The Grand Canyon of the Stikine is a 45 mile (72 km) stretch of the Stikine River in northern British Columbia, Canada.[1] It has been compared to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado in scale and was called the "Yosemite of the North" by naturalist John Muir. The canyon is home to a large population of mountain goats and other wildlife. Officially the canyon is described as unnavigable by any watercraft, however there have been 15 successful descents made by expert whitewater kayakers since the first attempt in 1981.[2][3]
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The canyon begins in the vicinity of the 130th line of longitude, south of Tsenaglode Lake. The first road bridge across the Stikine was built in the 1970s as part of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway (BC Highway 37). The bridge is situated just upstream of the start of the canyon section. An earlier pole-bridge had been constructed across the river in the area of Telegraph Creek, built by the Tahltan people from scavenged wire and other abandoned material left by the crews of the Collins Overland Telegraph project in the 1860s.
The canyon section comes to an end (or eases off) at the community of Telegraph Creek.
The canyon is steep-walled and was formed by the Stikine River cutting through layers of sedimentary and volcanic rock. The canyon is 300 metres (984 ft) deep in places whilst the Stikine River flowing through it varies in width from 200 metres (656 ft) to 2 metres (7 ft) close to the point where the Tanzilla River enters.[2]
In 1980, BC Hydro began to study the feasibility of building a five-dam project in the Grand Canyon, however the plan quickly led to opposition by conservation groups and a long struggle over the fate of the river.[4] The Stikine River Provincial Park (formerly the Stikine River Provincial Recreation Area) was created in 2001, at 257,177 ha. in size, to protect this stretch of the river.[5]
The Grand Cayon of the Stikine is described by the world-class kayaker Doug Ammons as "one of the most challenging [kayak] runs anybody has ever found on this planet".[3] Its whitewater contains numerous grade V rapids with names such as Entry Falls, Wasson's Hole, The Wall and V-Drive. It is approached as an expedition with descents taking around three days to complete.
The canyon was first seen by American kayaker Rob Lesser in 1977 whilst on a trip to Alaska. He flew over the canyon in a plane and identified many grade V rapids. In places the overhang of the cliffs was such that it was not possible to see the river and the navigability of the canyon was uncertain. In 1981 Lesser, accompanied by a team of skilled kayakers and supported by a helicopter, made the first attempt to paddle the canyon. The team managed to complete some 60% of the river, however the crux, a place called the lower Narrows, was not paddled. One of the team members, John Wasson, was almost killed in a rapid now called Wasson's Hole.[3]
In 1985 Lesser, along with Bob McDougall and Lars Holbeck, completed the first descent of the entire canyon. Their attempt was supported by helicopter for scouting and portaging assistance. The first self-contained descent was attempted in 1989 by Lesser, McDougall and Ammons. It almost ended in disaster when McDougall was ejected from his boat in the first grade V rapid, Entry Falls. Rather than swimming the dangerous river he chose to free solo climb a steep cliff to escape from the canyon.[3]
As of 2006 there have been 25 self-contained attempts in a range of conditions, resulting in 15 successful descents.[3]
Most attempts on the canyon are made in early fall when the water level is low. At that time of year the flow is between 4000 and 13000m3/s with the level varying by as much as 10 feet (3 m) in a day. The canyon is steep with many sections dropping 30m per kilometer. For much of the length of the canyon vertical cliffs make it difficult or impossible to climb out should an exit be required.[3]