GREAT RIVER
Many have felt the pull of the Stikine, felt called to explore its waters and a landscape that loom larger than life. In April 2019, Jasper Gibson, Erik Johnson, Brendan Wells, Katrina Van Wijk, and Kent Christensen took to the river only to head into the mountains. Join as they paddle from Telegraph Creek, BC to Wrangell, Alaska, using the lower Stikine as a watery highway to reach mountain couloirs skiers dream of, writing their own chapter in the river’s storied history.
One of Katrina's first steps punches straight through the ice, leaving her chest-deep in the icy waters of the Stikine River. A leash slung over her shoulder connects her to a sea kayak laden with ski gear, camping gear, and supplies for the next 18 days out in the wilderness of northern British Columbia. The first step is indeed a doozie, and it won’t be the last misstep of the trip by a long shot.
Two Canadians, Katrina Van Wijk, and Kent Christensen, along with three Americans, Brendan Wells, Erik Johnson, and myself are in the hinterland of British Columbia for a sea-kayak-supported-ski-trip down the lower Stikine River. The Stikine River has a long, storied history of adventure, from American naturalist John Muir recounting the area’s stunning beauty in the 1860s to whitewater kayak pioneer Rob Lester's first descent of the
