Im the author of the story Photogrl57 linked to about the Stikine. I can help readers understand why the Stikine canyon is a best kept secret. Simply put - because it is essentially inaccessible even in this day and age.
This is a 60 mile long, 1000+ foot deep, sheer-walled gorge hidden in the wilderness. There are no trails, and there is no vantage point you can get to even if you could drive or hike along the rim. I know of several people who have done this gnarly bushwacking trek over the years, but were disappointed because they still could not see much of the canyon. The only vantage point that allows you to see anything, is from a helicopter or a kayak. To be in there in a kayak, you have to be an experienced Class 5+ expedition paddler. And even using a chopper, there are almost no places you can land, or even skid land, even up on the rim. Inside the canyon, there are only a half-dozen spots where a chopper might land in the 30+ mile heart of the beast. Plus its illegal to do so.
So given these things its never going to be a major tourist attraction because to see it you have to be 4000 feet up in the air above it, or at least flying through it. And it isnt a rafting run no raft has ever descended the entire canyon. The kayaking is extremely difficult, with the run being one of the hardest in the world. And while a kayaker gets an incredible ring-side seat traveling down the canyon in the middle of the power, it is so threatening one can hardly relax enough to take the place in. Basically, you are so focused on trying to stay alive you dont have much time or the mindset to sight-see. Ive been up there four times and kayaked the river through the canyon three times.
From the point of view of photography, the canyon is dark and deep, and often the weather is terrible. So light and angles, depth of field, panoramas, even simple places to get some vantage point all the kinds of things that youd normally be working with or aiming for, are extremely limited. You are face to face with a sinuous gorge cut into the depths of the earth. Frankly, from the collective photographs of some 25 expeditions there, the place is so intense, stunning, and so dramatic it is essentially impossible to capture.
The Grand Canyon of the Stikine is one of the wonders of the world, but theres no way to appreciate it in any normal sense.
Below the main grand canyon from Telegraph Creek out to Wrangell there are some 100+ miles that anybody can do by raft or touring kayak, or even jetboat. There are no rapids, its all fast moving flat water in a beautiful wide canyon with hanging glaciers and big peaks hemming you in - amazing scenery that John Muir called a 100 mile long Yosemite.
Im about to come out with a book on the kayaking history in the main Grand Canyon of the Stikine, simply entitled The Stikine which should be printed within the next six months. It tells the history of the place, along with the best photography from river and canyon level gathered from about fifteen different descents. This will be printed at the highest quality level, and will include scenics and action. Also, part of the book will be the story of my solo descent in 1992, when I went up by myself, didnt tell anybody I was putting on the river, and descended through the gorge.
All I can say is, it is an astonishing, daunting, and overwhelming place to deal with alone when youre down in the gut of it, the rock walls closing in and towering above, and the roar of the river around you. Its not an issue of fear, but of handling the most intense, deadly, and rawest truth.
Other Books;
Stikine: The Great River (a very well done large format book by Larry Feigehen with wonderful photographs)
www.mywestworld.com/living/environment-sustainability/stikine-the-great-river/Stikine (Alaska Geographic) Out of print
The Grand Canyon of the Stikine (2005, by Doug Ammons) Article in Kayak Session
Also text printed at
www.dougammons.comNational Geographic magazine carried an article by Wade Davis several years ago (2009) on the Stikine area, together with some excellent photography. There was only one aerial shot of the canyon itself. It is only one feature of an astonishing and huge wilderness.
Wade Davis just published his book Sacred Headwaters about the headwaters wilderness of the Stikine and Iskut drainages. He is actually in Banff at the Book festival this weekend (November 5-6) giving a talk about it.
The headwaters area from the Spatzizi plateau is threatened by mines and logging. This is a stunning wilderness area and includes both the Stikine and Iskut drainages. The Iskut has a canyon on it that is nearly as dramatic as the Stikine, but is much shorter.
And there are these movies:
1981 first kayaking attempt American Sportsman (unavailable, but can be watched in low res on
www.exchile.com/kayakchilehistoricalvideos.html1985 first kayaking decent Hell or high water (Canadian Geographic, and National Geogrpahic Explorer)
1999 Stikine River Fever (National Geographic Explorer)
www.exchile.com/kayakchilehistoricalvideos.html2004 The Great River by Olaf Obsommer
www.BIG-O-PRODUCTIONS.comProbably six or eight other kayaking films have contained sections on Stikine descents.
So, head up there if you want, but be prepared to have the place demand a lot of you. Theres a big downpayment in energy, cost, and commitment before youll see anything - and nothing is easy. But, as in all things, the harder you have to struggle for something, the more it will mean to you. That is the language of the Stikine, and why it will always be a best kept secret.
Doug Ammons