Heavy Metal Blunder

Brad Meiklejohn and I took a recon trip to Metal Creek, near Knik Glacier. Metal Creek first caught my attention 4 years ago due to the eerily straight drainage and a random video online of a jeep washing downstream at flood levels. I joined John Pekar and Tomas Jensen to reach Metal Creek from the Matanuska side, but after swimming instantly in the Mat and devil’s clubbing (yes, it is a verb) our way a few miles up Carpenter Creek, we turned around.

Brad, as usual, had a much better approach: a bike ride, Knik River crossing, more biking, and hiking an ATV trail. We ran 2.5 miles of class II/III silty water in beautiful tight canyons. Late August water levels would have been better, things were a little slow for us mid-September. Unfortunately, the valley chokes down to an un-runnable canyon about 2 miles upstream from the entrance from the Knik. After several portages to avoid meter-wide rapids and sieves, I popped my boat on a rock and we called it good. The exit down the lower Metal Creek to the ice-berg choked Knik Glacer was awesome and a great trip destination for anyone comfortable with class II water.