|
Tana River Canyon |
Located
in the Heart of Wrangell St. Elias National Park- America's
largest-- the Tana River exemplifies the best in Alaska Wilderness
rafting. Flowing north off the Bagley Icefield the Tana
River valley occurs at the intersection of two great mountain
ranges: The Chugach and The St. Elias. The Bagley Icefield,
Bering Glacier and Malaspina glaciers form the largest assemblage
of glaciers in North America. Flowing 40 miles from its source
glaciers to it's confluence point with the Chitina River,
the Tana River Valley has remained untouched by the hand of
man. |
Wild Buffalo along the river.
Populated
by Grizzly bear, Moose, Dall Sheep, Mountain Goats, and even Buffalo,
the Tana and Chitina valleys abound with wildlife. Vast fields
of wild flowers bloom throughout the summer. Once in the Chitina
drainage, we'll be vastly outnumbererd by thousands of salmon
headed upstream to spawn in the numerous clearwater tributaries
which we'll encounter as we make our way downstream. Glacial sand
dunes, abundant wildlife, towering mountain peaks and high Volume
Class IV rapids combine to make this Alaska's finest multi-day
whitewater expedition.
| Our
Tana River expeditions fly out of the Historic copper mining
boom towns of Kennicott and McCarthy to our Launch point.
From 1908 to 1938 miners at Kennicott worked some of the richest
copper deposits ever found. McCarthy was the "sin city"
where miners went to part with their earnings. The mine abruptly
closed in 1938 and overnight McCarthy became a ghost town.
Many of the original buildings are still standing and exploring
the mine at Kennicott and the town of McCarthy is almost as
much fun as exploring the surrounding wilderness areas. |
Town of McCarthy |
Flying out
to the river
TANA
RIVER ITINERARY
Day One:
Depart Anchorage at 9am for McCarthy. We'll stop for a short break
at our exclusive camp overlooking the Matanuska Glacier. We'll
continue on to McCarthy arriving that evening. Our first night
will be spent in McCarthy.
Day Two:
While you're exploring the ghost towns of Kennicott and McCarthy,
we'll begin flying the rafts and associated gear into a gravel
bar landing zone in the headwaters area of the Tana River. You'll
fly out to the river for dinner that evening. Our second night
will be spent camping on the river.
Day Three:
Whiterwater Day! After we explore the glacial sand dunes just
downstream from our landing zone, we'll run the rapids of Tana
Canyon. Our third night's camp will be just upstream of the Tana's
confluence with the Chitina.
Day Four:
We'll float the last few miles of the Tana, entering the Chitina
drainage, stopping for lunch and a little fossil hunting just
downstream from the confluence. Our fourth nights camp will be
near the Chitina's confluence with the Nizina River.
Day Five:
We'll continue down the Chitina, watching for wildlife and
enjoying the scenery. We'll watch for closely bears as we pass
the Tebay River. Our last night's river camp will be just upstream
from outr take-out at O'Brien Creek.
Day Six:
We'll get up early, for a leisurely float into Chitina, taking
out at O'Brien Creek. From there we'll do lunch in Chitina and
then pack the vans for the drive back to Anchorage. We'll Arrive
in Anchorage that evening.
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