Fall Float

Last weekend, 24 hours told a season's worth of stories.

From Friday night through Saturday night, if you spent 24 hours outdoors, you got a glimpse of summer, fall and winter, all in one late-season trip. There was the brilliance of summer, the color of fall and the cold of winter -- all there for the taking during one day.

Friday night campers noticed a thick layer of frost come Saturday morning, not to mention chattering teeth as the nip of winter was in the air. That bitterness gave way to a spectacular fall morning, when it seemed the leaves of gold, yellow and red were raining from trees.

"The rainbows are

in and most of the people have already given up on the season" said Mike Coughlin, owner of Susitna Valley River Guides.

He didn't have clients Saturday, but he was found where he always can be found -- floating a Parks Highway stream in search of rainbow trout

"It's one of my favorite times of the year," he said.

As rafts and boats were launched Saturday morning, rods were strung. While hunters headed farther north, trout anglers had a beautiful day on the river.

The crispness of fall finally gave way to the warmth of summer in the afternoon.

Standing on the shore and casting a fly, one could see many familiar faces floating by and enjoying the day.

One-man rafts, catarafts and small motorboats rule this season -- not the giant airboats that rip through the water during salmon season, carrying load after load of tourists looking for giant king salmon. Everything is more relaxed come September. Many hunters use large rafts as a means of transportation during long hunts in the Bush. A good number of anglers prefer to drift fish many of Southcentral Alaska's streams -- ranging in size from small Montana Creek all the way to the Upper Kenai River. Farther north, the Chulitna River provides a great trip for a late-season float, whether it be for hunting, fishing or just sight-seeing.

"It's the only way to go," Coughlin said. All of his guided trips are float-only, and he said clients prefer the laid-back atmosphere a float trip provides. "They can enjoy the day and take things in when you are floating, and there's more opportunity to fish more water."

As it gets colder and winter makes it presence felt more and more each day, Coughlin and many others will still be found on the water.

"I'll be out here until it freezes up," he said.