I’m in the back of the raft, also known as the “ejection seats” because of their tendency, upon the hitting of a rock, forcibly to launch the occupants into orbit. “One hand for the boat,” Mom always said when we lived on the Celtic, and while it is difficult to take notes while maintaining a death grip on the raft, it is not impossible.

The adventure begins at Mudhole Smith Airport, thirteen miles north of Cordova, at Alaska River Rafters log cabin office, where we climb onto a bus driven by Robin, an attractive young brunette who is tickled at the preponderance of Carlsons on this three-hour evening trip, especially by Cathy and Bob’s son, Mike, who takes every opportunity to take off in every possible direction. “Don’t be bear bait, Mike!” she calls after him as he disappears up a trail. “Uh, you might change your mind about that after a while,” says Bob, Mike’s loving father.

Robin Irving and and her husband, Mark, came to Cordova seventeen years ago, when Mark was a gillnetter on the Copper River flats. He decided that Cordova needed more recreational opportunities, and in 1995 sold his boat and permit and went into the river rafting business. They operate exclusively on the Copper River Delta, offering three-day floats from Tasnuna, five-day floats from Chitina, and ten-day floats from McCarthy, along with day adventures out of Cordova that combine flight-seeing and/or hiking with rafting.

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