Photo by George Sbiras, 31- 

 WINTER SLEDGE DOGS EOITERING EXPECTANTLY AROUND STEWARD'S PANTRY (sEE 



PAGE 430) 



to the end of Turnagain Arm, half way 

 to the Matanuska coal fields : but, lack- 

 ing sufificient capital and by reason of 

 the withdrawal of the coal lands, is now 

 in financial straits. However, it is a most 

 convenient highway for hunters and 

 miners, and if either of these lack the 

 cash to pay the tariff of 20 cents per 

 mile or are of an economical turn of 

 mind, the roadbed afifords a fine trail to 

 the interior. 



On arriving at the lake it took but a 

 few minutes to load our stuff on a com- 

 fortable launch, and soon we were trav- 

 ersing a portion of the longest water- 

 course of the peninsula, which from the 

 head of Snow River to Cook Inlet is 117 

 miles in length. The upper lake is 23 

 miles long, has a maximum width of 1.5 

 miles, and is 460 feet above sea-level. 

 The upper Kenai River is 16 miles long, 

 while the lower lake, usually called 

 Skilak, has a length of 15 miles, is four 

 or five miles wide, and 150 feet above 

 the sea, its waters reaching the inlet after 

 a tortuous run of 53 miles. 



At the outlet of the lake we trans- 

 ferred the outfit to Tom's big flat-bottom 

 skiff, and, dropping down the river sev- 

 eral miles, went into camp at the mouth 

 of Cooper Creek, to await the arrival of 

 the canoe and provisions. The maximum 



temperature was 80 degrees at noon, fol- 

 lowed by 87 degrees the next day — a 

 most unusual record. 



Seeing that the half-embedded boul- 

 ders were sweating vigorously along the 

 river trail, I predicted a big thunder- 

 storm, and was warned that they were 

 very rare in this region. But shortly 

 after the rain came down in torrents and 

 thunder echoed for hours throughout the 

 valley : so I gained that distinction which 

 comes with a luck)' hit. This proved to 

 be the only heavy rain of the entire trip, 

 and thereafter clear days and a high tem- 

 perature pleased and astonished us all. 



STERN EIRST, DOWN THE RAPID KENAI 

 RR'ER 



As usual on expeditions of this kind 

 and where the supplies could be carried 

 by water, my outfit was varied and heavy, 

 for it is the height of bad management, 

 when visiting a remote and unsettled 

 country, to economize in money, time, or 

 labor at the expense of a proper equip- 

 ment or an ample supply of provisions. 



Several hours were spent in loading 

 the boat and canoe, with just a sufficient 

 separation in kind to leave a complete 

 but temporary outfit in case either craft 

 was capsized on the run to the lower 

 lake. 



431 



