loading, leaving, sounding. entering the yukon.

the last piece of our load is waiting on the slip just before the ramp, a small 40 ton cat without a ripper, destined for an airport upgrade job in holy cross. the grader and compactor have already been loaded making the barge stuck on the landing. it must be freed before the cat is loaded.

deckhands cast off the stern line, leaving the bow line tied. there's just enough room for dad to load the cat cross ways on the barge. engine warmed up i turn the wheel in and engage.  takes a little while for everything to move because the tug is connected but staying loose to one barge.....until the cat is loaded.

without pulling away from the landing, i slide the barge off the beach with a tiny goose of the engine.  lifting the ramp she floats free.  i disengaged the prop and let both barges drift back against the beach pulling the bow line tight with a crisp snap.  there's a slow light bump as we touch the gravel slip. deckhands drop the ramp. i signal dad sitting on the cat that i'm ready and standing by, just in case. ready to push hard against the beach and stop all movement. to get it stuck. he lowers the cat blade onto the ramp and holds everything steady. she's now floating free, a small list to the starboard (right), but otherwise free.  i turn the wheel out to keep the stern in to the beach without power using only the current against dual 4 ft rudders.
satisfied i come down from the wheel house. dad smiles as he lifts the cat blade and walks the cat till the tracks just touch the ramp. vessels secure we can now set the load.  it's a light one, 65 tons, but not yet full and listing slightly.  engine idling we inspect the barge and tug tackle, a low hum from the engine room reminding us that the job is not yet done.  all vessel lines, except the bow, are free and slack. nothing is stuck or caught, she's ready.  keeping all cables loose dad walks the cat on. deckhands and i lay scrap planks (dunnage) on the deck just ahead of the moving tracks.  steel against steel is slippery. for this load  it must sit slightly forward of center because fuel for the trip has yet to be loaded astern.

must finish the loading but cannot hurry as the sun drops lower. everything else is aboard. food for the trip, extra engine oil filters, cleaned and folded bedding, a new carton of monkey face gloves.

i turn the pusher knee winches and tighten the tug snug against the barge. tight but not secure. everything is ready to move into the river to balance the load.

just need to fuel up at the nenana dock, a half mile below.

to fuel up i must drop down to the dock backwards.  it's much too close to turn around.

turning the wheel i make the bow line slack, i signal the crew to untie. untied i turn the wheel out making the barge starboard stern corner hit the beach with just enough force to bounce off the beach and into the current. at an idle, i point the bow directly into the river current. when everything is straight, i engage reverse and goose the engine. we will drift down to the dock backwards.  since there is no wind i return to the barge, letting everything drift.  we know our load for sure now as it all floats free.  using the cat we level the load, moving 6" in either direction till the water is level with the deck on both sides. my eyes always watching our drift position and barge swing.  after winching the tug tackle hard, i return to the wheel house. aiming the stern downriver i open it up for just a few minutes to speed up our drift backwards.  she's heavy, but not bad. a little touchy maybe, but now we know and can "feel" our load.  gradually the tug and two loaded barges drift stern first down to the dock.

as the outfit reaches the dock area. i ease into forward at an idle again, slowing our drift. despite heavy loads much tug work is done in idle. preferring to use momentum and the current. i ease the barges sideways closer to the wooden dock. as it approaches, i again goose the engine to stop drifting, redirecting all  movement to a glide sideways, crossing the last of the river on our approach.  just before reaching i turn the bow out, goose the engine a final time.  stopping all downriver and sliding movement.  in idle i straighten the barges to align parallel to the dock and slowly ease the starboard stern corner to the dock timbers. they touch and pieces of the dock fall to the deck and float off as the corner touches and dips under water.  she stops as the entire length touches aganst the dock with a heavy bump despite the slow maneuver. the water is low so our deckhands must climb the dock bumpers from the bow 10 feet to the top of the dock and tie to the ceosote timber pilings leaning from years of holding countless barges.  without a wind, there's no need for a stern line, using instead turned in rudders to hold tight against the crumbling nenana dock. once the line is secure i leave the wheel house and shut the engine down. climbing the grader cab i can easily jump onto the dock from the top of it's hugh rear tires. water is very low and i'm able to easily step off the tire onto a dusty dock to a planked fuel header.

dad and jack coghill are already letting out fuel hoses from the header and dropping the nozzel down to a deck hand far below. after resetting the meter to zero, we begin taking on all the fuel we will need for the trip down and return.  the first fill is the engine day tanks within the ramona bow.  100 gallons tops that tank.  the main storage tanks are inside the stern of the barge. opened and vented, the pumping starts. the barge storage tank will hold 2800 gallons and will be close to sinking the  stern, leveling the load fore to aft.  after it fills we move the cat and grader again to balance the load, starboard to port.

while deckhands fuel up, dad and i talk about the low water and sinking daylight.  we make plans to leave this afternoon rather than spend the night and start at daybreak. mom has already cooked dinner on board. after fueling up, we eat then cast off for the 1 week trip to holy cross. because we're loosing our summer daylight and twilight plays tricks when reading water, we make plans to push hard and try to make manley hot springs before shutting down for the night.  this would put us into the yukon the following afternoon where we can run all night with this load and reach eagle island  by tomorrow night.  the low water is of some concern but we know where and how the channel is moving from our last return upriver.

loaded and fueled we cast off. drawing 3 feet. this load just a little touchy but not of concern. we chain bind the two barges hard against eachother.  the tug tackle is so tight we can walk on the cables like walking on pavement.  i let the stern corner contact the dock and the entire outfit bounces away from the dock while i swing the wheel hard to port and give it just a touch of power.  she starts to swing hard. i let it swing faster and faster so it will point down river quickly.  as she swings, i slow to an idle then engage reverse letting the current complete the turn as i write the date, time and other information into our log book.
it's narrow here so to make a quick turn the current must do most of the work in order for the load to miss the bridge pilings for the parks highway below. by the time she is completely turned and set for our down river run we've  gone under the bridge and reached the mouth of the nenana river. with low water there is very little current coming out of the nenana.  otherwise it's current would hit the side of the port barge run over the deck and make everything lean heavily. but not today as i straighten the wheel and increase the engine to 2800 rpm.  as soon as the water starts boiling over the stern i throttle back to 2400. the bow wave looks normal, a thin dark line leaving the bow edge returning to mid-barge and running onto the deck.  this is just right when the wheel is held straight and the load moves steady ahead without any movement to the left or right...no swing.  we're moving at about 10-15 mph. the wind sock on the bow fills.  all will be good until the first major crossing at swan neck, 5 miles or so below old minto in about 2 hours.  because the water is low there are sandbars showing everywhere.  a good opportunity to study and memorize the channel changes.  i can see that the water is still dropping by the tiny cut banks on each sandbar point. it's a clear calm summer evening. every boil and slack water shallow is visible for the trained eye in this light.  the run to old minto is easy and we make good time. low water making it easy to see the channel without sounding.

at old minto dad comes to the wheel house with his coffee and takes the wheel.  immediately he gives it another 200 rpm and more water runs on the deck. but this is a straight stretch so the water immediately runs back off.

this is my cue to jump into our little sounding boat, warm the motor and ready my sounding poles, i leave the ramona for swan neck crossing just below. taking a short cut and running fast as i can, i try to give myself as much time as possible to find this crooked channel before the tug arrives. i know dad is pushing it hard so must hurry.
i look first where the channel was on the last trip by dropping a sharpened 5 foot dry spruce pole, marked with one foot red markers. dropping the sharpened tip alongside the sounding boat at full speed i search for the sandbar. as soon as i touch the bottom i go back toward the channel and dip again.  finding the edge i cross and look for the opposite edge of the channel. touching again i can now see how wide the entrance is and follow it to the cut bank below. reaching the cut bank, i select a sweeper or snag as my marker for the end of the crossing. this crossing swings wide and low before reaching a cut bank timber stand on the south shore. after finding the channel mouth i return up to the narrow entrance just in time to see the ramona come around the point turning and swinging wide to align with the channel that i know dad can now see by the waves i've already made. drifting sideways he points the bow directly to me, waiting on the upriver shallow side of the channel. i can hear engine power applied as dad straightens out the drift and starts to come almost upon me sitting along the channel edge.  just when the bow is almost on top of me i turn and head straight to my cut bank marker and circle marking the deepest part of the channel. sitting and drifting again i watch the barge slide. dad knows not to drop too low in this S turn and begins to straighten out the load as he approaches the cut bank. as he reaches the cut bank, the crossing is over. a bit narrow and crooked, but otherwise uneventful.
my father is deaf so we never used radios.  all communication is from the movement of the sounding boat responding to the position of the load. we are a team. back into deep water and a wider channel, the ramona resumes speed.
hearing the engine speed up i return to the ramona. deck hands catch my sounding boat and tie it up along side the tug stern.  i go into the galley to wait for the next spot, a long sounding trip of about 10 miles and 4 major crossings. a place called McKinley, this will be the the first of  5 difficult stretches before reaching the yukon another 150 miles below. since we are not at full throttle it's clear we must stop and camp at twilight. better to tie up rather than to spend the night stuck in the middle of the river on a sandbar with dropping water.

with fresh fuel tanks i sound the entire length of McKinley before returning to the ramona.  it is unchanged and clearly marked by many sandbars and islands across the entire river width. bringing my coffee i take the wheel again to give dad a break. we're both a little tired, having risen at daybreak to finish loading. since i've sounded and found the channel, i keep the wheel while dad lays down. at  tolovana dad takes the wheel back and is pleased. we've making good time and it looks as though we will pass our original tie up plans. we are now looking at shuttting down around cosna slough. this would make it a good run for this day, 150 miles or so. giving us the notorious squaw crossing in the heat of tomorrow afternoon.  we'll be in the yukon tomorrow no problem. after handing the wheel back to dad, i lay down till i hear the engine change speed.
looking out my window i see this is not a changed channel in need of sounding, but the sound of the ramona turning around in the river to tie up in a timber point above cosna bluff. the channel here and in the cosna cutoff does not need sounding but i get up anyway and watch as we shut down for the night.
tied up, dad and i sit in the galley with a glass of whiskey relaxing. we talk of tomorrow's squaw crossing and the entrance into the yukon. whoever was at the wheel on our last return up river through these areas tells the story of how the river was behaving and where the channel might be now. we make plans to leave at first light, about 5am. mom is happy we've come so far without incident, listening to our conversation she asks about the more difficult crossings tomorrow and what time we expect to be in the yukon. reassured she lays back down with her book.
filling us with anticipation, she tells us she will bake bread and Cinnamon rolls tomorrow. and when we reach the yukon she'd like to buy a fresh king salmon at the first chance. all is well on the ramona so we cut the light plant and everyone heads to their bunk listening to the hiss of tiny bubbles against the hull escaping from under the tug and between the barges. tomorrow the yukon, where we will run without sounding 24 hours/day until returning to nenana about 2 weeks hence.

i'm awakened by dad starting the engine, warming up in gear and with the wheel turned in holding the bow against the beach. i smell fresh coffee and can hear dad go onto the barge to untie and take in the line. by the time he returns i'm with my coffee on the back deck which is gently vibrating from the idling prop just below my feet. dad and i talk for a moment as we see the rising sun begin to touch the tops of the timber across the river. we each know what's coming so there's little to discuss. there's no change in plans and the low water is an advantage giving no problems so far. dad says let's go>>and climbs to the wheel house. i sip my coffee and watch as he uses the eddie made by this point to turn the load around within the length of one barge. i admire his skill and ability to not waste any movement. i bask in the morning sunlight and watch this quiet point and eddie drift out of sight. mom has come down and starts breakfast. the 2 deckhands are begining to move around.  i poke the ribs of lazy ones as i go to the wheel house and take the wheel so dad can eat first. by the time i've gone through cosna slough, dad is back and i take my breakfast. pushing hard, dad has already reached the cutoff buy the time i'm finished.

with topped off sounding boat gas tanks. i quickly sound the entrance to fish creek slough.  it's a little crooked but unchanged with a hugh snag marking the high side of the entrance. not a problem. there's always a good deep channel through the slough.  just the entrance is crooked. as soon as i see the ramona come out from behind the island and turn toward the slough i circle twice at the snag, marking it as the entrance.  when dad heads directly toward my mark i leave him and the ramona to navigate the slough on their own.  i take a race boat short cut on the inside of one island, dancing through  many sandbars directly to squaw crossing 5 miles below.

the most challenging part of the river. squaw crossing is where the river spreads wide making many small channels twisting around hundreds of sandbars. low water shows more bars but also concentrates the remaining water in fewer spots. making it easier to get through. still not a place to let one's guard down.

my shortcut and speed gives me extra time to sound the entire length of the crossing long before the ramona arrives. so i play a little bit and explore how the water is moving the silt.  i can feel the bottom of the river with my sounding pole now dull and splashing from many high speed dips. i touch the shallow river bottom, the foundation. if it's hard as a rock there's a new bar. i find where it begins and ends. if it's soft the river is cutting a new channel. i follow it's new course till the water runs out. i now know what the river is doing and have a new story for dad. i can see the ramona in the distance far up along the  high sand cutbanks above. time to stop exploring and go back to work.
the crossing entrance turns hard to starboard and goes between two willow islands on this trip, only a small change from the last time.  i wait below squaw point at the channel entrance, the ramona quickly appears drifting sideways aiming for my location. dad knows where i'm waiting and has already begun the hard turn starting the run to avoid the island and it's sandbar just below. circling i mark the high side to the entrance. he gives it more throttle. the channel is narrow but low water cuts deep channels. once he gets between the sandbar islands, i run to the cut bank below, showing him just how wide it is and how close he can get to the two islands. at the cut bank i wait again, drifting in the channel watching as he skillfully puts the load exactly in the deepest widest part of what water there is to use.  not waiting till the bow is almost upon me i turn and go down to the next narrow at 8 mile island. the wheel house can now see the yukon and we are through the worst part of squaw, but there are 3 more narrows before the safety of the mighty yukon. when dad reaches the sand bluffs at 8 mile, i turn and begin sounding the remaining way to mission island and the entrance into the yukon.

this is the final leg before the wide deep yukon. taking my mark from the mouth of Hayes slough the channel is pushed wide back into the tanana r by the current of the yukon.  i find where it is forced to go. it is at this place where the only marker is a low cut bank sandbar below and a boiling lump in the middle of the river.  sounding the lump i wait for the Ramona sitting on top of the hidden lump. three feet of water here which our bow can run over without any problem.  dad swings out from Hayes slough then heads directly to me drifting on this shallow spot. swinging wide in the river the load drifts sideways as the bow glides right by me.  i can tap the bow of the barge with my 5 foot pole. dad is cutting it close in order to avoid the one visible cut bank sandbar 100 yards below.  as soon as i can see the wheel house again, i turn and dip my stick at full speed all the way to the lower end of mission island. i know dad can see this. he follows pushing harder to stop the slide. reaching mission island i circle to mark the center of the channel and begin looking for the dip in the silt ridge across the entrance to the yukon river.  since the water is low in both rivers i easily find the deepest part of this ever present ridge. there were some fall trips where there was no water and we had to use weight, current and momentum to ram the ridge's deepest spot and force our way over into the deep waters of the yukon. but today it is deep enough. i dip my pole all the way to my elbow and cannot touch bottom, low water has cut it deep.  i circle on top this spot and then stand  in the sounding boat drifting into the yukon.  i know dad sees it clearly and that it's safe now. not long till i hear the motor open up.  we've made the yukon and everyone can relax.

before returning to the tug i pull up along side the barges and drift, running a little faster now the barge deck is full of water.  i study the load. everything looks fine. water is running off as fast as it is coming on, clean Yukon water washing off tanana river silt. drifting past the wheel house i give dad an OK and he gives it even more power. a deck hand catches my boat as i pull up along side the stern.  a little wet and tired, i step onto a now strongly vibrating back deck. i can smell mom's bread and Cinnamon rolls.

the Yukon is wide and deep. and there's much relief. we've done it again without incident. mom smiles and hands me a slice of hot fresh bread with melted butter. sitting on the back deck with my snack i watch the village of tanana go by before laying down.  we work shifts from now on.  i will go to work at midnight until 6am. visiting dad in the wheelhouse before i lay down, he says, "that was easy. go to bed!" yes sir, i respond. but he can only read my lips. our satisfaction the only visible communication. his deafness was never an obstacle.

the hum of the motor and the sun shining through my open cabin door lulls me to sleep. we're on our way to holy cross another 450 miles, the toughest part behind us.

for many years i envied the faster sounding boats, depth finders and radios of yutana barge lines.  but now i look back and see that i learned to embrace the river rather than measure it. dad and i worked so closely,
i believe now those fancy things would of only gotten in our way. today i'm in my element when on the river. i've touched it's very essense, my soul has been washed by it's silt.  it is alive for me and i know it intimately.
in the 18 hours it took the ramona to travel from nenana to the yukon river, i found much more than channels and sandbars with a stick.
much more than yutana did in the 23 hours it takes them with all their fancy equipment.

it's much more than simple pride in my dad and the business he built.
it's a deep personal satisfaction in knowing something that few get a chance to learn. taught by one of the last original self made river captains. and now i get to write and tell others about these years.  the demientieff family has a long history river captains.  while not a captain myself,  i'm humbled by the skill given to me. other captains hand me the wheel of their vessels without discussion or reservation and  take a break in their galley or bunk.  i'm given trust and confidence by my peers. a gift indeed.

thank you dad...RIP i've got the wheel now.