The Lost Coast South: Whale Watching, Fatbiking & Packrafting in Alaska
In July 2011, Mike Curiak, Roman Dial, Steve “Doom” Fassbinder, Dylan Kentch and Eric Parsons flew to Yakatut, Alaska with fatbikes to traverse the southern half of the Gulf of Alaska coastline with bikes and packrafts. The engaging Lost Coast route covers pristine beaches, boulder ridden headlands, glaciers calving into the ocean and extended paddling. When Titan Straps Owner Cameron Lawson heard about the adventure and after having repeated the Lost Coast trip from south to north (Yakutat to Cordova) after Dylan and Eric, he decided to repeat the southern route in 2013.
The Lost Coast South: From Yakutat to Gustavus
“I had so much fun on the northern section that I teamed up with Iris Vandenham from the Netherlands,” Cameron explains. “She was living in Talkeetna, Alaska. I met her for the very first time at the airport in Yakutat with bikes. We hit it off and were great partners.”
When Cameron did the northern route with Brett DeWoody, they were on a mission to get as many miles in as possible, he adds.
“Iris had a slower approach, so we’d cruise and then make a fire and have snacks. It was a slower pace, but it totally worked out. It was super fun that way.”
Despite the great time, the trip wasn’t without some epic moments, bushwhacks and dangerous river crossings.
“Roman Dial made some notes on a map of his, and he talks about some river crossings south of Lituya Bay,” Cameron recalls. “He called them dangerous. I’d say they were pretty dangerous. That’s the first time on the trip where I thought we might not be able to pull it off.”
Cameron hadn’t taken PFDs on either trip due to weight concerns. But he wished he had. While ferrying across the aforementioned river in a whitewater section, the river just dropped off all of a sudden.
“It was steep, fast and going over boulders,” Cameron explains. “There were no eddies. I just thought if I don’t make this eddy, and I go down this, I’m probably going to die. It got my attention. But we both did it, and after that river crossing we went on our way.”
They finished the adventure in 13 days, and says Cameron, “We had a great time!”
