This was my first trip up the Stikine River, and it exceeded almost all my expectations. I’ve stood across the tide flats and looked across towards the mouth of the river, but until this trip had no idea what it was truly like.
For this trip, we spent two nights and did a lot of exploring using the Mount Rynda cabin as our home base. It was a perfect scouting mission and laid some good groundwork for future trips.
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Location
The Mount Rynda cabin is located within the Stikine-LeConte wilderness on a tributary up the Stikine River, Andrew’s Creek. The cabin overlooks the confluence of Andrew’s Creek and Andrew’s Slough. It is also close to where Andrew’s Creek flows into the Stikine.
Getting to the cabin can be a challenge in certain conditions. If the river is too low the entrance to Andrew’s Creek may not be accessible. The area in front is labeled “The Desert”.
We had 16 foot tides to make it across, but after seeing the river it’s clear there are a lot of shallow areas and gravel bars towards Andrew’s Creek.
Price
The Mount Rynda cabin has a flat rate of $40 a night all year. There is no change in price for different seasons. In addition, all bookings will have a $9 reservation fee.
You can reserve the cabin here.
About the mount rynda cabin
The Mount Rynda cabin is an A-frame style cabin built in 1963. The Forest Service claims the 16-by-16 cabin can sleep up to 7 people with 2 single bunks on the main level and a sleeping loft above. I think you could get 7 in there, but it would be tight.
Along with the two single bunks downstairs, there is also a table with benches, a countertop area, and an oil stove that is built to double as an oven. The stove runs on #1 stove oil.
On the outside, there is a small porch with limited room to hang gear (which is somewhat covered). A bench is built into the porch for outdoor seating, and there are two areas for food storage.
One of the food storage areas is a wood box with a latch, the other is a true bear proof container.
The cabin also has an outhouse, which at the time of our visit was in excellent condition.
Our Trip to Mount Rynda
Day 1
A trip up the Stikine has been on my list for years. It’s a place that everyone who’s been up there is incredibly impressed. We found a weekend with good tides and were able to make it happen.
We booked the cabin for 2 nights, a Friday and Saturday. The tides on Friday worked for us to leave in the afternoon, and we made the drive down to Blaquiere Point at the south end of Mitkof Island.
The weather was typical for Southeast Alaska, some rain but not a downpour. Water completely covered the tide flats, and it was still coming in so we felt good about our timing. At low tide, the same area looks like a small channel surrounded by islands and mud.
Boats were loaded, and launched. We did a last double check to make sure we had everything and then we shoved off, ready to cross over to the mouth of the Stikine.
I had stared across the flats to the mouth in the past, and had trouble seeing where the river even began. During the run over, I was having the same trouble.
Eventually we started to see some definition, and what appeared to be a far shore line. It was both exciting and intimidating to enter The Stikine.
The line to run the river hugs the bank on the North side, and soon we started seeing cabins on Farm Island. The cabins had docks and ranged in size and shape…and also upkeep.
Across from the cabins were hundreds of trees that had been swept down the river. Enormous trees that had embedded themselves into the river bottom, creating barriers across much of the river and giving the impression of a post apocalyptic scene.
I don’t know if that’s always the feeling, or if it was partly due to the light and weather at that particular time. We passed tree after tree, and cabin after cabin until the cabins stopped.
The bank became choked with vegetation. Now it felt like we had really entered another world. We started seeing Cottonwood trees instead of only spruce and hemlock. The water started to look more like a river, but still an enormous river.
The area was extremely unique, not looking like anywhere else I have been in Southeast Alaska.
We pulled into the cabin almost exactly an hour after we launched the boats. I think there was a mutual feeling of awe for where we were. There were still several hours of light, and we wanted to take advantage.
After some light unpacking we were right back into the boat. There was an area nearby that was high on our list to check out.
A short run got us to where we wanted to be, and on the first cast, there was a Dolly Varden in hand. This set a pretty high expectation for the fishing on the trip, which was ingrained further after a few more fish on a few more casts.
Only 30 minutes in we had landed Dollies, Cutthroat, and a couple Pink Salmon…not a bad start. Little did we know that would be the high point.
The rest of the evening was spent exploring the creek and some smaller feeder streams. Although the fishing slowed down, the Salmonberry picking was just getting started. The berries were perfectly ripe, delicious, and everywhere.
It was getting late, so we headed back to the cabin. Once there, we sat outside on the porch having a few beers, planning for the next day, and commenting on how the bugs weren’t that bad. The whole time we watched 2 seals playing right in front of us.
Day 2
Friday night turned out to be a late one, but we were up early ready to see some new country. A quick breakfast, some coffee, and we were off – saying bye to the seals who were still out front.
The focus for Day 2 was to see a lot of water. A scouting mission to several tributaries that we had chosen from studying maps and prior knowledge my friend had.
We stopped at one location, did some walking, then back to the boat. Then another location, did some walking, then back to the boat. Over and over, with not much fish to show for it.
What was missing from the fishing was more than made up for in good times and beautiful views. Every place we went was different from the last, and we didn’t see another person on any of the tributaries.
After the second spot, I was able to get on the tiller and run the boat for the rest of the day. It had been quite a few years since I ran a jet boat…and I was a little nervous. The nerves quickly gave way to excitement and a lot of nostalgia.
The large meandering water and large gravel bars reminded me of some of the water in Bristol Bay I used to guide, and running the jet boat really brought me back. Fishing was slow all day, and the only salmon we saw were 4 or 5 spawning chum in one of the creeks.
In the afternoon, we set a gillnet hoping for some Sockeye. The first set was in the water for maybe 20 minutes and then we saw the corks go down. This set off some excitement on the beach, and we pulled the net a few minutes later to find a big ‘ole Dolly. Not quite what we were after, but still great to see.
The next set was a little smoother and looked a little tighter. Almost immediately the corks went down and we had a hit (I had never gillnetted, but the other two guys are both retired gillnetters).
Another wave of excitement came across us and we waited to see if there would be anymore action but none came. This time when we pulled the net we did have a Sockeye! And it even had a large tag with a number coming off of it.
It turned out that the fish had been tagged by Alaska Department of Fish and Game shortly before we caught it. We were hoping it had been tagged in some far off location and travelled a long ways…but it was tagged in a nearby section of the river.
Sockeye fishing marked the end of our day and we made the trip back to the cabin. There had been a brief stretch of the sun breaking through, but overall it had been a wet day and it felt good to get out of waders.
That night was the same story as the first. Some beers and planning, and the bugs still weren’t bad!
Day 3
The next morning we slept in a little more, then packed up. We had two more rivers we wanted to check out before heading back to the boat ramp with the afternoon high tide.
The first river looked incredible. It didn’t turn out to be very productive, but we there were more berry bushes and tracks. We saw Moose, Deer, Bear, Otter, and Wolf. The place felt alive.
The next river was smaller, and it felt more like a typical Southeast Alaska stream. A lot of downed trees and thick brush without the gravel bars. Here we saw 2 salmon and a few more smaller cutthroat.
It was really started to pour and we decided to head back. The run home was wet and borderline miserable. But as soon as we hit the crossing we could see the clouds and mist moving across Mitkof Island in a beautiful way and it reminded me that even when things suck here, it’s still special.
Conclusion
The Stikine-Leconte Wilderness is incredible. It’s huge, intimidating, overwhelming, and impressive. The fishing wasn’t great, but it captured our imagination and we’re already planning for the next trip using what we learned from this one.
I’m already looking forward to the next time we go up. Even though we covered a lot of territory, we barely scratched the surface.