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Anderson Vacations is Canada’s leader in Fully Escorted
Tours since 1994. A wide range of tour selections
exist ranging from 2 to 27 days depending on the length of
time you have to get away. When booking on an Anderson Vacations
Tour program you know that you will be receiving:
Customer Care Certified and Knowledgeable tour director and driver teams.
High quality motor coach equipment
Unique themed meals and attractions
Multiple night stays in major destinations.
Unique destinations, off the beaten track stops.
Optional add on activities.
A wide variety of tours to choose from.
A listing of our tours for this year follows in chronological
order by tour date. Please scroll through our fantastic
selection of tour product until you find what you are looking
for. For a complete listing on our Day Tours, please click
here.
| Tatshenshini - Alsek Rivers: Journey through the Ice Age! | July 15 - 24, 2010 and July 28 - August 6, 2010
$4800 CDN per person
Land only, plus 5% GST |
| Arrival Day | Whitehorse, Yukon Canada | | You will need to be in Whitehorse the evening before the rafting begins on the departure date listed above. Upon your arrival in Whitehorse, we will rendezvous at a hotel in Whitehorse where you will meet the guides and all the other travelers. Waivers will be signed and any lingering paperwork will be completed. You will receive your special dry bags for packing your personal belongings. We will also have a briefing on gear, clothing and the river itself.
Accommodation is not included in this price, however can be arranged by Anderson Vacations. |
| Day 1 | 12 miles of rafting | |
After breakfast in Whitehorse, we depart at 9:00am for the 3-hour drive to the river put-in at Dalton Post. Our drive from Whitehorse takes us north on the Alaska Highway to Haines Junction, then west along Haines Road to the Dalton Post turnoff. Before heading down to the put in, we have to make a short deviation down to the Haines Alaska border station to clear customs. Once at the old abandoned trading post of Dalton Post, we'll meet the other guides, load the rafts and leave civilization behind. Our time on the river is short with Rainbow camp just under an hour down stream where we‘ll enjoy cocktails and hors d‘oeuvres as we set camp and settle in. We will enjoy a sumptuous dinner, the first of many, before we collect around the campfire under a star-filled sky. |
| Days 2 - 4 | 21 miles of rafting | |
We typically begin each day with coffee and tea, followed by a hot breakfast that may feature West Coast Eggs Benny. Breakfast Burritos or perhaps Texas French toast. Fresh fruit salad, granola and yogurt are always available. In short, you will not go hungry! Once camp has been broken and the boats packed and prepared we'll head downstream (usually between 9:30 and 10am). On this stretch, we will run a number of lively class III rapids through the gorge then emerge, a few hours later, into a wide open valley to see our first views of the mountains with their hanging glaciers. Camp is likely at a great gravel bar where animal tracks are constant evidence to the wilderness we're in. During day four we meander quietly through Quiet Canyon, the Oxbows, and past Bear Bite Creek, while enjoying the panoramic mountain vistas. Keep a keen eye out for moose, trumpeter swans and bald eagles, which are often spotted here. Tonight we camp at the mouth of Sediments Creek where we'll spend two nights. This campsite is the start point for our first alpine hiking opportunity and on Day Five we split up into groups for hiking and exploring - or you can just relax at camp enjoying the majesty of the surroundings. |
| Days 5 - 6 | 45 miles of rafting | |
We'll continue down the Tat stopping for lunch at O‘Connor Creek. Every day the scenery becomes more spectacular as the mountains rise to 8,000 feet and glaciers hang from mountainsides. The river valley will continue to widen as we reach our camp just above the confluence with the Alsek River. Here there are great hiking opportunities along the river terraces where wildflowers carpet the ground. The mighty Alsek River joins us from the north as we travel through the braided channels. The river seems to narrow as the mountains reach for the sky. A 360º look reveals over 20 glaciers as we near our camp at Walker Glacier. You'll marvel at the crevasses as we hike onto the massive moraines. Around the campfire tonight, we'll enjoy some fine scotch with ten-thousand year-old ice collected from the glacier earlier in the day. |
| Days 7 - 9 | 24 miles of rafting | |
Cutting through the Barbazon Range, we'll pass the massive Novatak Glacier, which is the tip of the largest ice field on the planet outside of the polar regions. To the south, 15,600-foot Mount Fairweather, the 4th highest mountain on the continent, will dwarf our very existence. In the afternoon, we'll paddle out amongst the ship-sized icebergs and watch as giant, 100-foot chunks of ice calve off the glacier with a thunderous roar. Our view from camp is one of the most spectacular anywhere on earth. Tonight, we'll camp on the spit of land that separates the Alsek River from Alsek Lake, a 5km-long lake located at the bottom of the massive Alsek Glacier. Depending on weather and timing, we may have the opportunity for a layover day at Alsek Lake—with time to paddle amongst the icebergs, hike or just relax and enjoy the incredible vista from camp. |
| Day 10 | Back to Civalization | | After breaking camp for the last time, we'll float the last few miles down to the airstrip at Dry Bay, Alaska on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Here, we'll collapse the rafts and board our plane for the spectacular flight over the mountains back to Whitehorse. Once back in civilization, it's off to the hotel for a well-deserved hot shower. Tonight, we'll get together for our farewell dinner, raise our glasses for a last toast to the Tatshenshini and start planning our next adventure together. |
| Departure Day | Homeward Bound | | After breakfast today the hotel can arrange a shuttle to the Whitehorse Airport to get you there for you flight back home. Flights to Vancouver depart Whitehorse early morning (approx. 8am) and mid-afternoon (approx. 3pm).
Please contact Anderson Vacations for current Flight Costs and Bookings. Toll free 1-866-814-7378 |
| More Information | | | Level of Activity
Rafting: Of the 10 river days we spend seven of them rafting, and the other three ¯laying over in camp. We spend three to four hours on the water on rafting days, mostly on class I or II rapids – a gentle, bobbing current. We will encounter a stretch of class III
rapids on the second day only.
Hiking: We walk daily near our campsites exploring the local flora and fauna, or stopping on the river to check out points of interest. On layover days there are longer optional hikes, some of them quite serious scrambles, into the alpine tundra zone. A guide accompanies you at all times. A highlight is the glacier hike where we walk on a live glacier. |
| Weather | | | In July, we experience the north's incredible, long hours of daylight. July and August are the driest times of the year, so be prepared for the best weather the region has to offer. There's no guarantee against a few days of overcast weather or rain - the mountain weather environment is best described as highly variable. |
| Trip Package Includes | | | INCLUSIONS:
Expert certified river guides
State-of-the-art expedition equipment including an all-season tent (shared between 2 guests), sleeping bag, Thermarest air mattress, safety equipment and waterproof bags for your personal belongings
All on-trip meals and beverages, including a selection of vintage wines, spirits, local and imported beers, nonalcoholic drinks and fresh water.
All necessary park permits and entrance fees
Detailed maps, fieldscope, and a library of regional books
All transfers between Whitehorse, YK and the river. |
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