Wood-Tikchik
State Park, Alaska
Wood-Tikchik
is my kind of park: huge wilderness lakes interconnected by
clear rivers filled with wild salmon and
trout.
Wood-Tikchik
was supposed to be a National Park, according to the story,
but the State of Alaska beat the Feds to it by making it a
state park. Just north of Dillingham, the park encompasses
most of the watershed for two river and lake systems, the
Wood River and the Tikchik River. The lakes are fiord-like
on their western margins and open tundra on the
east.
As
a big fan of rivers, I love a river's mouth or "boca" more
than any other feature. The energy of the moving water
entering and then dissipating into a larger lake or ocean
is fascinating to just sit and watch. It doesn't hurt that
they are often good places to fish. For those with such
discriminating tastes in river features, Wood-Tikchik
offers some particularly pristine and spectacular
bocas.
My
1983 kayak trip in the park is a highlight in all of my
wilderness adventures. Simply stated, I believe this is for
three reasons.
1.
I got to fly in a Grumman Widgeon, a wonderful 1940s float
plane.
2.
I caught way more trout, salmon, grayling and char than
anyone person should expect to ever
catch.
3.
In the gathering darkness at midnight we were visited by a
mother wolf and her pups. She wanted to travel down this
beach and not in the willow thickets behind us, but our
camp lie in her path. So she carefully picked up her pups
one by one and carried them past the dying flames of our
campfire. Wow, pinch me.