Last updated: October 10, 2018
Itinerary
What follows is a general flow of events. Expect the unexpected and prepare to be flexible.
Day 0
Take the Alaska Marine Highway or Alaska Seaplanes to Haines. Your pre-trip meeting will be at 5 pm at the Hotel Halsingland where you are staying.
Day 1
7 am van departure up the Chilkat Valley and across the Canadian Border (you have your passport, right?). Next we board the helicopter for the mind-blowing flight to the Alsek to meet the rafts. Once we load the boats, discuss safety and get on the water we paddle for about 10 miles before making our first spectacular camp of the trip.
Day 2 - 5
We paddle the Alsek, camping a night at the confluence of the Tatshenshini and then the next day exploring around Walker Glacier. Our time is split between rafting and hiking. 3 or 4 hours of paddling each day ought to get us to our next camp which leaves plenty of time to explore on foot once we get re-settled.
Day 6
Alsek Lake is world unto itself. We take a layover-day at this enormous glacial lake where massive ice sheets flow off of Mount Fairweather and merge into a vast gray lake dotted with startling blue icebergs. There is a short and spectacular hike up a small mountain and paddling among the ice flows is a must-do activity if the weather cooperates.
Day 7
Even if the weather is good, this will be a long day. We awake early at Alsek Lake and load the rafts for our final miles of the river in the dawn light. When we arrive at Dry Bay we meet a four-wheeler for a bumpy ride to the airstrip and then mid-day we meet the charter pilot for a flight up the Coast to Yakutat, where you can catch the evening flight on Alaska Airlines to points south.
