Daniel Quick has lived on the Kenai Peninsula since 1969. He has explored much of its wilderness area and has spent most of his adult life capturing its beauty on film. Daniel has traveled extensively on all of the trails and waterways described on the pages of The Kenai Canoe Trails. He has compiled a unique and interesting record of one of the world's most fascinating canoe systems. It is the definitive work on this pristine area. Be you a casual visitor, an avid paddler, or just an armchair dreamer, you're sure to find this account of the Swanson River and Swan Lake Canoe Trails of Alaska a most valuable and often reread addition to your adventure library.
For more than twenty years I have been scratching around the back country of Alaska, and particularly the Kenai Peninsula. When I was a little younger and in better shape, I would tend to invest most of my efforts in the high country, up where the sheep and mountain goats roam. This was a magnificent realm of clouds, ice, and tundra, and it totally captivated my imagination. Though as much as possible I would stay on the high and lofty ridges, I often found myself spending lazy afternoons gazing down on the sparkling lake country of the northwest section of the Kenai. Someday I would explore that vast country. Someday when time allowed.
A few of my early excursions would take me close to that area, out the Swanson River Road and on to the end of the Swan Lake Road. These gravel thoroughfares allowed me to penetrate, at least a little, this great basin of lakes and forests. But with the dust of the road and the thickness of the brush, I always felt like I had somehow missed something primeval, even magical, that was lurking just beyond the leafy barriers along the roadway. I knew of the existence of the Canoe Trails and even mused over maps and charts, exploring the lakes and portages with a wondering eye and a sharpened pencil. On a few occasions I would even paddle some of the lakes near the Swanson or Swan Lake Roads. But it was not until much later that I would discover firsthand the treasury of trails and waterways that make up the Swan Lake and Swanson River Canoe Routes.
Each successive journey into these systems would draw me farther away from the road and deeper into a wondrous area. Though the country maintained a certain sameness to its rolling hills of birch and spruce, I was pleasantly surprised by the unique character each lake presented. None were quite the same. Each had its own flavor, its own way of presenting the wild places.
As my excursions would take me deeper into this land of lakes, I became increasingly aware of how very little was known or written about this wilderness. The maps and brochures dealing with the systems were meant to be guides to paddlers, but were woefully lacking in meaningful information. Where were the camps? Was the portage easy or challenging? What was the lake like? Were there fish here or there, and if so what kind and how many? How deep was this lake and what was its bottom contour? Should I stop here or carry the canoe on to the next lake to set up my camp? It was because of such questions, and because of the lack of available resource material to draw any answers, that this book was conceived.I started a systematic search for answers and began gathering information from any and every source possible. It has taken several years of exploring and many months of pouring over official field notes and records of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. I have probably read nearly every scrap of information about these Canoe Trails, some of which dates back to the early 60's, and in some cases was nothing more than a scribbled field note.
I continue to be amazed at how much is left unknown. Many of the lakes have never been tested for water quality or depth. Much of the fishery information that has been gathered over the years is fairly old now and needs to be updated. In short, there is a lot of the Swan Lake and Swanson River Canoe Routes that remains a mystery, and I suppose will remain so for many years to come. Therein lies much of my continued interest and involvement. I'll probably be searching and exploring this vast area for as long as I am able.
Bald Eagle
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