 20 yards to a bend in the river. We had to move the boat around the bend to make our way downriver again. I held on tight to the rope as my friend used all the muscle he had left to guide the boat around the bend.

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The boat whipped around, going engine first, and I braced myself for a big tug. I positioned myself around a tree stump as the boat rope quickly jerked me into the icy water.  My friend grabbed on to my life preserver from behind, and I stabled myself.

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I held on to the boat rope as the other passengers made their way on to the boat.

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Then the motor would not start.

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Thankfully, we had a portable jumper cable that we quickly hooked up as we wildly drifted in circles down the river. We had multiple rough crashes into the riverbank.

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Finally, the motor started and we were on our way down the river again.

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I was getting very cold because my rain boots were filled with icy river water.

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We made it home safely and now have a story to tell.

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