• We’re up early for morning stretches and a Circle Greeting before breakfast, then we drive one hour to the Gtksan village of Kispiox. Here our Gitksan guides will relate the rich history of their ancestral clans through the carvings on some of the world’s most beautiful totem poles
  

• It’s just a short drive from Kispiox to Ksan, a recreated Gitksan Village at the confluence of the Skeena and Bulkley Rivers. Here we will explore the many clan houses and gain keen insights into the ancient ways of the people

• Following lunch on the river bank, and a safety orientation, we set off on a great adventure, paddling a traditionally designed Gitksan canoe on a 5-hour run down the Skeena River. There will be ample opportunity on this voyage to study river hydrology and study the geological clues left by 10,000 years of river erosion

• Landing at the Gitksan village of Kitwanga, we will have an opportunity to view more ancient monuments in cedar (depicting local clan totems) before we return to the Soaring Spirits Rediscovery Camp for a traditional Gitksan feast and celebration around the Council Fire

Overnight: Soaring Spirits Rediscovery Camp

• Everyone’s up early for a big day. Following our morning Circle Greeting and a hearty breakfast, we set off by bus for the short drive to the Gitksan village of Kitwankool. Here we will view the world’s oldest totem poles and learn the many stories they hold.
  
  

  

• We then have a two hour drive to Hyder, Alaska along one of the most scenic routes in the world.
  
  
• We will drive up to view the spectacular Salmon Glacier, the 5th largest ice field in North America, and enjoy a picnic lunch at the toe of the glacier. There will be ample time to study glacial forces as we explore terminal and lateral moraines, and have first hand lessons in global warming as we track the glaciers retreat

• Returning back down the mountain, we will stop at Fish Creek to watch grizzly bears feeding on the world’s largest chum salmon. This is one of the best places in the world to watch these magnificent carnivores close up, but safely, along a cedar viewing platform

• We’ll have a delicious cookout dinner at our camp site beside the estuary that separates British Columbia from Alaska

Overnight: Hyder, Alaska estuary camp