Packrafting in Alaska has consistently pushed the envelope in terms of technique and endurance. Packrafts have been used as sleds for glacier crossings, hauling game out of the Alaskan bush, carrying fat-bikes on bike-packing expeditions up the coast, and much more. The members of the Alaskan packrafting community continue to help define, and redefine, what’s possible with a packraft.

Photo: Hayley Johnston

Many well-known faces in packrafting hail from Alaska, and their packrafts have taken them around the world. Roman Dial, whose 2008 book Packrafting! An Introduction and How to Guide welcomed many of us to the sport, was the first recipient of APA’s Golden Paddle award in 2010. APA’s founding President Brad Meiklejohn, who opened The Conservation Fund’s Alaska office in 1994, was among the first people to recognize the packrafting community possesses a powerful voice to influence critical access and conservation issues. Luc Mehl, author of The Packraft Handbook, is known for his self-supported expeditions that carried packrafts to some of Alaska's highest summits.
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Photo: Luc Mehl

Conservation issues in Alaska come as big as the terrain. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the last truly undeveloped, unspoiled places on Earth, has survived repeated attempts to open up the Refuge for oil drilling, but the threat remains. The proposed Pebble Mine in the headwaters of the Bristol Bay watershed would tap into the largest known undeveloped copper ore deposit in the world, while endangering wild salmon and other fish stocks downstream. In 2021, the BLM is updating their management plan for 13.3 million acres adjacent to Gates of the Arctic National Park — an area that includes 11 rivers that could qualify for designation as Wild and Scenic Rivers — with a plan that threatens to remove nearly all environmental protections and focuses on resource extraction almost to the exclusion of other uses such as recreation and subsistence. APA has partnered with the Alaska Wilderness League and other leading conservation groups to oppose these threats to intact ecosystems, wildlife, and the unparalleled opportunities for wilderness recreation that Alaska offers.
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Illustration: Sarah Glaser

Education and Community Events

Packraft training and education resources in Alaska include Luc Mehl, Turnagain Kayak, NOLS, and Alaska Packraft School (see Resources below for a full list). Key events include the Six Mile Creek Festival, usually held in July, the unofficial Alaska Wilderness Classic, and the now-discontinued McCarthy Packraft Festival.

Get Involved

Connect with fellow paddlers, foster year-round community, and play a key role in the evolution of packrafting in Alaska’s unique and rugged landscapes.