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Source to the Sea Expedition
offered by supplier M06982 (view this supplier profile)
Key Information:
Tour Duration: 15
day(s)
Group Size: 1
- 15
people
Destination(s):
Alaska
Specialty Categories:
Wildlife Viewing
Season: June - July
Airfare Included: No
Tour Customizable: Yes
Minimum Per Person Price: 4900 US Dollar (USD)
Maximum Per Person Price: 4900 US Dollar (USD)
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The Company's Source to the Sea Expedition is the ultimate wilderness experience. Bears, eagles, salmon. Rafting, hiking, flightseeing. Waterfalls, towering peaks, glaciers. Alpine meadows, endless vistas, midnight sun. Isolation, solitude, peace and quiet. Great company, great food, hassle-free logistics. All of these and so much more are wrapped up into this unforgettable and unmatched Alaska backcountry journey. Why not count yourself as one of the handful of people who have floated from the glacial source to the mouth of one of the world's greatest rivers through the largest protected wilderness area in the world. This trip begins in Valdez, Alaska, a scenic working class town perched high up a Prince William Sound fjord. From here we travel by van and bush plane to the dramatic and historically-rich town of McCarthy. The flightseeing trip to this place soars around 16,000 foot peaks, over knife-edge ridges, and above rich blue glaciers. After landing in McCarthy you transfer to a smaller yet bush plane for the short trip to the Nizina river headwaters. We land on a gravel bar near the glacier of the same name and explore this source of the Nizina, Chitina, and ultimately Copper rivers.
The next day we board rafts for the row across the Nizina glacier "pond" (Alaska for sizeable lake). We float near translucent icebergs and then, at the base of the lake where the quiet still water tips over the nick point, begin our river journey. After a day of rafting we hike up and into the Chitistone Valley, an expansive alpine meadow with sky scraping peaks, cascading waterfalls, wildlife viewing opportunities, and open range hiking. We spend two days here exploring, relaxing, and revelling in the beauty. The pure isolation and grand scale of Chitistone are indescribable. We then reboard the rafts for an unforgettable trip through the Mile High Cliffs, where the Nizina stairsteps down a canyon with walls that literally reach thousands of feet into the air. We leave the Nizina the next day after a running the sinewy and sneaky Nizina Canyon, where the river is squeezed to its narrowest and hairpin turns demand precision rowing and paddling.
We reach the confluence of the Copper and Chitina rivers ten days into this grand escape. At this point we leave the river for a night's sleep in cabins near the quiet town of Chitina. The next day we head down south, down the mighty Copper. Soon we enter Woods Canyon, where the Copper constricts and runs strong. Jagged Spirit Mountain beckons us on, as hanging glaciers and waterfalls begin to adorn the canyon walls. The Copper becomes increasingly vegetated, with alder, spruce, and birch blanketing the hillsides. Each day we float largely rapid-free stretches of river and camp each night next to a sparkling river or on a soft riverside glade. We take time during this portion of the trip to explore exotic places like Bremner Dunes, where desert-like sand hills sit directly across river from magnificent glaciers. We also hike to beautiful waterfalls and up along salmon-rich streams. After five days of this splendor we reach Abercrombie canyon, a place of potential sensory overload. Here we are likely to spot eagle soaring overhead, bear fishing for spawning salmon, seals that have swam upriver from the sea in search of salmon as well, and Abercrombie rapids, with 16-foot roller coaster waves. We emerge from this canyon and float into a Miles Lake, a place of equal grandeur. Huge Miles and Childs glaciers thunder and crack as they calve monstrous chunks of ice into the river. After camping here we row around icebergs across the lake and reach the trip's end point at the edge of Child's Glacier. We are then shuttled to the friendly and scenic town of Cordova where we celebrate fifteen days of wilderness travel through one of the world's most majestic places.
Your Itinerary
Day 1: We meet you in Valdez at 7:30 a.m. From Valdez, we travel by van approximately two hours to the town of Chitina, located on the western fringe of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. We then fly to McCarthy, where we transfer to a smaller plane for the short flight to the Nizina glacier foot. Here, your guides meet you and prepare the first of many great dinners in the midst of unmatched natural beauty. We camp here and prepare for to head downriver the next day.
Day 2: Early in the morning we head across Nizina Lake and begin the river trip. It is a fascinating feeling to row across still water and then reach the point where the water spills over the lake's lip shore on begins its trip to the sea. The river moves swiftly in the upper reaches. We reach the point from where we hike to the Chitistone Valley later this day or early on day three, after traveling along the amazing upper Nizina. We camp along the Nizina this night.
Day 3 - Day 4: On these days we explore by foot the Chitistone area, where glaciers have scoured deep and easy valleys that are ringed by jagged mountain ridges. The views are forever and the hiking a pleasure. The hiking and sights on this day are uniquely Alaska: plunging waterfalls, soft tundra underfooting, bear, wolf, and moose tracks, and more are all encountered. After hiking each day we return to the riverside camps.
Day 5: On this day we reach and camp in the Nizina Canyon, after negotiating tricky and tight hairpin turn whitewater. We camp near where the Nizina spills into the Chitina river, and drift to sleep with fresh memories of the treasures of the Nizina. This and every night the light lasts until early in the morning and quickly returns to announce another great day.
Day 6: The topography changes significantly as we merge with and float the Chitina, a broad, braided river. On the Chitina when skies are clear you can see distant peaks that reach over three miles into the sky. The Chugach mountains form the southern boundary and the Wrangells form the north as the Chitina winds its way west. The Chitina is blessed with fantastic sandy campsites that allow classic Alaska panoramas.
Day 7- Day 8: We continue down the Chitina, stopping along the way for great side hikes, fishing clear side streams for salmon, exploring historic sites, and so on. Each day distant peaks of the St. Elias mountains fill the sky. The afternoon of day nine we reach the Copper river and the town of Chitina. He we are shuttled to nearby cabins for a night of showers and other creature comforts.
Day 9: Late in the morning we shove off and head down the Copper. We quickly enter Woods Canyon, where the river narrows and runs swift and deep. The river here flows nearly ten times as strong as the Colorado through the Grand Canyon. Simply put, the Copper river is big. After exiting the canyon we camp along shore, and marvel in the rich green Copper river corridor.
Day 10 - Day 13: On these days we float further and further down this grand river, as it grows in size and spectacle with each mile. Glaciers begin to appear around each corner. Tributary rivers serve as idyllic lunch and camp stops. The river flows calm and wide and whispers down braid channels. Brisk afternoon winds are likely on these days. Natural Features such as Bremner Dunes and Whiting Falls leave us impressed with the power and uniqueness of Alaska. Typically, bear, eagle and salmon are spotted on this stretch, as well as a wayward seal in search of a far upriver salmon dinner. Each night we camp along the Copper and are blessed with unreal views of skyscraping mountains, hanging glaciers, and more.
Day 14: On this day we typically raft through Abercrombie canyon, a place of whitewater, wildlife, and wonder. We emerge from Abercrombie and enter broad and beautiful Miles Lake, which is actually where the Copper simply spreads out wide and thin. The lake is spangled with icebergs that have calved from two-mile wide Miles Glacier. We camp near the glacier and witness time and again the power of natural Alaska, as giant ice chunks break crash into the river. Our last night of this unmatched adventure is filled with thunderous explosions of calving icebergs and quiet moments of reflection on Miles Lake.
Day 15: This morning we row across Miles Lake and sachet our way around the icebergs large and small that pepper this stretch of the river. We approach Childs Glacier and go ashore just above it, unpack the rafts, visit the observation point, and then board the van for the one-hour drive to Cordova. On this drive we travel over the Copper river delta, where the river reaches the Gulf of Alaska, and are generally able to spot Trumpeter Swans, Canadian Geese, and other birds. We arrive in Cordova late this afternoon, enjoy a tasty Alaska dinner at a local eatery, and toast a great trip and great land. Those flying on to Anchorage do so this evening, while ferry riders spend the night on their own in Cordova and catch the ferry the next day.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Youth is under 16; the minimum age is 12. 15-Day Trip (Price based on five or fewer total participants); Adult: $4900; Youth: $4600
15-Day Trip (Price based on six or more total participants); Adult: $4600; Youth: $4200.
Also see tour packages in:
USA
Alaska
Wildlife Viewing
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