River rat finds power in raging water August 25, 2006 By JOEL DAVIDSON Frontiersman MEADOW LAKES - Floating neck deep in the cold waters of Willow Creek last summer, Bill Kelley absorbed a bone-chilling reminder of the river's power. In the process of helping his 11-year-old son, Jack, escape from a capsized canoe, Kelley felt the liquid power surround his arms, legs and neck. “It is powerful,” he recalled Thursday afternoon. “If you believe in certain things like karma, God and all these things, the river has a certain power to it. I respect it very much.” At 43 years old, Kelley is a lean, muscular man who wears his hair long and his beard short. He built a home and raised six kids not too far from the Little Susitna River. Life, however, has not been easy in recent years. Last summer, Kelley lost a child when his second-oldest boy died on a hiking trip in Hatcher Pass. His mental pain is coupled with chronic knee and back pain from old injuries working as a logger. To pay the bills, Kelley collects disability checks. He describes the river as a spiritual place where moving water absorbs physical and mental suffering. “It relaxes the mind,” he explained. “It's the only place now that I can find to ease the mind.” Kelley pushed a stack of photographs forward Thursday afternoon to illustrate what he meant. Images of moose wading into the water, fish swimming up stream, and glowing campfires with his best friend filled the pictures. “That's what it's all about,” Kelley explained. “Just getting away from everyday life.” So far this summer, Kelley has floated 28 times in his trusty pontoon raft. He hopes to notch 40 floats before winter sets in. On Saturday, he buckled into his pontoon to brave the flooded Little Susitna River. The waters tore into the bank, submerged parts of the forest and surrounded nearby homes. Kelley drifted calmly amidst the storm - taking pictures to document yet another part of his ongoing journey. He and his faithful traveling partner and neighbor, Steve Darilek, hope to one day write a book about their Alaska float trips. To that end, Kelley hangs a digital recorder from his neck during each outing. It records nonstop, as Kelley describes the smallest details of each trip. While the book certainly provides focus for the floats, it doesn't have a firm due date for completion. “It's a work in progress,” Kelley said. “There is no timeline for it.” After each trip, Kelley listens to the recordings, mining them for narrative nuggets that might someday work into the book. “I refer back to it for my notes,” he said. “I talk the whole trip because I gotta' know what I've seen.” The tangible goal is to take what he and his friend experience and convey bits of it to others who may never float the rivers, Kelley said. Montana Creek, Willow Creek and the Little Susitna River comprise most of the trips. With rain falling hard again Thursday afternoon, Kelley prepared for his 29th trip of the summer - a six-day float down Kroto Creek with Darilek. “I've never been on that one before,” he said, a smile stretching across his face. “It'll be a new experience, a new chapter in our book.” With his pontoon packed and ready to go, Kelley seemed giddy at the prospect of hitting the river again that evening. “Even though it's raining, it don't matter to me,” he said. “Sometimes I float down, and I damn near want to go back up and do it all over again.” Contact Joel Davidson at 352-2266 or joel.davidson@ frontiersman.com. |