SNAKE RIVER PEEL WATERSHED - WHITEWATER, WILDLIFE & HIKING IN A MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPE National Geographic Adventure 2009 Best Adventure Travel Companies On Earth TAKE IN OF THE LARGEST INTACT MOUNTAIN ECOSYSTEMS ON THE PLANET! PHOTO BY ARCHBOULD.COM SKILL LEVEL TRIP DETAILS ITINERARY Raft: Beginner. The guides navigate with oars & paddling by participants is optional for those From Duo Lakes to the DAY 0 – ARRIVE IN WHITEHORSE who want more activity confluence of the Peel Canoe: Class II Whitewater. River, Yukon Territory, Your journey north from your home this river journeys through will be a refreshing departure. You RENDEZVOUS POINT will fly over the largest expanse High Country Inn - the traditional lands of the of wilderness in the world with Whitehorse, Yukon Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First stunning views on cloudless days. DURATION Nation, Na Cho Nyäk Dän, 12 River Days and Gwitchin First Nations: Passing through quieter airports, TRIP TYPE Approximately 300km (180 you will meet friendlier and less Raft or Canoe miles) with an elevation drop of harried service personnel and begin 800m (2,400ft). to immerse yourself in the wilderness experience that is about to unfold. This is the travel day. Please be in Whitehorse in time for an orientation meeting at the High Country Inn at FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE THE FAQS AT NAHANNI.COM PAGE 1 7pm. Participants are responsible point” near Reptile Creek (on raft and peaks offer unusual and enticing for hotel accommodation and meals trips) and then carrying our crew to opportunities for exploration. while in Whitehorse. Whitehorse is a the same spot on a panoramic heli- great place to spend a few extra days. flight. DAY 4 – BONNET PLUME RANGE DAY 1 – MOUNTAIN FLIGHT DAY 2 - CANOE – UPPER CANYONS Back on the river we will be treated We will meet in the hotel lobby The current is swift. As we pass to expanses of fireweed and mini at 7:30am. Following breakfast through the upper canyons, we will canyons. The Bonnet Plume Range (not covered), and we will discuss encounter sharp bends and small dominates the horizon with a final details before our departure. rapids. Camp will be in the vicinity of good possibility of spotting Dall Travelling by van we will make the Reptile Creek. sheep, caribou and grizzlies. After scenic five-hour drive to the “end of an exhilarating day of continuous the road” at Mayo. The canoeists make the 500m portage class II water, we will camp in view from Duo Lakes to the river. In this of the limestone peaks of Mount Here we will transfer to floatplane, region the Snake is a broad, braided MacDonald. and then fly the spectacular and fan and we may have to do some remote 135 miles into Duo Lakes. lining and dragging over gravel and Glaciers dominate these peaks, and This is truly a stunning region of the rocks. Neoprene booties with tough impressive panoramas are easily Yukon wilderness! Have your camera soles or combined with sneakers will obtained from short hikes in the area. ready! pay off here. DAY 5 – MORE WHITEWATER DAY 2 - RAFT – HELI PORTAGE DAY 3 – MOUNTAIN HIKING The culinary delights for which we The drama continues when a From our base camp at the beautiful are famous continue to be whipped helicopter descends to our location creek confluence we will hike up the up by our talented guides. The at the lake. Hovering down the valley local ridges for spectacular views canyon and a fun day with more we will make several flights. First of the surrounding ranges and four Class II rapids await. “slinging” our gear to the “put in drainage basins. Here the red ridges REMOTE WILDLANDS ARE BEST ACCESSED BY POWERFUL FLOAT PLANES, DUO LAKES, YUKON. PAT MORROW PHOTO FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE THE FAQS AT NAHANNI.COM PAGE 2 DAY 6 – ALPINE VALLEYS moose, bear, wolves and peregrine timing, the group may decide to stop falcon are possible here. The current for supper at a diner along the way Today we change river valleys! The remains fast and picking our channel or upon arrival in Whitehorse (supper Snake cuts through the mountain in the “Snake Maze” is our main and hotel not included). Camp will be range in a fast, fun slalom ride. Camp challenge. in your hotel room in Whitehorse. If is in our “new” valley. you have not eaten on the road, the DAY 10 – PEREGRINE FALCONS group will likely want to gather at a DAY 7 – MIDDLE CANYON local eatery to celebrate the return The Splits finally come together and and recount tales of the adventure! Here the river cuts through a short, the Snake starts to meander. Higher narrow canyon. At most water levels cliffs cut by numerous small creeks DAY 13 – HOMEWARD BOUND this is a class II run. A short portage provide numerous wildlife corridors. is an option. Every night you will After goodbyes and a last look around cozy up in your tent in the comforts DAY 11 – PEEL RIVER Whitehorse we will head home with that are the hallmark of our journeys. a cargo of fond and spectacular We will leave the Snake and the final memories. DAY 8 – ALPINE HIKE big bends from which it earns its name. Here we enter the larger and Please note: The above is a tentative Conditions permitting, we will plan faster Peel River with high clay cliffs agenda and has been designed with another hike in the dramatic range and aspen islands. Camp will be on much thought to capitalize on the overlooking the valley. the Peel. most scenic and exciting parts of the river, while making time on other DAY 9 – LOWER CANYONS DAY 12 – ANOTHER DRAMATIC FLIGHT sections. Today we bid adieu to the mountains In the morning we will be met by Your guides will adjust the schedule and enter an extended braided region the aircraft that will ferry us back to to make the best use of river and of “Splits” as well as the lower Mayo. There we will be met by our weather conditions. Paralleling the canyons of the Snake. Sightings of van and travel the Klondike Highway border of the Yukon and Northwest back to Whitehorse. Depending on Territories, the Snake River sits in ACCESSIBLE ALPINE HIKING PROVIDES WORLD CLASS VISTAS. CRE ARCHIVES FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE THE FAQS AT NAHANNI.COM PAGE 3 the heart of the Peel Watershed and plateaus, wetlands and rolling hills CONTACT US is one of the most remote northern laced by rivers. The watershed is the rivers that offers superb mountain northern anchor of the Yellowstone Mailing address hiking. to Yukon Conservation Initiative, a PO Box 31203 broad-based international project to Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada Located at the northern end of the protect ecosystem connections for Y1A 5P7 Rocky and Mackenzie Mountain wildlife. chain, the Peel River Watershed is a Toll-free 1-800-297-6927 spectacularly rugged region defined For more information visit www. p 1-867-668-3180 by the Peel, Ogilvie, Blackstone, cpawsyukon.org Email [email protected] Hart, Wind, Snake and Bonnet Plume Web www.nahanni.com rivers. SUGGESTED READING One of Canada’s most striking and Your guides will carry a small reference pristine mountain river watersheds, library which include field reference the Peel is the heart of a great books. Following are some books for mountain ecosystem with a long winter reading: cultural history, free-ranging wildlife and a rugged northern beauty. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Arctic by Encompassing over 67,500 square E.C. Pielou kilometres, the Peel Watershed dwarfs more famous landscapes, such After the Ice Age – The Return of Life as Banff and Yellowstone National to Glaciated North America by E.C. Parks – in size, unspoiled splendour Pielou and ecological integrity. The Wind, the Snake and the Bonnet The Peel Watershed is one of North Plume- Three Wild Northern Rivers America’s largest intact ecosystems – by Friends of Yukon Rivers a region of mountains, deep canyons, MOUNTAIN CARIBOU. PETER MATHER PHOTO FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE THE FAQS AT NAHANNI.COM PAGE 4.