Summer is coming – a little throwback to the Alsek - RaftingLife

May 4, 2023

Heading for the put-in at Serpentine Creek

Last summer I had a couple of trips with Canadian River Expeditions/ Nahanni.com. The last one was pretty amazing travelling down the Alsek River with a great group and fantastic co-guides. We had some weather for sure however it broke at some pretty special places. This place is spectacular and special. It is always a privilege to travel through the land and take it all in.

In the picture above, we are looking up the Kaskawulush River after rowing down the Dezadedash River. Tomorrow we will be on to the Alsek proper.

A rainy day with some exploration near lava creek has us push on to marble creek where we ended the day with some beautiful light, a hike, and homemade brownies to end the day.

Also, a rainbow graced us with its presence

Lowell Lake with views of Mt Hubbard, Kennedy, and Alverston in the background

From there we made it down to Lowell Lake for the next couple of days, one of which would be an option to hike up Goatherd Mtn.

Looking across Lowell Lake and up into the Mountains

The return hike after soaking up the views for a little while

Some of the clients taking in a stretching/yoga session in this splendid place

Making our way down the river out of Lowell Lake we still had some hikes, and some amazing whitewater including the rapid – Lava North to make our way through. Stayed at Lower Fisher camp and then down to a beautiful spot below Range Creek. Before passing along the slopes of Mt Blackadar and camping above Turn Back Canyon across the river from Tweedsmuir Glacier.

Leaving camp above Turnback Canyon involves a Helicopter and some good effort from the whole crew. Went quite well even with a bit of wet weather and the 30km row to camp afterward.

Chris was pretty stoked about the weather as we arrived from the rain. From here the Tatshenshini River joins into the Alsek River as it makes its way out to Dry Bay, Alaska.

From the Confluence camp, we would make our way down the river to Walker Glacier as we endured a wee bit of rain for the next 30 hours or so.

Our last spot is Alsek Lake where we spend a couple of nights. One beauty hike as we were heading down to the lake with abundant wild strawberries. Another hike to take in the view close up. A chance to row out near icebergs. A chance to think about the trip, to soak it all in. A chance to swim in the lake, or just a dip.