|
__________________________________________
| |
Alaska Discovery |
800-586-1911 |
|
| |
Mountain Travel-Sobek |
800-687-6235 |
|
| |
Suskwa Adventure Outfitters |
|
|
| |
Wilderness River Outfitters |
800-252-6581 |
|
| |
Tatshenshini Expediting, Ltd. |
|
|
|
| Sections |
Haines
Junction, Yukon to Dry Bay, Alaska (Alsek); Dalton Post, Yukon to Dry Bay, Alaska (Tatshenshini-Alsek)
|
|
Location |
Southwest Yukon, northwest British Columbia,
southeast Alaska |
|
Driving Time |
|
|
Difficulty |
Class III-IV (Alsek); II-III
(Tatshenshini) |
|
Trip Length |
Alsek—140 miles (224 km); Tatshenshini-Alsek—184
miles (294 km) |
|
Trip Options |
Oar raft, paddle/oar raft; nine to twelve days |
|
Season |
June-September |
The Alsek and
Tatshenshini rivers provide two of the most incredible outdoor
adventures imaginable. For as many as nine to twelve days, it is
possible to get away from virtually all traces of civilization and
enjoy the remote northern wilderness environment of the Yukon,
British Columbia, and Alaska. In 1993 British Columbia officials
announced the creation of a Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park,
twice the size of the Grand Canyon. The new international park links
the new park with Alaska’s adjoining Glacier Bay and Wrangell-St.
Elias national parks and the Yukon’s Kluane Park. The four parks
have become the world's largest international wilderness reserve.
Rafters
may run the Alsek River from Haines Junction, Yukon, to Dry Bay,
Alaska, or the Tatshenshini from Dalton Post, Yukon to its
confluence with the Alsek in British Columbia and then down the
Alsek to Dry Bay. Until recently most outfitters offered only the
Tatshenshini-Alsek river trip. Outfitters now also run the entire
Alsek, which has somewhat more challenging whitewater and more
varied and grander scenery. One section of the Alsek, the 4-mile
(6.5 km) Class VI Turnback Canyon, must be portaged by helicopter.
The lower Alsek travels between the towering glaciers and icebergs
of Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park.
Both
river trips offer an unforgettable primitive wilderness experience.
Rafters will long remember massive glaciers and large icebergs,
pristine waterfalls, majestic mountains, grizzlies, moose, mountain
goats, hawks, eagles, rare wildflowers, and whitewater.
|
|
