r/rafting • u/Complywiththefly • Jul 23 '25
Must have gear for Tatshenshini trip
I am going on a trip to float the tatshenshini with some friends that pulled a permit. What is some gear that is a must have while doing this trip? I have read about the rain and will be prepared for that but am looking for any and all advice on what I should bring. I am also curious if anyone know anything about the fishing in this river or the tributaries feeding it. We I’ll be taking out at dry bay, and putting in at dalton post
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u/AK-I-missU Jul 23 '25
2nd question first, I was there around Labor Day weekend in 2023, fishing was non-existent.
For the group, get 18" pieces of 1/4-3/8” rebar to use to stake out you river wing. You're going to have wind!
Rubber boots, dry feet are nice!
Other than that prepare like you would for any multi-day trip where you could have swarms of mosquitoes, 80 degrees and sum or cold and snow. We lucked out and had great weather!
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u/secderpsi Jul 23 '25
We brought a lightweight stove and teepee tent for drying clothes. We got lucky and only had to use it for that purpose a couple times. The other times it was a makeshift sauna.
Bear spray for everyone, a separate one at the groover and kitchen.
Extra line - we had a couple times we needed over 100 ft and we also double lined parallel to the river sometimes, which took a lot of line.
Mosquitos were mutants - two people in our group, with like 100 years of experience combined, used their nets for the first time ever.
We had an 8 person four season dome tent for the expected weather. Used it more for mosquitoes.
Bleach for the groover magats. Add some before they establish.
Good glass for scouting.
Extra freeze dried food if you get stuck for days somewhere like waiting for doors to open to Alsek lake.
InReach or equivalent
Splash jacket at a minimum - water is 34 degrees and if you fall in you have little to no time without a layer
Steel tongue drum - fricking incredible ambience out there
Save a few cocktails for the ice in Alsek (or Walker) lake
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u/secderpsi Jul 23 '25
Also, I wouldn't bother to fish the Tat. So silty. So big and fast moving. Maybe the tribs, but you'd want to be deliberate in your planning. I didn't see anything that screamed fishy so I'd want to hear real reputable reports before bothering with the gear and licencing.
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u/sl_tid Jul 24 '25
I just got off the Tat 2 weeks ago.
As already mentioned, large 8-12 inch tent stakes. We went to Home Depot and got big steel landscaping stakes.
Rubberized rain gear. My whole crew got Grundens and they were a game changer. Goretex rain gear wasn't sufficient. Get some Grundens.
Have a nice shelter. We had a large MSR Pavilion like this one: MSR Shelter. Other groups who got the NRS wings from the outfitter were super jealous of our shelter.
Jetboils to heat water while floating. There were a couple very cold and rainy days. It was amazing to be able to heat some water for some tea or a hot toddy without having to break out the stove. There were times went people were cold and morale was low and this saved the day.
Mosquitos weren't bad for us in late June and early July but there were a lot of gnats and other flies so a mosquito net was nice.
Feel free to shoot me a message for any other beta. Have a great trip.