{"id":17469,"date":"2018-09-02T10:00:23","date_gmt":"2018-09-02T17:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=17469"},"modified":"2018-08-30T15:11:56","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T22:11:56","slug":"inside-stikine-eight-laps-two-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2018\/09\/02\/inside-stikine-eight-laps-two-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Stikine: Eight Laps & Two Weeks Later"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years, the Stikine River, located in Northern British Columbia near Dease Lake, has been the pinnacle of expedition kayaking and big water. In recent years, it has seen exponential growth in the number of paddlers charging into the canyon. Not only are more crews making full descents, they\u2019re attempting descents at higher flows and turning the typical once-a-year multi-day trip into multiple laps within a season. In the last few seasons, Aniol Serrasolses and Benny Marr have become masters of the river, doing a whopping 20 laps in the last two years, including resetting the speed records and pulling off back-to-back laps in a single day.<\/p>\n

The characteristics of the Stikine and all of her rapids have been well documented. Famous rapids like Three Goats, Pass\/Fail, Wasson\u2019s Hole, Site Zed, The Hole that Ate Chicago, V-Drive, and Tanzilla Slot are known throughout the kayaking community. While I could easily dive deep into the technicalities of every rapid and the moves necessary for success on the river, I\u2019d rather share the experience of this river and why it\u2019s held so dear in so many class V kayakers\u2019 hearts. Not every kayaker will paddle the Stikine, and nor should they. The Stikine is for confident, experienced, and strong class V paddlers and should be respected in every way possible.<\/p>\n

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Alec paddles into the entrance of the first canyon on the Stikine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It hasn\u2019t been that long since I first paddled the Stikine. Day one of our two-day trip was August 9, 2017\u2014I\u2019ll never forget that day. I grew up in Idaho and started developing the skills necessary for big water runs (like the Stikine) when I was ten. That\u2019s when I started paddling the North Fork of the Payette. I\u2019m lucky to be able to call the North Fork my home run. I owe my love and desire for big water to that river.<\/p>\n

When preparing for a first descent of the Stikine in the late 80\u2019s, Rob Lesser<\/a> used the North Fork as his training ground as well. Many of my dad\u2019s paddling friends were part of that early-ish group to take on Northern B.C.\u2019s favorite wilderness run. And although my dad didn\u2019t get the chance to go up himself, I grew up tagging along with dad and his paddling buddies and listening to their tales. I learned a lot standing in the parking lot in Banks, Idaho taking in all of the stories and beta each weekend throughout the summers.<\/p>\n

And then, in 2017 after a rally from Upper Cherry in California\u201450 hours driving to the Stikine\u2014I got two laps on the Stikine. The first lap happened over a two-day and the second in a single-day slog. That\u2019s all it took to hook me. I didn\u2019t even mind the 50-hour return trip to California (where we immediately hopped on the Middle Kings).<\/p>\n