In the world of whitewater kayaking there is (loosely) a river by which all other rivers are measured: the Stikine. Flowing through the depths of the Grand Canyon of the Stikine, the river is squeezed between walls hundreds of feet high. At the base of those walls, at runnable flows, around 15,000 cubic feet of water per second boil through some of the most impressive whitewater and landscapes imaginable. Kayaking aside, this is a sacred place, and combined with the whitewater, every descent is nothing less than a spiritual journey into one of the most powerful places on earth.
For me, it had been 15 years since my first and last time paddling the river. So many years I had lost track, but memory has a funny way of surfacing at the precipice of another journey. With thoughts of mountainous whitewater in our immediate future, anticipation grew as the Alcan highway slipped away beneath the tires of Todd’s truck. Often, in these situations, I find myself with frighteningly inspiring people. Todd Wells and Jules Domine, two of the sport's most savage operators, and veterans of the Stikine, were casually riding towards what was about to be a historical trip, something hard to accomplish on this river. For me, my goal was simple: paddle the river, be present for every moment, and survive.
The Adventure Story: adventure.kavu.com/measured-b...
Edited by Tyler Bradt
More about Tyler: kavu.com/pages/tyler-bradt
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