News Media Articles, Features Stories: Nahanni River Adventures

Nahanni River Adventures and Canadian River Expeditions have received ongoing recognition from the news media in the form of feature articles, news excerpts and travel journals. Read about our recent press:

AS FAR AS OUR GUIDES from Nahanni River Adventures knew, no one had ever flown an 18-foot raft (deflated) to Dusty Lake, near the headwaters of the Mountain River in Canada's remote Northwest Territories; portaged it and three canoes, coolers full of frozen steaks and oranges, cases of wine, tents, and Dutch ovens for the better part of a mile over ankle-twisting tussocks; and then plunged and scraped down the upper portion of the river to where it converges with the usual canoe route at Black Feather Creek. So we're claiming a first descent....Read More... Lair of the North Wind by Nancy Lord (160 Kb PDF)

In the summer of 1984, at age, 23, Neil Hartling headed up to Nahanni National Park in the Northwest Territories from his home
in Edmonton to experience and paddle a river that had haunted him since he was 15 years old.
Two things happened that summer that would change his life forever... Read More... Watching the river flow by Ed Struzik (37 Kb PDF)

“The Alsek carriers rafters from alpine tundras to lush coastal rainforest. Along the way it charges through the glacier-carved valley of austere, raw and rugged, says author and outfitter Neil Hartling. ‘The only thing that would separate it from the Himalaya is the grizzlies…’”.

“Five canoes. Ten people. Twenty-two hours of sunlight. Hundreds of unnamed mountains, rivers, streams, ridges, creeks, meadows, and vistas. Two grizzlies running the other way. Billions of diabolical mosquitoes that, fortunately, stay in the dense shrubbery until evening. An infinite number of surprises. One vast and empty wilderness, devoid of humans. This is a crash course in how to take inventory in the northern Yukon. From the moment our [Nahanni River Adventures] group landed by floatplane at McClusky Lake, the magnitude of this 13,0000-square-mile roadless wilderness seemed pleasingly overwhelming. Nestled into a side valley, the clear water of McClusky was like a mirror. Mountains and trees etched by the midnight sun cast perfect reflections across its calm surface. We swam and relaxed. The following day our [Nahanni River Adventures] guide, Henry, and I hiked to the top of a nearby peak to gaze down on our village of dwarf tents. Beyond that, we caught but a glimpse of the big picture. To the north a nameless creek chortled over rocks toward a broad river valley, surrounded by an endless chain of mountains and spires, then emptied without ceremony into the twisting braids of the Wind River.”

“Surrounded by a rainbow assortment of multi-coloured peeks – some pastel grey, others amber, tan, or rusty red – our group eventually pitched camp in the meadow. While setting up out tents, I heard some playful yipping on the far bank, and on a whim I cupped my hands to my mouth and let loose with a wolf howl. Within three seconds a chorus of respondents from across the river answered back. Everybody stopped what they were doing to grab binoculars. “One, two, three…I count three pups,” said Henry. “Two of them are sitting on the opposite river bank staring at us.” Sure enough, on the crest of the far riverbank was a bona fide wolf den, and we had front seats.”

Excerpt from “A Mighty Wind” by Matt Jackson
Matt Jackson travelled the Wind River with Nahanni River Adventures in 2001.
Canoe & Kayak Magazine
August 2004

“Local author and river guide Neil Hartling has been invited to a major Brazilian conference to speak about the Yukon’s approach to wilderness tourism licensing.It’s a great honour,’ said Hartling, who has owned and operated Nahanni River Adventures for 21 years. ‘They’re looking for a solution to some of the challenges they face, and they want to look at how other jurisdictions have tackled those problems.’ Hartling was the president of the Wilderness Tourism Association when the territory developed its licensing act, which came into effect in May 1999. ‘The Yukon has been in the forefront of wilderness tourism management’, said Hartling, who noted the act as one area where the territory is leading the country.”

By Sigrun Maria Kristinsdottir
Excerpt from The Yukon News
Friday, August 6, 2004

“Nahanni River Adventures, based in Whitehorse, YK, is a first-rate outfitter that deftly combines education on culture and environment with adventure.”

Chris Welsch travelled the Tatshenshini with Nahanni River Adventures in 2004.
The Star-Tribune
Sunday, May 16, 2004

“The 240-kilometre trip down the South Nahanni from Virginia Falls to the confluence with the Liard River isn’t the most challenging stretch of water in North America. But it is still a big river, and its many rapids have confounded even experienced paddlers. Most of the 500 or so river trippers who come to the Nahanni each summer (about half of the visitors to the park) paddle with experienced guides like Neil Hartling, owner of Nahanni River Adventures, who has been hired to feed and take care of our eclectic group. We set off down the river, entering the first of four canyons we will encounter during the trip. Further downriver, these canyons will soar up to 4,920 feet above the river, as tall as the Grand Canyon’s South Rim. Here the water is fast but not terribly serious. [Justin] Trudeau and his friend Gerry Butts are in one canoe, while I’m paddling with Harvey Locke a Toronto-based environmental lawyer and CPAWS’ vice president of conservation. I’ve been running northern rivers like the Nahanni for 25 years, and I’m keen to see how Trudeau performs.”

“The wild northern rivers that drain the highlands and mountain ranges of the continent west of Hudson Bay pass through some of the most beautiful and pristine eco-systems remaining in the world. Alaska to Nunavut is a paean to 10 of these remote rivers… Chapters on each river are written by Neil Hartling – who operates Whitehorse-based Nahanni River Adventures, a company that offers rafting and canoe trips on all the rivers in the book – and lavishly illustrated with the colour images of wildlife photographer Terry Parker, who has traveled on Hartling-run trips for years. Hartling, who has been outfitting and guiding journeys on northern waterways for more than 20 years, is both passionate and knowledgeable about the history, beauty and different character of these rivers.”

“Battling rolling waves, crisscrossing currents and gusty headwinds to keep us afloat in class 3 rapids, [Ron, one of our three guides from the Yukon-based company, Nahanni River Adventures] was alternately pushing and pulling with the oars, going with the flow of the wallowing troughs and cresting waves while trying to avoid holes and boulders….Kodak moment coming up, called Ron suddenly as we swirled around a 90-degree bend in the river and came face to face with the Lowell Glacier – a massive wall of ice that has surged and dammed the Alsek several times, drwoning whole villages. Suddenly, someone called, ‘There’s a bear!’ I swung my camera around to follow waving fingers pointing to a big brown grizzly ‘welcoming us to camp’ as Ron wrote later in our daily journal. Grizzlies and glaciers are the most popular attractions of a trip down the Alsek River and this was our first glacier and our first grizzly…. The Alsek is a short river but it’s surprising, constantly changing as it drops dramatically from alpine tundra to 1,800 feet to sea level in just 160 miles.”

Excerpt from Glaciers and Grizzlies” by Lyn Hancock
Lyn Hancock travelled down the Alsek River with Nahanni River Adventures in 2003.
The Province
Thursday, July 10, 2003

“Canoe a legend. You’ve heard about the Nahanni River: one of the first U.N. World Heritage Sites. 4000-foot-deep canyons and Virginia “twice as high as Niagara” Falls. But if you really want to experience it, go with someone who really knows it. Nahanni River Adventures has guided this river since 1984 and maintains a client-to-guide ratio of four-to-one. When not guiding, they also play a leading role in the stewardship of the river, recently lobbying against the reopening of a zinc mine on Prairie Creek.”

“Proud to inject funds into Northern communities, and equally vigilant about keeping “eco” in tourism, Hartling is president of the Nahanni river Outfitters Association, which helped Parks Canada develop a regulation system that restricts visitor access and monitors their impact on the Nahanni. ‘People are most likely to protect what they love,’ he says. ‘I like to think I’m doing more than just guiding river trips. I’m creating emissaries for the land.’”

Excerpt from “Path of the Paddler” by Matthew Jackson
Canadian Geographic Travel & Adventure Spring 2003

Nahanni River Adventures, Nahanni offers exceptional expeditions by raft and canoe on the great rivers from Alaska to Nunavut including: South Nahanni River, Tatshenshini River, Alsek River, Firth River, Snake River, Wind River, Stikine River, Burnside River, Coppermine River, Horton River, Mountain River, Yukon River, Taku River, Gataga River and Sea Kayaking and whale watching at Point Adolphus, Alaska, over-looking Glacier Bay National Park.

Our expeditions encompass Nahanni National Park (South Nahanni River), Kluane National Park (Alsek River), Ivvavik National Park (Firth River), Glacier Bay National Park (Alsek River), Herschel Island Territorial Park (Firth River).

Nahanni River Adventures operates in Alaska (United States of America), Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and British Columbia (Canada).

Nahanni.com is the online presence of the company, Nahanni River Adventures Ltd.

Nahanni River Adventures works with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society to ensure the environmental integrity of our wild places.

Neil Hartling, founder of Nahanni River Adventures, is also the author of: Nahanni, River of Gold...River of Dreams. Alaska to Nunavut - The Great Rivers. Nahanni River Guide. These books may all be purchased through Nahanni.com.

Common misspellings of the name are Nahani, Nahannie, Nahanie, Nahoni, Nahonni.
Nahanni River Adventures.