Alsek River - Alaska

The Alsek is one of the great rivers of the world. It has been a waterway for hundreds of thousands of years and its mouth has the fifth largest discharge of water on the west coast of North and South America. It flows down through the heart of Kluane Provincial Park in Canada and runs through the largest protected parklands/biological preserves in the world. It crosses 4 major tectonic fault lines. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site and travels along the edge of the largest nonpolar ice field in the world. There are endless superlatives describing the vastness and power of this river.

There is a 150-mile section of river that starts in the dry interior of the Yukon, flows past huge glacier faces, through swift whitewater, eventually ending on the Alaskan coast within Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. It is graduate level river trip, not for beginners, and passes through the largest concentration of grizzly bears in North America. There is a non-runnable canyon that requires a helicopter to portage past. This is the Turnback Canyon made famous after the1972 solo kayak descent by Walt Blackadar. The river is strong and swift and most trips take 13 to16 days to complete. It has complicated logistics that stem from having to start in Canada and finish in Alaska with a takeout that requires flying. The helicopter portage is a mandatory situation. The icy winds out of the Ice field Range and the cold glacier water make this trip a major undertaking. Most people would be well advised to stop planning a trip and sign up for a commercial trip. But for those with the experience and the perseverance it is the greatest wilderness trip in North America.