In July, 1980, the family took a vacation in Alaska. I was 15, my brother was 11, my sister was 10. We hired a guide, Ron Yarnell, who flew with us to the upper waters of the Sheenjek river. We hiked for five days, and then spent ten days kayaking down the river. I remember it as being tough, wet, and mosquito-plagued. It formed a backbone of family lore.
Last year, when I started to put together plans for an Alaskan vacation, I searched the Internet for Ron Yarnell to see if he was still guiding. (Mom and Dad had done at least one other trip with him.) As it turned out, he had sold his business but was still occasionally leading trips. He happened to be guiding the trip I was interested in — rafting down the Wind River in the Arctic Refuge.
I was interested in that trip because it was a river trip that didn’t require any skill, and was late enough in the season that mosquitoes would not be an issue, I hoped.
Before I left, Dad scanned some of his slides from our original trip, which I have included in the slideshow below. I must say – it still looks like a tough trip.
(Mom, me, Rachel, Christopher, Ron)
