Stikine River Trip

Wow, It has been a couple months since we actually went on the trip, yet when I typed the title of this post my body started to pulse with excitement. The experience and the memories of it will always be with me.

Okay, enough of that boring writing stuff, let's get with the program here. I've desired to go on a long trip up the Stikine River since shortly after moving here. I've spent time in the mountains on either side of the river but it was always too short (maximum four days). I wanted to do something longer. Something that required a little endurance and skill. I was thinking it would be a spring or summer trip where I would roam the ridges. Last year a trio of friends Bob, Steven, and Scott invited me to ski down from Telegraph to Wrangell with them in Februrary/March. I turned the opportunity down, but not without some serious thoughts. When Bob returned he told me about the trip and his plan for the next year, this year. He wanted to go up river and spend some time up there, at least a couple weeks doing some skiing, ski mountaineering, ski traversing... etc. I didn't hear anyting else. He captured my interest at the word "ski."

Bob put some effort into planning the expedition and all I did was tell him what dates I would be available. And then proceeded to change those dates a few times. By the time February rolled around I was starting to get excited. Finally on Valentines Day (Christina had already left for Michigan), we set out.

Here is the story and a few photos.

We hired Eric Yancy and Breakaway Adventures to give us a lift up to the ice near Sergif Island. My friends and co-workers Bob and Matt joined Eric at the float plane dock and packed the boat a little after sunup on a gorgeous day.

A boat full of gear with one more to gentleman to pick up.

Anthony from Petersburg (Yes, we held that against him and reminded him of his town's inferiority for the entire trip) was our fourth member of the team. Bob had to shuttle him via canoe to the boat due to shallow water.