FAIRBANKS — The Alaska Range might be the tallest thing around, but it is no match for the Delta River. The waterway cuts straight through the mountains, flowing north and creating a spectacularly scenic float trip for rafters, canoeists and kayakers.

The float begins along the Denali Highway in the Tangle Lakes Archaeological District. Boaters launch into a series of lakes connected by the Tangle River, which drains into the Delta River.

Tundra-covered rolling hills line the river as it makes its way north through the Amphitheater Mountains, where the water spills over the Denali Fault.

The fault has created a waterfall that can’t be run in a boat. A well-marked, half-mile portage trail detours around the falls over two sections separated by a pond left behind in an old river channel. After the portage, there is a one-mile section of shallow, rocky Class II-III rapids. After, the river slows and braids its way through gravel shoals that end just below Phelan Creek at 212.5 Mile Richardson Highway. The trip is about 29 miles.

I had wanted to run the Delta River for some time. It was the only one of the 25 National Wild and Scenic River in Alaska that can be run from road to road that I hadn’t yet floated — the Gulkana and Fortymile rivers and Birch Creek also include sections that can be completed starting and ending on the road system. (Beaver Creek could be completed starting on Nome Creek off the Steese Highway and finishing up on the Yukon River at the Dalton Highway bridge, but the 360-mile trip is not a practical float for this working paddler.)

Leaving town Friday afternoon after a half day’s work, Jason Lauesen, Pat Tilsworth and I headed to the take-out to leave a vehicle. Phelan Creek has created a large delta with many channels as it joins the Delta River. The take-out is marked with large sign facing the river, up on the rip-rapped bank where the Delta runs along the Richardson Highway after being joined by Phelan. The sign was easier to find from the river than from the highway.

After finding a suitable parking spot above highwater, we marked the spot on our GPS and headed to the put-in, 21 miles west of Paxson on the Denali Highway. Access is at the boat launch of Round Tangle Lake in the Tangle Lakes Campground. Pat and I in a tandem Blue Hole canoe and Jason in his inflatable Grabner were on the water by 6:30 p.m.

We took off under a sunny blue sky after driving through heavy rain most of the way from Fairbanks. The lakes were calm, carrying the call of loons and the conversations of fishermen across the flat water. A headwind here would have caused us to camp early, but the calm evening made for a beautiful, eight-mile paddle through the lower lakes. Shallow gravel shoals separate the lakes, but they had enough water for us to pass easily. At lower water levels later in the season, the shoals might require lining.

Fishermen were working the outlets of the larger lake from canoes. They reported the fishing was OK but the grayling were small. We made note of suitable campsites through the lakes, thinking of future trips when we might get a later start or face winds. Campsites are few, with the lack of gravel bars to stop on. Grassy spots mark where previous campers have opened up the alder and willow thickets. Creating new campsites is discouraged in the National Wild and Scenic River corridors.

Once we were clear of the last lake, the current increased for a shallow, rocky, 1 1/4-mile run to the rapids. There is a series of drops and rocky runs where the river makes a 90 degree turn at the Denali Fault. Among them is an unrunnable waterfall that requires a portage. The 1/2-mile trail is well marked with two yellow signs. One on river left warns of the approaching rapids. From the first sign, you can see the second sign downriver at the trailhead on river right. It is a tight, shallow rocky landing. You do not want to float past this point.

The start of the trail is uphill, but steps outlined with boulders and the treads filled with crushed rock and sediment make for an easy climb. Bureau of Land Management seasonal river crews and volunteers from the American Hiking Society have been working on the portage trail for the past three summers. Crushed rock fills in low stretches, and split spruce logs laid side-by-side bridge boggy areas.

“We are trying to do it in a way that they did 100 years ago,” BLM Outdoor Recreation Planner Heath Emmons said of the trail maintenance. “I’m a big fan of using native materials. These are ‘wild and scenic’ rivers.”

The trail is easy to navigate carrying loads of gear and canoes to a small pond left behind in an old river channel. Most likely a shift along the fault altered the river’s course. Arriving a little more than four hours after we put in, we decided to camp along the portage trail as the sun disappeared behind the mountains. We were not the first to do this. Small cleared areas indicate previous camps, and a BLM outhouse attests to the fact that most all of the river’s estimated 1,000 annual users pass by. Keeping only the gear we needed for the evening, we moved the boats to the pond.

Because of the portage, I was hesitant to carry a cooler and kitchen box. Pat, who has made several trips on the Delta, did not hesitate. I am glad he didn’t. Fresh food prepared along a river is hard to beat — much better than the overly processed food we were considering in the beginning. Having a good trail made the extra trips for bulkier items not a problem.

The next morning, while preparing a hearty breakfast, we enjoyed watching a pair of nesting bald eagles. With the dishes done and the sun climbing into the sky, we broke camp and began to move the rest of our gear down the trail.

As we were carrying the last items to the pond, another group arrived. They opted to explore the falls while we finished our portage to prevent a traffic jam on the trail. Once across the pond, the trail drops sharply down to the river. This portion of the trail is in good shape, too, but Emmons hopes to get his river crew out there for some finishing touches.

Once we had our boats loaded and pulled out of the way of the other group, we went to explore the falls ourselves and to try some fishing at the end of the portage trail. The grayling were abundant, but they didn’t have much size to them. We hoped the fishing would improve in the lower stretches before the Eureka River added its glacier silt-laden runoff.

The mile-plus long rock garden that followed was easily navigated. Forested areas began to appear along the river as we left the brushy tundra behind. The river slowed but still flowed enough to keep us moving without much effort. We saw several pairs of trumpeter swans through this stretch and more nesting eagles.

Campsites in the trees were obvious. The limbs of spruce trees were removed to open up areas with plenty of grassy spots for tents. We pushed on, wanting to make Garrett Creek, where a cabin is marked on the topographic maps. We thought this would make for a nice place to explore and hike up the creek. We were not alone. As we floated by, the group that passed us at the portage was setting up camp and fishing in the hole nearby.

After a few more miles, we we stopped on a large gravel bar with plenty of driftwood, level tent sites, cow and calf moose prints and bear tracks. The fishing hole below the gravel bar consistently produced fat 10-inch to 12-inch grayling.

Pancakes with moose sausage filled the tank for the next day as we set off on our final 11 miles. There was a bit of a headwind as we continued north, but it was never enough to form whitecaps on the long straight stretches. As we approached Eureka Creek, we could see the delta it formed was still covered with ice. Channels colored with glacier silt cut through the ice and mixed with the clear water of the Delta. The river became more braided below Eureka, making it a challenge to follow the channel.

We knew we were getting close to the end when we saw Rainbow Ridge, and it was not long before the trans-Alaska oil pipeline came into view. The pipeline reaches the end of the ridge and disappears under Phelan Creek. The delta caused by Phelan is large, and we could see our vehicle from some distance. Following around the large gravel delta brought us in view of the sign marking the take-out a short walk from the car. I set about unloading gear and carrying it across a small sandy strip to where the vehicles would park as Pat and Jason left to get our other vehicle. The first rain that fell since we had been on the river came as I napped, waiting on my partners to complete the two-hour run.

Celebrating with cheeseburgers at the Buffalo Diner in Delta Junction, the three of us recounted our short journey through the mountains and discussed the possibility of Beaver Creek being run as a road-to-road venture.

Contact Sam Harrel, News-Miner photo editor, at 459-7534.

If you go

Put-in: 21.5 Mile Denali Highway from the boat launch at the Tangle Lakes Campground

Take-out: 212.5 Mile Richardson Highway

Just short of 29 miles, making for a perfect three-day, two-night trip.

Shuttle services can be arranged with Paxson Lodge, 822-3330; Tangle River Inn, 822-3970; or Tangle Lakes Lodge, 822-4202. You can drop in, but lodge owners suggest calling ahead to make the arrangements.

For more information on the river contact the BLM office in Glennallen at 822-3217.