Hi everyone,
I am completely new to packrafting, and I came across this forum a few weeks ago and have been reading it for hours on end. Because there is such an abundance of information and ideas, I thought I’d send out my own post to hear ideas specific for my upcoming trip.
My friend and I are planning on coming up to Alaska for about 10-12 days in May starting around May 15th. We would like to see and experience as much of Alaska as possible in this short time span and are looking for some trip ideas. We are very into fly fishing and would like to mainly base our trip around that. I would love to somehow plan a trip that involves fly fishing while also packrafting to see some amazing fjords and glaciers. If recommended, we would also like to get up to Denali for 3-4 days for some hiking and packrafting (I’ve seen a lot of threats recommending the Sanctuary river trip). I know 12 days is too short to see the FULL beauty of Alaska, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Side note/question: as we are new to packrafting, we would like to gain some experience with whitewater before the trip. We live in Georgia and there is a 5 day course in NC to become a rafting guide. I would get a good deal on it, but I was wondering if y’all think it would be worthwhile (I know it is much different than packrafting but it may be worthwhile in terms of learning how to read the water)? I also plan on renting a packraft (through jhpackraft.com) for a few days and running a river or two in GA or NC to gain experience.
I apologize for the lengthy post and many questions. Thanks for any advice!