Canoes to kayaks

In the days before roads, the maze of waterways criss-crossing the broad Matanuska and Susitna valleys provided travel routes -- some more useful than others.

The Ahtna and Den'aina parked their birch bark canoes or portaged and walked trails that provided shortcuts to destinations stretching as far away as Tok in the north and Kenai in the south. Ahtna elder Katherine Wade said she believes her ancestors walked more often than they took boats, avoiding the mosquito bogs.

Chief Wasillie, whose village was located on Mud Lake, would have been in a position to use Wasilla, Cottonwood and Finger lakes for a little help traveling north. His people's portage trails over land existed well into this century.

In modern times it's not surprising that boats of all sizes and shapes can be seen emerging from the snow mounds around the Mat-Su.

Some 3,812 named lakes are listed in the Mat-Su Borough, said borough planner Beth McKibben. As if that's not enough, many more exist without names. Many cannot be accessed except by float plane.

Breakup is actually a good time to get ready for the boating season, local boat enthusiasts say. It's time to take a look at your boat and fix anything that might ruin a long-awaited summer adventure.

Neal Lacy, owner of Alaska Mobile Marine, advises boat owners to dig out the faulty outboard engine now because later in the spring business becomes so busy, there's a wait list.

"It's better if they get it done now. It could take a day to fix an engine if I don't need to order parts. But if I do, it takes more time," Lacy said.

For the most part, you'll find a waterway for any type of craft, from air boats to canoes and kayaks. The borough does, however, have a list of lakes and updated regulations on what can or cannot be used there -- with horsepower limits, water craft limitations and no-wake zones.

Long Lake by Houston is now limited to 10-horsepower engines after its lake management plan was adopted by the borough in November. There's also a no-wake zone 100 feet from the ordinary high water mark, with quiet hours established between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.

All motorized watercraft are prohibited on Lower Neklasen Lake and limitations were placed on nearly 20 other lakes in recent years.

Borough regulations on Ravine, Diamond, Christiansen, Fish, John, Knik, Memory, Walby, Question, Rainbow and Marilee lakes require boaters to use small engines between five and 15 horsepower.

Recent regulation changes on Knik River relating to air boats, and lakes relating to quiet zones and engine size are available at the Mat-Su Borough Parks and Recreation office. The borough Web site will soon list these as well, at www.co.mat-su.ak.us.

Yet, given a sunny day and calm winds, there's bound to be a lake nearby for a day-long canoe ride, or a more finely planned adventure packing overnight gear. The Nancy Lakes Recreation Area has established canoe routes that lead all the way to the Little Su River. Helpful planning guides at the Willow Ranger Station offer information on public-use cabins along the route, as well as other tips.

A seven-mile canoe route from Wasilla Lake to Finger Lake proved a little difficult in previous summers, said Teri Zell at Mat-Su Finger Lake Alaska State Parks Headquarters. "Unless you know where the portages are, it can be tricky because the area is pretty overgrown."

The borough is working on getting portages better marked and is producing a smaller brochure explaining that area, Zell said.

The Finger Lakes area parks office yields up a treasure of information on waterways as far as Glennallen and Denali to the north and many area waterways including Big Lake and the Kepler/Bradley Lakes close by.

So the bad news might be that snow is falling on the ground or doing a painfully slow melt.

The good news is that it's time to get out the maps, collect the brochures and dust off the boats.