The ice road on the frozen Kuskokwim River has been plowed to its longest length ever: 355 miles. That’s longer than most traditional highways in the state.
The remnants of Typhoon Merbok not only battered Alaska’s west coast in September, the storm also left behind a few treasures in its wake.
Biologists do not expect either to reach their goals for fish reaching their spawning grounds.
“The ice was so thick flowing down the river. It was forming so fast. It was freezing so fast. Just amazing. I’d never seen anything like that," one of the hunters, Rex Nick, said.
The Kuskokwim River king salmon run does not look particularly strong this year, but chum numbers look even worse. Historically, around 60% of the salmon in the river at this point in the season would be chum or sockeye, but right now Bethel Test Fishery numbers show that just over 20% of the salmon are.
Poor trail conditions have pushed the Kuskokwim 300 Season Opener race back another week.
Travelers need to stay off Straight Slough, which flows into the main Kuskokwim River near Bethel.
Heavy snowfall has made maintaining the lower Kuskokwim Ice Road a challenge this year. The road is shorter than usual, even as its crew is working harder.
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