My Parents & Kris Cassity
This is the first time my parents had seen Kris since our ill-fated Happy River float trip years ago. Kris is one of the best river guides in Alaska. He and I took my parents down this remote river in the Alaska Range about 100 miles from Anchorage.
The trip started off poorly when I flipped the boat with my Dad in it--and very nearly drowned him and widowed my mother. Fortunately, my Dad was able to swim out from under the boat in time and make it so shore. But we ended up losing much of our gear and food. After flipping, we had to float another 4 days to get to the pre-arranged pick up point. Even when we got close, we had to hike through swamp and mud for hours to get to the lake where the floatplane could come in and get us.
I'm encouraging them to come back up for another float trip next summer. My Dad's up for it, but my Mom's not so sure. I was explaining to my Dad that things would be much safer now that I have a satellite phone. He had a pretty quick rejoinder, "Does it work under water?"
