Four Days of Yoga, Adventure & Rejuvenation in Alaska’s Wrangell St Elias National Park

Breathe in, bliss out. Raft on. What better place than on a breathtaking wilderness river in Alaska?

Join us on a special 4 Day Rivers to Riches Alaska Rafting & Yoga journey!  We are collaborating with Alaska Yoga Adventures to offer this special trip for the 2021 season. Combine the beauty of 4 beautifully wild and scenic Alaska rivers with morning yoga sessions, a wholesome Ayurvedic vegetarian meal plan and evening fireside discussions. This is a unique trip that specializes in daily yoga, meditation & mindfulness-based practices. No yoga experience necessary, just a willingness to explore moving your body & breathing mindfully before getting on the river every day. Long time yoga teacher & river guide, Jule Harle, believes that combining wilderness and the wisdom from yoga practices is the best anti-dotes to life stress. Feeling overstimulated by technology or overwhelmed by life. Why not combine them both!? Yoga on the river- good for the soul!

About the Yogi – Jule Harle

Long time Alaska resident, yoga practitioner and McCarthy River Tours Guide emeritus, Jule Harle joins us to lead yoga sessions and row a boat on the river.  Jule has been a long time yoga practitioner and has studied in ashrams in India.  Some of her notable accomplishments and certifications include;

• Over 500 hours of Yoga Teacher Trainings in Indian Ashram’s
• Ayurvedic Health Counselor
• Over 1700 hours of Ayurveda Educations & Clinical Supervision
• Certified Ayurvedic Practitioner
• Ayurvedic Counseling & Mental Health Services
• Read more about yoga teacher Jule Harle in her bio.

So much more than the fantastic Kennicott and Chitina Rivers!

In addition to daily yoga and rafting, we’ll eat healthy vegetarian meals inspired by yoga’s sister science, Ayurveda. Feel free to participate and pitch in with food prep and learn about Ayurvedic eating.  Or, take time to unwind, reset and soak up the surroundings. The choice is yours. After dinner, each evening will have an optional fireside “Satsanga” (a word which comes from Sanskrit, meaning to be in the company of people seeking truth) -a group discussion/riverside chat about a specific wellness topic before ending the day with a guided meditation.

Each day is a full day of rafting but once we arrive & set up camp, we get to relax & reflect on the banks of the river. How you spend your evenings is up to you.  Some yogis like to socialize, some help with cooking dinner , and some read/reflect or contemplate alone in nature. The choice is yours! After a group dinner, we seal the evening with a themed discussion (yoga, ayurveda or wellness-related), aka “Satsang” before sealing the day with a guided meditation.

The trip ends at the town of Chitina, Alaska, famed for its fish wheels, dip nets and delicious Copper River Red Salmon.

Although we are in the heart of the Alaska wilderness, this trip is the perfect blend of creature comforts: rafts allow us to bring along a full kitchen setup with fresh meals and high quality camping gear.

Start the trip out easy at the Kennicott River Lodge in McCarthy, Alaska

Reserve your night prior to launch at the cabins of Kennicott River Lodge.  This is where we conduct the pre-trip briefing and drysuit sizing so it makes your pre trip logistics super easy!  Relax with views of the Kennicott Glacier, stairway icefall and stroll out to the glacier lake.  There is also a shared kitchen to prepare your own meals while in town.

Add an optional flat rate $300 Chitina to McCarthy shuttle, you can leave your vehicle in Chitina and we will drop you off there after after the trip.  This allows you to avoid driving the McCarthy Road twice!

• Itinerary

  Day 0: June 3rd Arrive in McCarthy in evening. We recommend getting a room at the Kennicott River Lodge.  Our raft office where we conduct the pre trip briefing the evening before launch is on the same campus and it makes your McCarthy logistics real easy.

  Day 1: June 4th

  This is a big day! Early morning meetup in McCarthy. We’ll get to know each other & reorganize/repack personal gear into drybags & become acquainted with the rafts & boating gear. We’ll go to “river school” as guides provide a safety briefing, paddle skills/practice and set some intentions for our trip.

  The Kennicott River starts off with a bang, with a few miles of fun class II-III whitewater before it merges with the Nizina. We’ll have lunch and stretch the body & take in impressive views of the nearby University Mountain Range before entering the canyon. The Nizina canyon rapids twist and bend and swirl the boats through the rock walls (hard to explain, you have to experience it!). The river eventually calms down and opens up at the confluence with the mighty Chitina, where we set up camp for the night.
  We’ll seal our day with a nourishing dinner, fireside Satsang and evening meditation.

  Day 2-3: June 5-6th

  After our morning riverside yoga & meditation, we’ll enjoy a delicious breakfast, before packing up camp & rafting down the Chitna River. As we travel down river, at times the river valley widens, and we’ll be on the search for the best channel and ready to paddle to it. Other times, the river becomes a single channel and we enjoy floating and letting the water do the work for us while we soak up the views of the mountains and nature around us.
  We end our day with an Ayurvedic dinner, meaningful conversation and guided meditative contemplation before bed.

  Day 4: June 7th

  We rise extra early with our final morning riverside yoga & meditation practice. After breakfast, we say goodbye to the Wrangell Mountains, pack up our belongings and begin the final leg of our journey, paddling to the confluence of the Copper & Chitna Rivers. We’ll take some time to organize ourselves & de-rig the rafts before driving back to McCarthy (approx 2 hour drive).  If you have arranged a pre trip shuttle, we will drop you off at your vehicle in Chitina.

• What’s Included

  • All meals & snacks beginning with lunch on day 1 through lunch on final day
  • Daily Yoga & Meditation Classes
  • Professional River Guides
  • All Paddling Equipment & Instruction
  • Return shuttle on last day from Chitina to McCarthy

   

  Not Included:

  • Transportation to McCarthy, Alaska
  • Yoga Mat
  • Personal Gear, see packing list

“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul” -John Muir