Paddlesports Schools:

Paddlesports Schools:

Paddlesports Schools:

Paddlesports Shops:

Jarvis Creek is a novelty. From it headwaters on the glaciated western slopes of Mount Silvertip on the eastern edge of the Alaska Range, Jarvis winds its way through a wide, U-shaped valley, remnant of ice ages gone by. Where the trail meets the creek this valley is at its widest and Jarvis is a series of braided channels of shockingly warm water. Jarvis Creek needs a few days of hot summer weather to flow, so the hike in should be a crystal clear masterpiece of scenery as 13,000 foot snow draped peaks glisten in the bright Alaskan sun. Look for caribou, moose, grizzly and wolves in the treeless alpine terrain.

After about 3 miles, the braids become single channel and another three miles of splashy class II lead down to the confluence with crystal clear McCumber Creek and the start of the canyon. Schist walls, sometimes rising vertically out of the water up to 300 feet high, constrict the fast moving glacial stream and create five or six major drops of solid class IV difficulty, separated by class III rapids. Though slower water forms above each major drop and horizon lines are distinct, boat scouting is relatively impossible due to the steepness and length of the major rapids and the lack of good eddies. Most of the way down the short canyon is a river wide boulder choke that creates a nasty sieve in the middle of the river and is easily scouted and/or portaged on the left. All too soon the canyon opens back up and shadows give way to sunshine, but joyfully, the whitewater doesnt end. The creek is now rushing down the western slopes of Granite Mountain and large  smooth granite boulders replace schist walls creating five or six more class IV rapids of technical rather than steep and pushy nature. The gradient continues to ease and once again the creek becomes class II and splashy with relatively few braids all the way down to the take-out. Looking back upstream will reveal the high peaks of the Alaska Range spreading out before you as the hills in the foreground drift down into their respective valleys.

Contact Scott Dillard for additional beta, (907) 380-0501.