Riversong Rafting Offers Scenic Getaway.

• Author: JACKINSKY, McKIBBEN
• Position: Brief Article

You can't take a wristwatch on this relaxing float down the Ninilchik River.

It might not be the fountain of youth, but the gently moving waters of Ninilchik River are perfect for restoring energy to tired muscles. Scenery that changes with the seasons and opportunities to view bald eagles, moose and bear await as you float the river's current. Perfect ingredients for a relaxing Alaska day and a perfect foundation for one of Ninilchik's newest businesses, Riversong Rafting.

"When you're on the river, everything just disappears," said Owner and Guide Jodi Leah of Ninilchik. "You're not allowed to take a watch. Time stops. There's like an energy there that when you're done with this float, you're renewed."

Don't confuse Leah's appreciation for taking things slowly with not haying direction.

"My high school English teacher showed slides of Homer when I was a sophomore and I fell in love with the place," said Leah, a native of Sacramento, Calif.

After completing a course of study at Heald Business College, she and a friend caught a train to Seattle in 1977, sailed to Haines on the Alaska Marine Highway and hitchhiked to Homer.

Arriving at the end of the Kenai Peninsula, Leah set about fulfilling her dream of living "a subsistence lifestyle somewhere in a cabin in the woods."

A home off the beaten path required a dog sled run to bridge the distance to the highway. After relocating to Ninilchik a couple of years later, Leah enjoyed the convenience of electricity.

Her Alaska rafting history includes the white water of Six-Mile Canyon (near the Hope turnoff) and Kasilof River, but it's on the Ninilchik River that she's found her home.

Her raft of choice is an 11-foot "Otter" from Northwest River Supplies that can haul four to six people, depending on the river's depth.

"The size is important because the river is so small," Leah said. "I went through a couple of different types, but they didn't work out. A wooden bottom got stuck on the rocks and the fabric of the second raft deteriorated."

The river is so calm it is rated a class 1 river, though Leah laughingly refers to it as a -1. The float is a five-mile course that can last a leisurely three hours or longer, depending on the wishes of Leah's clients, who have helped her name various spots along the river.

"Right away, you're aware that you're sharing the river," Leah...