Talkeetna Traverse, Chickaloon to Talkeetna including Talkeetna Canyon
I've wanted to do a Talkeetna range traverse for many years, and have always enjoyed fall paddling down the Talkeetna canyon. So in 2024 Charlie Procknow and I decided to make a south-to-northwest traverse, starting from the Glenn Highway, putting in way up on the Talkeetna River, and paddling all the way down through both the high country and the canyon to end in Talkeetna. Since the canyon has serious whitewater that is essentially unnavigable in packrafts at most summer flows, we went in September with the hopes that cold temperatures up high would reduce glacial discharge, but also be early enough that snow wouldn't make the passes impossible to cross on the way into the river. We were watching water levels closely with the goal of heading out Saturday September 7th, and conditions seemed favorable as cooling temperatures brought the gauge down to 6,400 cfs a few days before our planned departure. Then, the day before we were supposed to leave, NWS forecast "cyclon...
