UPPER ALSEK RIVER

8-DAY RAFTING & HIKING EXPEDITION

FLOATING PAST THE SURGING TWEEDSMUIR GLACIER ABOVE TURNBACK CANYON. TYLER GARNHAM PHOTO

The Tatshenshini/Alsek rivers rated #1 river trip in the world in National Geographics “Journey of a lifetime”!

TRIP DETAILS → Great hiking with abundant wildlife and This is a shorter trip on the YOUR TRIP wildflowers. Upper Alsek River, renowned This eight-day Alsek River rafting → The Upper Alsek flows through Kluane for its large rapids, Himalaya- adventure is the perfect shorter option for National Park and Reserve, a UNESCO like mountain valleys and those who have already floated the lower World Heritage Site and courses through a glaciers – wilderness that’s Alsek on a Tatshenshini trip, or those Himalaya-like landscape. extraordinarily different from who simply have less time. The trip cost any other river. includes a spectacular helicopter flight out We travel by raft over eight river days from the Alsek’s Turnback Canyon. from Serpentine Creek to the Dezadeash

SKILL LEVEL River, Kluane National Park and Reserve Beginner - The guides navigate → Flows through the world’s largest non- and end at Turnback Canyon. polar ice cap with some of the world’s with oars & paddling by most active surging glaciers (see it while Renowned for large rapids, dramatic participants is optional for those you still can). mountain valleys and glaciers, the Alsek who want more activity! → Rafters float through a stunning, River is a wilderness treasure. Glaciers, iceberg-filled lake. icebergs, wildlife, deep canyons and RENDEZVOUS POINT a helicopter portage around Turnback Coast High Country Inn, → Part of the world’s largest biological Canyon all add to this arctic mountain Whitehorse, Yukon preserve. river adventure. Pre- and post-trip accommodation is your responsibility –

DURATION → Bald eagles and grizzlies abound. the cost is not included in the trip fee. We’re happy to assist you in making 8 River Days → World’s tallest coast range mountain – reservations if you wish. Mount Fairweather – also BC’s tallest. TRIP TYPE Raft

FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE THE FAQS AT NAHANNI.COM PAGE 1 ITINERARY last-minute questions concerning National Park and UNESCO World clothing, gear, packing and other Heritage Site where we transfer to a details. four-wheel drive vehicle waiting to DAY 0 – WHITEHORSE, YUKON take us the final 20 kilometres along Whitehorse is a great place to spend a rugged trail to our waiting rafts. This is the first date listed for your trip. a few extra days and there are local day hikes, bike trails, canoe rentals, As the 4×4 fords streams and bumps Your journey north from your home dog mushing kennels to visit as well across meadows, we often see our will be a refreshing departure. You as a National Historic Site and several first bears of the trip. Mountain goat will fly over the largest expanse museums. Renting a car for a day trip and Dalls sheep are frequent sights of wilderness in the world with through the White Pass to Skagway, on the mountain slopes above. The stunning views on cloudless days, Alaska is a popular outing. valley floor is also excellent habitat pass through quieter and friendlier for moose, beaver, songbirds, terns, airports and generally begin to DAY 1 – ALPINE SCENIC DRIVE TO THE swans and other waterfowl. immerse yourself in the wilderness RIVER experience that is about to unfold. The “road” fades out at the braided Following breakfast (not covered), we alluvial fan of Serpentine Creek. Here This is the arrival day and is the will meet in the hotel lobby at 8 a.m. the rafts are rigged and waiting on first day listed for your trip. The and will embark on our journey down the banks of the Dezadeash River. scheduled flights arrive in Whitehorse the Alaska Highway for the 1½ hour Here you will have time to make final throughout the day. Aim to arrive by van ride to the small community of adjustments to your pack, and the 5 p.m. Haines Junction. There we will visit guides will introduce you to the finer the Kluane National Park Interpretive points of the day’s journey. Please make your way to your Centre. hotel and plan to rendezvous with Here on the edge of Kluane National your guides in the lobby of the The next leg of our journey will take Park you embark on a gentle piece High Country Inn at 7 p.m. for an us through the stunning scenery of of river, winding through the broad orientation meeting with the trip the Haines Pass to clear US customs. valley, as it flows into Alsek Pass. leader. There will be a chance for Next, we arrive at the edge of Kluane

THE LOWELL GLACIER UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN ON LOWELL LAKE. BRUCE KIRKBY PHOTO

FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE THE FAQS AT NAHANNI.COM PAGE 2 Initially the Dezadeash River, one of square kilometers. When the dam sealing off the Alsek’s flow. This is a the two sources of the Alsek, flows broke, the ensuing flood was greater natural place to spend an extra day to quite slowly. We carry paddles (in than the volume of the Amazon. hike or just soak in the sights. addition to the guides’ oars) and Throughout the valley you will see anyone who desires to pitch in and remarkable remnants of the lake and DAY 4 – LAYOVER AT GOATHERD MOUNTAIN burn off the delicious lunch can do flood. AND HIKING so. At the Dezadeash and the larger Kaskawulsh the Alsek is born. Camp In the afternoon of Day 3, the river Goatherd Mountain is a superb location will be determined by the quickens and in the last couple of destination for hikers – truly a prevailing conditions. kilometres we encounter the trip’s world-class hike with fantastic first exciting rapids as the river wildlife. Even those who don’t choose DAY 2 & 3 – TO LOWELL LAKE AND GLACIER washes around boulders left behind to go to the top can get a marvelous by the glaciers. Here we get our first view from its base. In the morning we raft past an view of the white tops of icebergs in interesting portion of river with the distance. One can look out over the jewel-like unusual rock formations, dunes icebergs of Lowell Lake and see 50 or of wind blown glacial till known Though presently receding, massive more kilometers up the ice of Lowell as loes, and lots of bear sightings. Lowell Glacier still spills into the Glacier to 13,905 foot Mount Kennedy Along the way we stop for walks to lake that is carved out at its toe. Like (named after JFK and climbed by his viewpoints, a waterfall, and a grizzly the other glaciers of the St. Elias brother Bobby). bear rubbing tree or some other Mountains, Lowell is a remnant of interesting feature. the last ice age. Lowell Lake is an Other peaks surrounding Kennedy iceberg-filled spectacle similar to the – Alverstone and Hubbard – rise up The guides will tell you of the one on the lower Alsek made famous to over 15,000 feet: Mount Logan, dramatic event in the 1870’s when by books and posters. Canada’s highest and second in North this portion of the river was flooded America only to McKinley, lies farther by a massive lake, caused by the We camp on the flats at the base back at 19,850 feet. surging Lowell Glacier blocking the of the cliffs against which Lowell river. The lake flooded hundreds of Glacier, once pressed during a surge,

LOWELL GLACIER AND MT. KENNEDY TOWER OVER THE ALSEK RIVER, YUKON TERRITORY TAYLOR BURKE PHOTO

FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE THE FAQS AT NAHANNI.COM PAGE 3 Goatherd Mountain is well named entire apartment blocks! Periodically begins to close in and the river as it is home to over 100 mountain one rolls over with a resounding valley becomes more confined. goats, some of which graze the slopes thunder, exposing its freshly washed, Waterfalls plummet off the rugged right above camp. Ptarmigan, horned sapphire-blue underside. mountainsides as the river races larks and pipits nest and feed in the underneath. high country. After about 4 kilometres, the lake narrows and becomes a river again It’s a very imposing, awe-inspiring Golden eagles soar over the slopes with its characteristic speed. The landscape. A number of fun rapids looking for unwary Arctic ground bigger bergs get hung up in the and wave trains await downstream! squirrels. A rainbow of wildflowers shallows of Lowell Lake’s outlet but carpets the alpine meadows. many smaller ones (up to the size of A second layover day is spent at a a van) can escape and we may bob camp somewhere below the Bates The guides will split up to accompany and weave downstream with them. River. There are a number of possible some to the top of the plateau, others layover camps well-positioned for to the lower flanks and meadows and The major rapids of the trip are alpine hikes, glacier walks or simply also others for a ramble along the encountered below Lowell Lake. relaxing with a great view. gentle iceberg-studded shoreline of There is one tight spot where, in Lowell Lake. most water levels, the guides will About a day before Turnback Canyon line the boats or run them through we leave the Yukon Kluane National DAY 5 & 6 – ICEBERGS, RAPIDS & DOWN empty. It’s easy to walk downstream Park and enter British Columbia’s RIVER INTO ALSEK CANYONS a few hundred metres and meet the Tatshenshini-Alsek Wilderness Park. boats once they’ve negotiated this On Day 5 we break camp and spot. Don’t worry, you won’t have In June 1993 the BC portion of the continue on through Lowell Lake, missed anything. The fun rapids Alsek and Tat was preserved with paddling and rowing through a maze continue below. the declaration of the Tatshenshini- of icebergs, which have calved off Alsek Wilderness Park and has since from the face of Lowell Glacier. The Shortly below these rapids, we meet been designated a United Nations bergs range in size from minute the first drainage of the Fisher World Heritage Site. The Tat-Alsek to massive – some are the size of Glacier on the right. Here the terrain watershed is the heartland of the

FLOATING ON ANCIENT ICE FROM THE ST. ELIAS RANGE ALSEK RIVER, KLUANE NATIONAL PARK, YUKON KALUM KO PHOTO

FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE THE FAQS AT NAHANNI.COM PAGE 4 largest protected wilderness area on is no place for a raft. After dinner tour or cruise ship. For them this is the continent. the guides deflate and roll up the adventure. How can you even start to rafts and consolidate the gear for describe to them the places you have The Tat-Alsek watershed is the the helicopter egress the following just come from? heartland of the largest protected day. This camp is spectacular, with wilderness area in the world. a dramatic and imposing sapphire- DAY 9 – HOMEWARD BOUND blue glacier hanging off the nearby DAY 7 – MORE WHITEWATER TO TURNBACK mountains. This is the last date listed for your trip. CANYON & TWEEDSMUIR GLACIER DAY 8 – HELICOPTER EGRESS FROM After goodbyes and a last look around Massive wave trains and stunning TURNBACK CANYON Whitehorse, we will head for home scenery fill this day. The objective with a cargo of fond and spectacular of day 7 is to position ourselves to We prepare the gear for the helicopter memories. rendezvous with the helicopter for flights out. Four people at a time the aerial flight over the glacier and fly over Turnback Canyon and Please note: The above is a tentative out to vehicles waiting to transport Tweedsmuir Glacier en route to the itinerary and has been designed with us back to Whitehorse on Day 8. We waiting vans. In the vans it is less much thought to capitalize on the usually endeavour to get down to our than an hour into Haines Junction most scenic and exciting parts of the camp at Tweedsmuir Glacier above and another couple of hours back to river, while making time on other Turnback early enough to allow a few Whitehorse. Once back in Whitehorse sections. Your guides will adjust the hours exploring the start of Turnback we will escort everyone to the hotel schedule to make the best use of river Canyon that afternoon or evening. for those long-awaited showers and and weather conditions. clean clothes. Please ensure that you have a warm Turnback consists of several winter jacket (think ‘Puffy’) as well kilometers of some of the ugliest, Usually we all meet for a final dinner as waterproof rain jacket and pants. most tortured and turbulent (not included) and then for a drink at whitewater you’ll see anywhere. one of Whitehorse’s charismatic bars, Although it has been kayaked a mingling with both locals and those “handful” of times in low water, it tourists who just stepped off a bus

HIKING GOATHERD MOUNTAIN FOR SPECTACULAR VIEWS OF LOWELL LAKE AND GLACIER, AND FREQUENTLY..... MOUNTAIN GOATS! PHOTO: BRUCE KIRKBY

FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE THE FAQS AT NAHANNI.COM PAGE 5 We rent robust rain gear and rubber SUGGESTED READING CONTACT US boots – more on our ‘Details &

Equipment list. Goretex is not a Your guides will carry a small reference Mailing address substitute for rain gear on this trip. library which include field reference PO Box 31203 Lifejackets are supplied. books. Following are some books for Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada winter reading: Y1A 5P7 Meals and pre- and post-trip accommodation in Whitehorse are A Naturalist’s Guide to the Toll-free 1-800-297-6927 your responsibility – the cost is not Tatshenshini-Alsek by Heather p 1-867-668-3180 included in the trip fee. We have Hamilton Email [email protected] attached a list of Whitehorse hotels. Web www.nahanni.com Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks After the Ice Age – The Return of Life are included from the Day 1 lunch to Glaciated North America by E.C. until the final river meal. Any Pielou other meals off the river are your responsibility. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Arctic by E.C.Pielou

THE ALSEK RIVER VALLEY IS HOME TO ONE OF THE DENSEST GRIZZLY BEAR POPULATIONS ON THE PLANET! PHOTO: GARY FINLEY

FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE THE FAQS AT NAHANNI.COM PAGE 6