Custom Trips

Wilderness Trips in the Peel Watershed     The Peel watershed is truly a wilderness paradise. Whether you enjoy paddling pristine waterways or hiking high through alpine meadows, the region provides an incredible opportunity to explore and enjoy a land virtually untouched.   Wind River The Wind River’s crystal clear water may be its most defining characteristic, but it’s just one of this valley’s natural wonders. Not only is it home to grizzly bears, sheep, caribou, wolves and moose, it has a rich human history as well. The traditional homeland of First Nations, who criss-crossed the watershed as they travelled between winter hunting camps and summer fishing grounds, it’s attracted a host of other characters since the Klondike Goldrush - luckless prospectors, starving gold stampeders and misguided Mounties. Today many first-time visitors to the Peel choose the Wind. Gwich’in name: Tr’inlintr’ali Njik (Always Blowing River) Classification: Fast-moving Class 2 braided river with Peel canyon Class 2+ Length of river: 200 kilometres “Ghosts haunt the 200-kilometre swath of mountains, tundra and taiga that is bisected by the opalescent-blue waters of the Wind River. Listen hard and you can hear them whispering from the canyons, cliffs and beaches as you paddle down this tributary of the fabled Peel.”             Remembering the Wind                 Three Rivers, The Yukon’s Great Boreal Wilderness (2004)   Snake River It’s the only snake in the Yukon. Nestled next to the Mackenzie Mountains, for paddlers the Snake begins at Duo Lakes, the closest access to the river. Although more technically demanding than the Wind, its spectacular scenery and greater remoteness strike a deeper wilderness chord. The massive Mount MacDonald - the highest peak in the watershed at 2,621 metres – never fails to make an impression, even if you don’t have the energy to hike up its slopes for a closer look. Gwich’in name: Gyuu dazhoo njik (Hairy Worm River) Classification: Class 2 and 3 with rapids Length of River: 280 kilometres “We watch as an adolescent grizzly crashes across the wetland and up the hillside, flattening willows as it goes. It stops to look back several times and, on its final turn along a mountain bench, feels safe enough to stand fully erect on its hind legs and aim its ears toward us, like a proverbial sasquatch. It’s a fortuitous and thrilling sight so early in the trip.”             Snake Run                 Canadian Geographic, June 2011   Hart River The Hart River is not as well known as the Wind, Snake and Bonnet Plume, but its tall spires and alpine access make is easy to understand why its popularity is growing. Slightly more difficult than the Wind, at least in a few sections, most paddlers start at Elliot Lake and follow Elliot Creek down to the Hart River. An unusual convergence of caribou around the confluence of the Hart and West Hart drew First Nations people to the valley long before the Yukon attracted goldseekers. Gwich’in name: Edrii njik (Heart River) Classification: Class 2 and 3 with rapids. Peel Class 4 rapids. Length of river: 280 kilometres "We had travelled 120 miles over eight days and hadn't seen a single footprint. We counted 12 sheep on a slope near river level and realized it was a mineral lick just beyond, two rams lounged on a cliff high above, keeping survey of their harem below." - Canoeing the Hart of the Yukon             Paddler Magazine 2001   Blackstone River Our first trip down the Blackstone River in 2005 was full of discoveries, not the least of which were two huge mammoth tusks, believed to be 25,000 to 40,000 years old. From its humble beginnings high in the mountains of Tombstone Territorial Park, the Blackstone makes it way northeast, crossing the Dempster Highway and then gathering together for its final push through the backcountry to the Peel. Gwich’in name: Tth’oh zraii njik (Black boulder river) Classification: Class 2 Length: 140 kilometres “The Blackstone River courses through rugged, mountainous country featuring spectacular 6,000-foot-high peaks and unusually sculpted rock formations….This is unspoiled country, but several energy and mining companies are lobbying to get their hands on it, so it may not stay that way much longer.”             Mammoth Find on the Blackstone                 Canoe & Kayak magazine, March 2006   Bonnet Plume The most difficult of all the Peel tributaries, the Bonnet Plume is also one of the most ruggedly handsome. One of the Yukon’s four Canadian Heritage Rivers, the distinction is designed to ensure it receives a higher standard of care. It’s also home to the Bonnet Plume caribou herd – one of the largest woodland caribou herds remaining in the Yukon. Gwich’in name: Ttsaih tl’ak njik (River of Black Sands) Classification: Class 3 with some Class 3+ rapids, some class 2 sections. Difficult. Length of river: 310 kilometres “The Bonnet Plume River stands out as one of the premier whitewater wilderness canoe rivers in Canada. It is technically challenging…. In fact the river can be considered potentially dangerous, dropping more than three metres per kilometre in the upper reaches.”             Canadian Heritage Rivers   Custom Trips We offer custom trips on all of these rivers and more. Many variations are also possible depending on your time and skills. We’d be happy to develop a trip to suit your group. We also also provide logistics, film/photo support and research/writing on the Peel. Please contact us for more information. If you’re looking for more paddling details on these rivers pick up a copy of Wild Rivers of the Yukon’s Peel Watershed, a Traveller’s Guide, by Juri Peepre and Sarah Locke.   Walden's Guiding Box 10402 Whitehorse, YT Canada   Y1A 7A1 Phone 867-667-7040 Email info@waldensguiding.com