Floating the Tanana

Tanana River - Fairbanks to Nenana

The Delta Clearwater was such a great trip that it inspired another float to take advantage of the beautiful, if not unusual, May weather. Like the last trip, this one started at the Oasis for breakfast.


After breakfast we headed to the put in, which for this trip was just outside of Fairbanks, a place where we usually have one of our ski races, The Tanana River Rally. This is a picture of the put-in in the winter. Many people ski, mush and snowmachine on the rivers in the winter.

But it's spring, now, not winter! This picture was taken just after we got on the water. Steve was solo on this trip, so used his sea kayak.

The Tanana (TAN-uh-naw) River is the largest tributary of the Yukon River (the Yukon River is the 10th longest river in the world). The Tanana River from Fairbanks to Nenana (nuh-NAN-uh) is wide and slow.


While the section we were floating is not as swift or as narrowly braided as the section above Fairbanks, it still has a some braiding, gravel bar islands and plenty of drift wood which demonstrate the power of large volumes of water.

Some times you can find surprises in the drift wood piles. This treasure is also known as a "tundra daisy" and is often referred to as the state flower (although officially the Forget-me-not is the state flower). There is no telling how many of these 55-gallon drums exist in Alaska.


I spent much of the trip enjoying the sun and appreciating the new green of spring. After a long, cold, dark winter one has a better appreciation for sun, warm weather and the returning life that comes with it.

We stopped to camp around 8 p.m. The days are long this time of year with around 18 hours of daylight, which will continue to increase until June 22. This picture was taken around 9 p.m.


Jeremy happy to be spending another day on the water.

The difficult paddling during the afternoon on the second day required us to stop and rest. Though perhaps it was only an attempt to delay our arrival at the take-out that really caused us to pull over and nap in the sun.

The Nenana Railroad Bridge marks the end of the trip as we approach the take-out. President Harding drove the golden spike (no longer there) in the north end of the bridge in 1923, connecting by train Interior Alaska to the ports of the south. This bridge is the second longest single-span railroad bridge in the US and is built on rollers to accommodate the expansion and contraction of the bridge during temperature changes. Before the bridge, tracks were laid across the river ice in the winter so the train could travel on to Fairbanks, the furthest north stop. The highway bridge in the background, further down river was built in 1968, which replaced the ferry system that had been used up until that time.

From Fairbanks to the Yukon River the Tanana River is ideal for barging given its wide and slow nature. In this picture you can see Tom and Melissa with their the pointer-husky mix, Elka, paddling around the Ramona. Nenana is one of the most important ports in Interior Alaska. It is here that barges are loaded with supplies, brought in by train or truck, destined for interior Native communities along the Yukon River. Nenana is a mixed community of Natives and non-Natives. It was used historically as a seasonal fishing and hunting camp by Athabascans, but in 1905 the construction of an Episcopal church and telegraph station marked the beginning of a more permanent community.

Jeremy, Steve, Melissa and Tom

Just outside of Nenana we stopped at the Monderosa for their famous burgers. It was a great ending for one of the most enjoyable floats I have had while in Alaska.

Still the best burgers in Alaska.